This article was written by Cynthia Waverly of Coupon Claim, a blog which helps shoppers find the best coupons and deals online.
7 Tips for Making Frugal Shopping Lists
Every week, you spend more money than you need to on groceries. Some of you spend upwards of $100 more than necessary every single week! While we tend to do extensive research and bargain hunting for big ticket items like appliances, gadgets, and automobiles, we many times do next to none for the shopping trips we take every week to the grocery store. And since this trip is generally the most expensive shopping excursion we take almost 50 times a year, it really deserves to be planned out seriously and efficiently.
I have compiled 7 tips for saving money at the grocery store that my husband and I employ every week. It has literally saved us hundreds of dollars per year, money I have spent on more important things like car repairs and school books.
1. Have a List and Do Not Deviate From It
This is where it all begins folks: the list. Without a shopping list, you are buying things you never use and throwing away food that never gets eaten; money literally down the drain. When making your list, calculate exactly how much your shopping excursion will cost and only take that amount of cash with you to the store(s).
2. Plan Meals for the Entire Week
Here is where you will come up with the products that need to be on your list. Decide on next week’s meals and check on which supplies you will need to purchase in order to make them.
3. Compare Store Prices and Shop Accordingly
After you have a list of the ingredients you need, it’s time to go ad hunting! Always pick up a Sunday paper, where all of the sales at your local grocery stores are listed in the advertisements. Search for the items you need, and compare prices between stores. This may require you to go to 3 or more stores, but it will be well worth it as long as the stores are not 20 miles apart.
4. Make a List of Frequently Used Staples and Watch for Sales
Products that are used frequently such as soap, toothpaste, deodorant, and laundry detergent regularly go on sale. Again, utilizing the Sunday advertisements, buy these products in bulk when they are on sale for a good price. The same can be done for food that can be frozen and used later, such as butter, burger meat, and cheese.
5. Switch From Brand Name to Generic Products
I know, I know, this is not something that you want to do. Brand name items just taste and work better, right? Well… NO! According to a recent study, consumers could not tell the difference between generic store brands and their brand name counterparts for 27 out of 30 products tested. So shop those bottom rows and grab those bland generic packages, because you’re gonna save some money!
6. Clip Coupons
You do know that they exist, right? So why aren’t you using them to save some bucks? Even coupons that offer small discounts of 25 cents will add up into dollars by the end of your shopping trip. Keep them alphabetized and take them with you every time you go shopping! You will find yourself using them more than you would expect.
7. Know When to Shop, and For What
Certain times of the year bring the greatest sales and deals, such as Thanksgiving and Christmas time(s). Retailers dangle maximum discounts in front of you to get you to buy, buy, buy. These are great times to stock up on things in bulk for huge savings.
Follow these seven tips, and I guarantee you that your grocery bill will be cut by at least 15%. After all, it’s your money: use it wisely.
Raffy
Monday 3rd of January 2011
re: #1. It's not true that stuff not on the list doesn't get eaten, come on. There must be some "serendipity" and creativeness at the supermarket too. Sometimes I see something which is on sale and I didn't plan on buying but is just right at the moment. Nobody has tried everything is on sale at the store, right?
