How to Save 70% on your Grocery Bill

 

Groceries are probably the biggest variable expense for most of us, and it is also the one area where we can drastically cut cost without really affecting our lives.

I love that Extreme Coupon show but it seems so time consuming, and unrealistic you can rarely double your coupons in Canada except at I believe London Drugs, and the only time I find coupons of significant value are on food products like cereal boxes.

So how do I save approximately 70% a week on groceries?

By buying everything on sale. That's it. I go through the flyers every week find the best deals for products our family actually uses and stock up. Instead of going from grocery store to grocery store (and wasting gas) I make a detailed list of the price and store, and circle the items on the flyers with magic marker and take them to Walmart and price match them. It takes a little longer at the checkout, made a little more stressful by an impatient one and three year old - but the savings are always worth it.

Price Matching Tips

• Check the fine print in the flyer - the brand and size have to be the same in order to price match, and different stores carry different sizes of the same item.
• Some stores will include higher volume items ie. 120 pack of diapers for a low price because the biggest size they get in is 80, but Walmart usually carries larger items and you can get a really good deal this way.
• Don't forget to look at drug store flyers - they usually have a few really good deals on grocery items to entice people in to their store weekly

I do shop at different grocery stores when there is a sale on meat (and sometimes produce) - I personally don't find the meat at Walmart is as high quality as the local expensive stores and I stock my freezers. Here in Ontario chicken breast regularly can be as high as $9.99/lb so I stock up when I see it for $3.99/lb or anything else.

 

 

The secret to making this method the most effective - is to know your prices and to buy enough to get you to the next sale - which isn't too long approximately six to eight weeks between sales depending on the item - certain products like steaks and roasts seem to go on sale less often.

 

Tips to get the best deals:

 

Don't be fooled by a 'sale' price - some stores advertise sales when they are no lower priced than a local more inexpensive grocery store. It's hard when first starting out to know what a good deal is but keep track of your purchases and note when you find a better price and where.

 

I find a simple stock up list like the one I printed for free from Money Saving Mom useful to get the best deals. She offers a filled in one with prices in her area and a blank one so you can customize it and fill in your own prices.

 

 

Always check expiration dates and find the one with the longest shelf life - it's not a good deal if the product expires before your family uses it.

 

 

Know if you use coupons on top of the sale price you can save even more but remember 50 cents off a $4 product is not as good as a half off sale, so your probably better to let the coupon expire and wait for a sale.

 

Do you have any helpful tips for saving money on groceries? Or have you tried Walmarts new app - the Savings Catcher. Wish we had it in Canada but would love to know your experiences with it.