want to save on meats fish chicken? Talk to your local butcher and ask him when he puts out the reduced meat. purchase it unwrap it portion size in freezer ziploc baggies with sharpie label what type of meat fish etc date it freeze it then take out the meat placed in freezer baggies u will be preparing for dinner. you might save up to 75% off of marked regular price i've done this for years.

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I've been doing the grocery shopping in our home for almost a year now. My mom use to do it but is not able to anymore. I read over the paper each week, make my list and STICK to that list. I only but fruits & veggies when they are on sale. The same for meat & chicken. I buy bread, bagels and other breakfast items when they are on sale. You can freeze bread, bagels & english muffins for up too two months. They taste just like you purchased them that day once defrosted.

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I shop for my mother and I twice a month. I buy in bulk, and I separate everything before I freeze. I save alot more then you think, cause when I go to the store its less and less that I buy. Costco and Sams club is good. I save a Lot. Also I catch sales with coupons. Sometimes it could be less then twice a month, only because I grow my own vegetables in containers.

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Another great tip! If you are broke, only have a few items on hand for dinner, and can't figure out how to make them all work together, KraftFoods.com has an area where you can enter up to 3 ingredients and it comes up with quick and simple recipe ideas that you may not have even thought of. Great website for easy recipe ideas!

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We look at the local Publix for the buy one get one free deals, the two for one low price, and only buy meat when it goes on sale. Now we can print off a shopping list from their website and we only buy those items. We only go there twice a month instead of every week. If our favorite butter goes on sale you can buy it for less than the store brand and buy enough to last until it goes on sale again in two or three weeks. So we buy brand names at store brand prices. For the rest of our shopping, we stick to Wal-mart for the canned goods and frozen foods. We will only buy produce at publix becasue the quality is far superior and still within our means.

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Debbie Meyer Greenbags have saved me so much money. I love to cook and I use a lot of fresh produce that I used to buy and depending on my busy work schedule might just sit in the fridg and end up tossing. However that doesn't happen any more. When I store my fruit or veggies in these bags it's amazing how much longer they last and taste.

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Shop at Wal-Mart Supercenter. Significant savings vs. traditional grocery store.

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If you go to wholsale clubs like B'JS ,Sams or Costco, there chicken, beef, tuna fish, soup is 50% cheaper than Publix, Windixie or Alberstons.Stay out of retail grocery stores!

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did the grocery shopping in my last marriage, developed a plan based on what my wife wanted over an 8 week period then mapped out the store based on the 8 weeks. all she had to do was circle the needs each week. it cut my shopping time in 1/2. one the V.P.'s of the chain saw it and actually uses it. pretty much every thing you do is routine and/or habit you just have to figure out the best whether it's yours or somebody elses idea.

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I highly recommend shopping at Aldi's if you have one in your town. I am able to save up to 50% there. A bag of real chocolate chips is 99 cents. A 4 lb bag of oranges is about $2.00. You can save so much it's great!

Granted they don't have everything or all the brands that I like, so, I buy whatever I need at Aldi's, then buy the remaining foods at Cub, or sometimes even at Walmart.

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In my town, we have two bakery outlets. I buy all my bread, bagels, muffins, buns, etc for at least half price. Sunbeam bread is only .69 ea and it's just as soft as store bought. Then they have monday madness where most things are .50 ea. If you have these in your town you should definatly check it out!

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My mother always old me to go on a full stomach, with a list AND a calculator. Add up everything you are spending as you shop. That way you know what you are spending as you go (and you get tired of poking numbers inn the calculator so you might just stop shopping, checkout and go home). You are more careful as you see what you are spending and if you have eaten....you don't have the terible cravings and buy everything you see. I am a retired husband and do the shopping for our household...Uswually spend 350 to 450 a month on food for the 2 of us . That is good heavy portions and tremendous breakfasts...toast meat, eggs, grits etc with juice. We really eat the bif breakgfast eat leftovers for lunch and have a full supper...something like roast, rice and gravy, two veg. and dessert. This is everyday of the week except Sunday nights when we have a salad and spaghetti

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WELL IT MAY BE A LITTLE TIME CONSUMING, BUT WALMART DOES PRICE MATCHING AND TAKES COUPONS, NOT TO MENTION A BETTER UNPICKED OVER SELECTION. I GET THE PAPER ON SUNDAYS AND WENDESDAYS, I CLIP THE COUPONS ON SUNDAYS, AND GO OVER ALL THE GROCERY STORE ADS ON WENDESDAY. I MAKE A MENU FOR MY FAMILY FOR 2 WEEKS BY THE ADDS AND COUPONS I HAVE. THEN I WRITE MY SHOPPING LIST, STAPLE MY COUPONS TOGETHOR, AND WRITE THE PAGE # AND STORE ADD NAME ON MY GROCERY LIST. I COMPARE MY COUPON ITEMS COST WITH OFF BRAND, AND I ALWAYS BUY THE BAGS OF CHICKEN PARTS. I ALSO BUY ALL MY BREADS AT THE WONDER BREAD THRIFT STORE. INSTEAD OF ONE LOAF FOR 2.00 I GET THREE FOR 2.00 IT TAKES ME A WHILE TO GET DONE WITH MY SHOPPING, AND THERE IS SOME SIGHING, AND HUFFING IN LINE BEHIND ME. BUT I HAVE SAVED UP TO 70.00 ON MY GROCERY BILL, WITH ADDS AND COUPONS, SO I DON'T MIND AT ALL. THERE ARE OTHERS THINGS I WOULD LIKE TO BUY OTHER THAN FOOD AND TOILETRIES. I ALSO AM A BIG FAN OF WALMARTS FREE SAMPLES WEB PAGE.

