What are some ways I can cut back on grocery expenses?

I just feel like by grocery bill for the month is out of control. I really should be able to put a little more into savings, but I end up spending to much at the grocery store.
How do you keep your food expenses lower?

This is so simple... and so true....

Dont go to the grocery store hungry!! Have a small meal, or healthy snack before you go to the store. You have a tendency to do more impulse shopping.

Make a list, before you leave. Know what you have and dont have. Plan meals in advance, make a list and stick to it. If its not on the list, tough!!

Make a budget. I always go into the store saying i'm only going to spend $xxx amount of money. i keep track of every dollar i put into my cart. If i start getting close to my limit, and i havent finished the list yet... guess what? Somethings goin back.

Get at "club" card. The discount card from the store. Sometimes they have GREAT discounts. Like, i got $3.00 sodas for a buck, with the card. Be aware though, just because it says "Get 2/5.00 with card" you dont have to buy 2. You still can get 1 for 2.50.

Invest in a good cookbook!! I personally like the Betty crocker cook bible (its red, you know it... your mom has one!). When you go to the meat counter, some cuts are less expensive than others. The cookbook will tell you how to prepare it (how and for how long to cook it). Instead of getting steaks at $6.00 lb, i found some nice Loin Ribs for $3lb. Book told me how to merinade and bake em. They were amazing. My fiance thinks i'm Emerl Friggin Lugasi! Nope, i just read.

You cant miss me in the grocery stoer. I have my list, my calculator, my club card, and my ipod... cuz i cant be distracted!!! Its all about being focused and commited to savings. I can feed me and my fiance for about $220 a month. It'd be less, if i got a sunday paper... but im not gonna buy a $1.50 paper just for a few cents of coupons.

use coupons/or try costco or sams they maore 4 less sometimes

Buy generic when possible. Most generic foods are OK, but some are gross. (Mac and cheese.. gross. Spaghetti sauce .. good!)

Buy all your groceries for the week in one shopping trip. If you run to the store for '2 things' you always end up with more!

When you get the sales ads plan all your meals according to what is on sale that week, make a list and stick too it!

Grow your own veggies! You know where they came from and what, if anything, was sprayed on them. Saves you LOTS of money. And if you have kids it is fun for them to help you garden and chances are, if they help you grow it they will eat it!

I am also not a big fan of coupons. I don't get the paper and I find that the cost of the newspaper costs more than the coupons save me! Also, if you do use coupons, make sure you are using them to buy things you normaly would buy. If you buy some new frilly product that is $2.50 just because you have a coupon for 50 cents off, you are still spending $2 more than you would normally!

We cut ours down by meal planning- we sit down on Saturday mornings and do our menu for the next week and see what we'll need.
When I go to the grocery store I only buy what I needed for that week. The only time that I buy extras is if it's on sale (example one of the 10 for 10s with Kroger)

Most chains have advertisements that spotlight weekly specials. What I do is buy meat when it's on sale in the bulk packs divide it up and freze portions for later. Also I look at produce specials for the week and plan meals around them. Watxh for when your staples go on sale (paper towels TP condiments) and stock up when they are at a lower price. You might need to buy a brand that is on sale and not your usual brand but you can save a lot by making a few sacrifices.
So watch the specials, stock up, plan your meals and save.

I have been through the same thing- I ended up cutting down my grocery bill about 200-300 dollars a month doing this-

If you have regular plates and bowls at home, don't buy paper products
name brands aren't that special
If you don't need it (if it is just a want) then put it back on the shelf.
Think, are you really going to use this.

A lot is just being a sensible shopper when at the stores. Looking at prices and figuring is really worth it to buy the more expensive brands. I've found that really there is little to no difference.

Depending on where you live and with a little effort, you can buy veggies from local co-ops and meat from farms. This is a bit much for your average shopper, but the products you get are of a much higher quality, better nutritionally, and cheaper in the long run. I get organic veggies for $15 per week that would cost $100 at Wholefoods.

Using coupons helps alot. The Sunday papers are usually full of coupons. Some stores double and triple the value. Cut out junk foods. You would be suprised at the amount you spend on these items. Make several meals a week using pasta. This is a cheap dinner. Red meats tend to be more expensive. I only buy red meat for a couple of meals a month.

Get the Sunday newspaper and compare supermarket prices. Cut and use coupons. Make sure you shop for what's on sale... You'll see some difference. Good Luck

Buy generic name brands. Buy in quantity to save.

To find out which size of an item is the best buy, or to compare the value of different brands (assuming taste is comparable--sometimes it is, sometimes it isn't), look at the unit price posted on the store shelf tag. If the unit price is not displayed (some stores don't do this), you can figure it out yourself: Cost of item divided by number of units (ounces, for example) = cost per unit. Lower is better; it means you are getting more product for your money.

I like to carry a calculator in my purse that has a cover on it; ordinary calculators without covers keep getting their keys pressed by other items in the purse and end up dying unseasonably young.

There are some groceries I don't mind buying generic or cheaper versions, and some I simply won't. For example, imitation vanilla is a waste of my money because I hate it and I feel like I might as well not make anything as make something using that. I must have the real deal, or count me out. I can definitely tell the difference in taste. On the other hand, I don't mind buying generic real vanilla. Brand isn't very important when it comes to that product, at least as far as I'm concerned.

Everybody is going to have different preferences when it comes to brand name versus generic, so experiment and find out what works for you. There will be some foods that you realize brand makes no difference in the taste, and some you realize you don't want to trade on.

Cooking from the basics is cheaper than buying prepackaged foods. I'm not claiming I never do, but I know it's cheaper when I cook from scratch. It's considerably less convenient than popping in a microwave pizza, but of course it's more nutritious as well. So, I don't claim ultimate virtue in this area, but I do know what is helpful for the pocketbook, even if I don't always live up to it.

Some books you might check out are "The Complete Tightwad Gazette" by Amy Dacyzyn (it includes some recipes) and "Miserly Meals" by Jonni McCoy.
http://www.miserlymoms.com/

You can also compare how you're doing to other families of comparable size by checking out this info:
http://www.cnpp.usda.gov/USDAFoodCost-Home.htm
Click on the month which has the most recent costs.

If you have a lot of trouble with meal planning, you can buy the book "Saving Dinner" by Leanne Ely or subscribe to her online service. Both come with shopping lists you can use for the upcoming planned meals. The online service offers more variety and specialization.
http://www.savingdinner.com/

Of course, following pre-scheduled plans like that gives you less flexibility to shop the store sales and plan your meals accordingly (although if you have a big freezer and pantry, it may not make any difference in your ability to do so).

Different things work best for different people. Find what works best for you. Any cooking at home is likely to be cheaper than eating out.

I've been using daddymorebucks.com lately for stuff like this.

The site has a section on groceries. Pretty creative stuff.

can someone in the home get a job at a restaurant? you get lots of free food during work, when someone says oh this wasnt what i ordered and dont dump it, put it in a baggie. at the end of the night, there's prepared foods left over and we divvy it up.

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