Learning to Cut Your Grocery Bill: Session 2

If you have completed Learning to Cut Your Grocery Bill: Session 1, then you probably saw a small reduction in your grocery bill and you should be able to visualize how you will be saving a lot on your grocery bill. You learned a few strategies last week, and you will improve on those savings strategies this week.



This week's Steps Towards Savings:

1. If you haven't completed Learning to Cut Your Grocery Bill: Session 1, do so now.

2. Pull out the pile of coupons from last week. Clip the coupons from Sunday's paper that you may possibly use at some point and add them to your pile. Do not start to organize them yet, this will occur next week. It takes a few weeks to see what coupons are typical and know the best organization strategy.

3. This week we will continue to focus only on the ad from your favorite grocery store. As you look carefully through the ad, begin matching coupons with sale items. If it is something your family will use, put the coupon in a separate pile to take to the grocery store.

4. Plan at least two meals from the grocery ad and items you currently have in your pantry or fridge. Decide on a healthy meal for the family using the meats and produce on sale, and prepare for leftovers. Find a quick cheap meal that is on sale this week. Examples of quick cheap meals (grilled cheese/soup, eggs/toast/fruit, hotdogs/veggies, frozen pizza). It is okay to have these things for dinner sometimes, especially if you are cooking good healthy dinners on other days of the week.

5. Use your list that you created last week of items you frequently buy. Record the prices for this week again.

6. Create your grocery list this week with a greater awareness of what is on sale and the coupons that you possess. You may have more coupons this week to keep track of. I like to organize the coupons I am going to use by thinking of my route I will take through the grocery store. I order the coupons in the same way with produce first and frozen food last because that is the way I navigate stores. This helps me go more quickly through the store, without fumbling with coupons in the middle of the aisles as much.

You will begin to see more savings this week. Happy saving!

Learning to Cut Your Grocery Bill: Session 1

Follow these steps and you will save a little this week, while learning the first steps towards saving big. Recognize that there are many tips and things to remember. Don’t get discouraged. Sometimes you will buy something, thinking you got a deal, just to find out later it was cheaper elsewhere. It’s okay, you’ll get better. Don’t get discouraged! The purpose of this series is to help you become a smart shopper, while learning strategies that build on each other in a way that is not overwhelming.

What You will Need:
- Thirty minutes to an hour of prep time.
- Sunday newpaper with coupons and store ads.
- Scissors/ Pad of Paper/ Pen
- A place to spread out



This week's Steps Towards Savings:

1. Once you have your paper, sit down and pull out all the coupon books. Look through them and clip out any coupon you may possibly use. Many will eventually expire and get thrown away, but that’s okay. Ignore any coupon for any item you wouldn't buy. After you have clipped the coupons, keep them out in a pile beside you.

2. Pull the ad from your favorite grocery store. This week we will ignore all the other ads. Begin looking through the ad, thinking about the coupons you have just cut. Using coupons on sale items, helps maximize your savings. If you find a match put that coupon in a separate pile to use at the store.

3. Planning all or several of your meals for the week, can be an efficient way to save time and money for the week. However, this week lets focus on one. Look through the ad and choose a meal to prepare based on what’s on sale. Meat and produce are usually higher priced items. Buying them on sale is vital. Plan to make the meal large enough for the family to have leftovers. Make the meal on a day you have time, and eat the leftovers on a busier night. This will provide a healthy meal for your family for two nights this week, with ingredients that were bought on sale.

4. Make a list of the grocery items you buy often. As you are at the store write down the price to buy each item this week. Not the regular price, but the sale price for the week. We will do this for the next few weeks to help you get a sense of what things cost so you will know in the future whether the deal you see is really deal and if it’s time to buy.

5. Go online to the website of your favorite grocery store. Often they have a place to sign up for weekly emails that contain store coupons. As you receive these coupons in the future, you will be able to add them to your coupon resources.

6. Shop as you always do for the rest of your food.

This week, you will see some savings from your grocery bill. The important thing is that you are learning lessons that will help you save every week. The significant savings will be coming in weeks to come. Come back next week for the Second Session of Learning to Cut Your Grocery Bill.

6 Basic Grocery Savings Concepts

These are the concepts you will need to master before really saving money on your grocery bill. By following the 4 week grocery sessions, you will learn these concepts.

Basic Grocery Savings Concepts:

1. Coupons are your friend. You will need to clip coupons and develop a way to organize coupons that will work for you. Coupons can be found in most Sunday Newspapers. Clip any coupon you may possibly use, and ignore coupons you don't need. Don't clip coupons for an item you weren't planning to buy.

2. Match coupons to sales and maximize savings. Now that you have your coupons, resist the urge to use them on regular priced items. Wait for the items to go on sale, then buy the item with your coupon. You will save as much as the sale price, plus the extra savings from the coupon. Sometimes you may even get items for free. Savings add up quickly this way.

3. Stockpile. If you know the cost of foods and typical sales, you will know a great deal on an item when you see it. If you see a great deal, don’t just buy one. Buy as many as your family will use before they go bad or the next great sale. This concept is called stockpiling. Some people will get carried away and stock up on way more than is needed, and eventually throw out expired items. To correctly stockpile, you have to have a good sense of prices and how much you will use. This takes time to develop.

4. Know the rules. Don’t fall for gimmics. If the sale is 10 for 10. Usually that means that one is one dollar, unless it specifically says you must buy 10 to get the full price. If you only want one item, only buy one item. Don’t feel like you have to buy all ten items. At some stores buy one get one free means you can buy one at 50% off. You must know the rules at your favorite stores. Also important: Know which stores double coupons and the details involved.

5. If you are brand specific- get over it. It's okay to have a few brands to remain loyal to, but you can get the best deals if you are willing to go with a few brands. In stead of using the same brand of peanut butter every time, try other brands. You may find that sticking with a certain brand for a few things is important to you, but you will also probably find that some things do not really matter. It's a lot easier to match good deals once you get over the need to use the same brand every time.

6. Sometimes generic is okay. If you have a good stockpile and are willing to try different brands, you will rarely need to buy generic. However, sometimes you just need one item for your casserole, or are out of something to pack in a lunch. If you need something and there is not a coupon and it's not on sale, buy generic.