Saving Money On Groceries part twoby Nicole Humphrey | More from this Blogger 15 Jun 2006 10:41 AM
Clipping coupons might not be your "thing". However, I highly recommend it, because another tip I have is to start doing some research on your local grocery stores. In my area, within 3 ½ miles of my home (highly suburban area), we have 5 different grocery chains. Two of the grocery chains have TWO locations within those 3-½ miles. Meaning my choices are 7 different places to shop. So I started researching each one. First, we have Aldi's - a tiny grocery store with prices that never cease to amaze me. They do not accept coupons however one does not need coupons here. Last week I bought a jar of applesauce for $.79 - a Pillsbury cake mix box for .89 plus the decorative icing to go with it for 1.00 and so on and so forth. Their prices are unbelievable. On a typical shopping trip to Aldi's I will spend about $60 on groceries using NO coupons. I have compared the prices of these items to my regular grocery store and my cart full there would be approximately $109. Look at the savings there! Now there are a few things I will never purchase at Aldi's and this goes right into my next tip - certain generic products - they taste horrible, unless used IN cooking. (Not by themselves). - For instance they have packages of cheese that I buy once in awhile. The cheese is a generic brand and tastes horrible on a cold sandwich or by itself, however - tastes amazing on a hot cheeseburger, melted or stirred into a pasta dish, or used in place of "grated cheese" on a recipe. I don't have any idea why the flavor changes when it's cooked, but it's really good then - and only then. So that's my next tip, whether you shop at your local Aldi's type store, or your main pricier grocery store, look at generic brands. For flour or sugar, look for the less expensive of the items. Flour is a typical "baking" ingredient. It is primarily mixed with many other ingredients to get to the finished product. Because of this, most flour will do (watch your recipe and be sure to pick up the TYPE of flour they are calling for (i.e. All purpose, cake, wheat, etc). But if you shop for generic products, often your savings in one shopping trip can be almost half of your entire purchase order! Try it, and you'll see. It's always amazing to me how much money I can save by simply shopping around and doing "comparison shopping". Please see part one of this article and watch for part three coming tomorrow! Learn more about Nicole Humphrey  Nicole Humphrey is a freelance writer, consultant for CTMH and a Sr. Blogger for families.com. She resides in St. Charles, Missouri with Mike and their five children and two furbabies. Relevantfrugal tags User Comments Andrea M (2525) 15 Jun 2006 12:27 PMGreat ideas again!!!! Community Tags Coupons, frugal living, groceries, saving money, shopping Discuss this article
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Yesterday, I talked about clipping coupons to save money on your groceries. I also discussed different methods and places to retrieve those coupons.