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MANY SUPERMARKETS "MARK DOWN" THEIR MEAT PRODUCTS THE DAY BEFORE THEIR "SELL BY" DATE EXPIRES. WHEN THIS IS BEEF, IT MIGHT BENEFIT FROM A LITTLE MORE AGING ANYWAY. I KNOW A PERSON WHO IS ABLE TO BUY FILET MIGNON OFTEN BECAUSE OF THESE MARKDOWNS. ALSO, A GENERAL TIP IS TO MAKE MENUS AROUND WHAT ITEMS ARE ON SALE. ONE DOESN'T HAVE TO HAVE EXPENSIVE AVOCADOS, ARTICHOKES, OR ASPARAGUS WHEN CARROTS ARE ON SALE, OR BEEF WHEN CHICKEN IS ON SALE. LASTLY, IF EVERYONE SHOPPED LESS OFTEN, PRICES WOULD DECLINE BECAUSE DEMAND WOULD BE DOWN.

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Prior to making my grocery list, I gather all the weekly grocery ads and read through them to see what is on sale, then make up my weekly menu. I don't buy new items unless they are on sale and I have a coupon. To save gas and time I shop at Wal*Mart because they match prices with the exception of percentage off and buy 1 get 1. If budget allows I purchase extra of the really good meat & poultry sales

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I hate shopping. I'm also lazy, so rather than spend hours in the grocery store, I devised a plan. First I would save a months worth of shopping lists. While I'm saving lists I also map out the store sections & aisles
listing a number of things I usually buy when I go shopping. If it's something I know for sure won't go to waste and it's on sale, I buy as much of it as I have room to store it along with the rest of my groceries.

Once I have enough shopping lists, I get on my computer and create a shopping list check list by aisle number in order from aisle one on. I copy several lists to a page, print them out, cut them into individual lists and stick them to the refrigerator with a clamp magnet and tie a pencil within easy reach. When I'm about to use the last of something, or think of something I'd really like or need to use for a recipe, I can check off the iten on the list. I also leave a couple of blank spaces at the bottom of each aisle section for things I rarely buy. That cuts my shopping time in half or better and if I stay true to my list spend $00.00 extra money. I also follow a lot of clues that have been previously posted to this site. Another thing I'm careful to do is read the labels!
As you get older, your intake of sodium and sugar become important. I'm on a low sodium diet. It's amazing to me to pick up a can of tomato sauce and find one brand with 35g of Sodium (salt) and a different brand of the same thing; same size to find it might carry as much as 850g of Sodium, all the while claiming that the product has "No added Preservatives!" What the heck are you talking about? SALT is the oldest food preservative known to man! Also, when reading the list of ingredients, note that the product contains more of the listed ingredient the closer that ingredient is to the beginning of the list. Many times its got a lot of sugar,salt, water and flavoring in it.
Ilianj

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I am a single mother of 3 teenagers. Food tends to go very quickly in my house. I do one large shopping trip mid month(cuz rents due the beginning of the month..lol)at BJ's and then a small trip to pick up necessities(milk, bread) at the beginning of the month. I will buy some snacks but not a whole lot as they tend to cost more and the kids eat them faster. Also, when planning out meals, I will plan on a meal that I can make at least 2 different meals out of ( ie Ham for dinner one night and then homemade lentil or pea soup made with the ham bone later in the week(the soup can also be frozen in smaller portions for the kids to have as a healthy, satisfying) after school snack to hold them over till I get home to make dinner) or tacos one night and then leftover taco meat made into taco pie or nachose another night) It helps to keep the kids from just pigging out also and excersize self control to wait till meal time to eat. I keep things like popcorn because a box of bj's popcorn is not expensive yet will last over the course of the month and at that price, they even have a snack they can share with their friends.

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I always ask the produce manager if they are getting ready to mark anything down. At Wal Mart I always ask if they can give m e a better price on something if I buy in quantity and they usually do. You have to speak uo for what you want

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When you make your list: visualize your popular grocery store and make your list in order of your shopping route. This will prevent back and forth walking and less times passing the ends of the isles - ends of isles are where "impulse" items are stocked... that's the cute or yummy stuff you spend extra on but don't need.

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Try eating a good, wholesome meal BEFORE you take that grocery shopping trip. You'll be less tempted to wander from your list and impulse buy just because of hunger pains.

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