How to cut your grocery bills in half

JamieTurner

Mar 18, 2008

Food

There have been many articles and reports written explaining supposed ways to cut your grocery bills. Sure, you can eat only bargain noodles and generic beans. That will save a little money. Wash out those plastic bags and reuse them. That will save a few cents, too. But there is one sure way to cut your grocery bills in half that’s simple, and you can even still buy brand name items. Begin to buy your groceries using the system detailed in this article, and you’ll see savings from the first day.

Things you’ll need

weekly Sunday newspaper
box of envelopes

Procedure Steps

First, begin saving coupons. Too many people think coupons are a waste of time, or that they only raise the prices that are charged on other items. This is false. Buy a box of envelopes, and label your envelopes with the categories of food and products you buy regularly. You can be as broad ("vegetables") or exact (an envelope for each brand of canned vegetables you regularly buy) as you want. Clip every coupon you come across and file them in the proper envelope. Sunday newspapers are the best source for coupons. For best results, you should try to have a coupon for at least one-half of the items you buy on your shopping trip.
Next, watch the sale flyers. When you see items on sale that you have coupons for, that's the time to buy. Also, watch for stores that offer "double coupons." That means that they will double the value of the coupon, usually up to 50-cent value coupons. Buy the sale items with doubled coupons, and your saving increase!
Make a shopping list before you go and stick to it. This prevents impulse buys. extra things that sound good to you at the time, but you may not end up eating.
Another method for cutting your grocery bills in half are rebates. When you use any canned, boxed or bagged goods, save the package. Labels can be soaked from cans with warm water, and the outside layer of a box (the part with the printing on it) can usually be carefully peeled off. Use a few grocery boxes to organize these. Alphabetically is the best way. These can be stored in an unused closet or the garage. Also, keep your receipts. You'll need them for rebates. Then, when you see a rebate for an item you regularly buy, you can get the required proof of purchase easily and quickly from the packaging.

Tips

If you find a lot of coupons you can use on a particular Sunday, it may be worth your while to buy a second copy of the paper, to get another set of coupons. If your paper costs $1.00, you can make that back with two 50-cent coupons. The rest will be profit!