Virginia Dare
Monday 3rd of January 2011
Lots of feedback in the comments! Kristen, I like to read your blog because the philosophy is so much more valuable than most of the "tips" out there in the universe. It sounds like a lot of other readers feel that way, too. Take the first word in your tagline: CHEERFULLY. Your frugality is not about suffering, or even the common "making do" with less. It is about having a life where you don't need all those things and spending in order to feel happy. It seems to me that a lot of frugality advice is about replacing the momentary "joy" of spending with the equally short-lived "joy" of getting a super bargain (or cleverly wrenching out all the toothpaste). Because let's admit it: shopping *is* fun sometimes, bright new things *are* often a delight, and everyone likes it when they feel that they got a deal. But those feelings are fleeting and can't actually make you happy. For example, your model of researching what you really want, saving for it so that it does not create a financial hardship, and then continually delighting in your efforts--that is cheerful frugality in action. I can't always apply all your experiences to my life. I work full-time, I live in an apartment, and I don't have any children, yet, so some isn't applicable or workable for me. So much of the money-saving stuff out there seems like I could only do it if I quit my paying job so that I'll have enough time to devote to it. When I read The Frugal Girl, though, I feel like I can prioritize my life choices. I feel like knowing which stores generally have the best prices on certain commodities is making a difference to my budget and I am making good use of my time to shop around. The importance of meal planning is underscored, and when we go off-plan I better recognize the impact. And we have begun thinking about the money we spend and where it goes. I've been focusing on putting our purchases on more local sources. Sometimes they are more, sometimes they are less. Either way, it doesn't have to be a mystery at the end of the week where your money went! I have a friend who she and her husband make far more than we do, spends her brains out, and by the end of the payweek she is completely broke. I have another friend whose salary is well below mine, she supports her parent, and she still affords ballroom dancing lessons and weekend getaways. The second friend seems far happier than the first. How do either of them get to those points? I don't know. But what I am learning is that quality of life does not always correlate with the amount you earn OR the amount you spend. And that is how to be happy living on less.
Reese
Monday 3rd of January 2011
Well.. I guess I'm disappointed by this post. All of them are really common sense items that have been mentioned here or on other blogs before. I feel like a post like this is redundant in a way...
I do everything this post says... so technically I can't ween 15% down from my grocery bill from it (I guess I'm just naturally frugal this way then). Oh well? :(
Kristen
Monday 3rd of January 2011
Reese, that reminds me of something Amy Dacyzyn said when someone asked her how much money she could save on her grocery bill. Amy said, "Well, that depends how stupid you've been with your spending up to this point.".
I always feel annoyed by magazine headlines that tell me stuff like that their tips can save me $100/week on my groceries. If I was spending $400 a week, yes, their tips could save me that much. But when I'm spending only $100/week, I doubt their tips are going to save me my whole budget! ;)
Getting feedback on this post has helped me to decide that if I'm going to publish a guest post, it needs to be something that I haven't written or can't write. Otherwise, there's really no point, other than to provide publicity to the person writing the guest post.
Nicole
Monday 3rd of January 2011
I personally shop 3 grocery stores regularly, a fourth (distant) shop when my son has sports nearby, and there is a fifth that I only shop at infrequently when there are awesome sales. I shop with a list and I am home unloading within an hour if I go first thing in the morning. Shopping with kids is difficult, but soon they are old enough to stay home :)
Connie
Monday 3rd of January 2011
Hi Kirsten,
While the information provided was informative, it's not coming from you. Frankly, I would rather see a post where you say something like "I've been in my pyjamas all day, haven't brushed my hair yet, and don't have a foggiest clue what to put in my blog today".
I bet that we, your cyber-family, would be able to contribute lots of wisdom on our own through our comments.
Love,love,love your site mostly because it feels like a note from a sister or special friend.
I stopped subscribing from Get Rich Slowly for that very reason. I like the personality of the blog owner to shine through. (Not that I'm planning to unsubscribe from your blog, though. That would feel like losing a trusted friend.
Kristen
Monday 3rd of January 2011
Connie, thank you so much for your input...I haven't run a lot of guest posts for the very reason you mentioned (I like it when blogs have personality!).
I had agreed to run this one before I put up that post asking for feedback on guest posts, and I felt like I needed to publish it. So I put it in a Sunday slot, where I wouldn't normally post.
On previous occasions, I think I've managed to publish a few guest posts that DO fit the tone of my site and that provide information that I'm not able to provide, but this guest post didn't feel so much like that to me, and I should have gone with my gut.
Have no fears, though...guest posts are definitely not going to take over my blog or become commonplace.