In order to slash your food bills, you’ll need to gather some background info, set a target, and then make sure you follow shopping rules that will help you achieve that target. Here’s how…

Know your food costs: Track food costs for about a month so you get a fair idea of where your money is going. Divide the costs into necessary foods (bread, milk, eggs) and unnecessary food costs (cookies, soda, dips). You should also keep track of how often you eat out and those costs too.
Set a target: Do you want to cut $50, $100, more? Set a target …read more

If you need to amp up your grocery savings in order to save money for the upcoming holiday season, try these tips to save more on all your grocery costs.

Track regular buys: I used to track all my grocery store buys, but that was EXTREME. It took a lot of time, although it did save me money. Instead make a list of the 20 or 30 items you buy most often and just track those. I.e. track bread costs at various markets you frequent so you know when you’re getting the best deal.
Locate bargain rack days: Most stores stock new …read more

One way to save on your grocery bill is to check the dates on the food products before you buy them.  Just tonight I was shopping and found shredded cheese and flour tortilla shells that were several weeks out of date.  The cheese was moldy and I’m sure it won’t be long before the tortilla shells taste badly. 

While many items are still good for a while past their best by date, it’s important to get fresh products so that they’ll last longer and taste better.  If you like to stockpile groceries while they’re at rock bottom prices (or buy ahead), …read more

It’s time for another friendly reminder to get a raincheck!  If your grocery store is having a spectacular sale and they’re out of the item, be sure to ask for a raincheck. 

For the past few weeks, I have been looking for a great sale on hamburger meat.  I wasn’t able to find one but while I was cleaning out my van, I found my old coupon pouch.  I am so glad that I found it because inside it I found some rainchecks and one of them was for ground beef.  Hooray!
Yesterday I went to the grocery store.  I got 18+ …read more

For those of you with a Bloom grocery store in your area, I have some good news.  Wednesday through Tuesday, March 25-31, Bloom will be tripling coupons up to $.99.  Limit 20 coupons per visit, per day. 
Bloom also has some great buy 1 get 1 free specials this week.

Perdue Perfect Portions chicken breast
Olivia’s organic salad
Eddy’s ice cream
Weight Watchers and Smart Ones dinners
Progresso soups
Orville Redenbacher popcorn
Scott paper towels
Thomas English muffins
Hormel chili master
and much, much more!

There are many items that you could get for free with a coupon.  As always, you should check your local store for current sales.  Happy saving!
image from …read more

I walked into the grocery store yesterday and a man from the newspaper had his little booth set up to give out Sunday papers and to promote the subscription.  For 13 weeks, the price was about $32, but for signing up he gave me a $10 gift card to the grocery store. 
Now, I can start back up with The Grocery Game.
Some of you already know this, but last year my husband and I worked and lived at a ministry for a while.  Before moving there, we lived off our stockpile of groceries.  There was no sense in buying more groceries, …read more

I had a problem. When I went to the grocery store I had to take my 2-year-old with me. My little boy is normally very well behaved but for some reason, whenever we walk into a grocery store he starts acting as though he’s never been in public before.
As you can imagine, grocery store visits were taking a lot of time. I had my grocery list from the grocery game and my coupons, and I was trying to find the best deals while dealing with a 2-year-old. I decided I’d better find a quicker way to get …read more

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again . . . I hate those little plastic grocery bags.  I can’t stand how they accumulate in my house.  It drives me nuts that I put them in my van so that I’ll take them to the store to recycle, but forget to take them inside and then they stay in my van for a few more weeks.
Recently, I wrote about how Lowe’s Foods is allowing their customers to purchase reusable grocery bags with their green points.  And not only that, they’re giving 50 green points for each reusable bag you bring …read more

Today we had to take the kitty to get her stitches out and on the way home we spotted a new scratch and dent grocery store.  I told hubby that we didn’t need to go in because we did not have anymore room in our cabinets.  lol  I told him I was holding out for triple coupon day.  I’m glad we went inside though.  Here are a few of the bargains we found: 

Betty Crocker Warm Delights  @ .25 – had just gone out of date
39 oz canister of Swiss Miss hot chocolate @ 1.25 – the can was dented.  This will be …read more

I haven’t used The Grocery Game in about a month.  In December, there were a few sad weeks where there were no coupons in the paper.  It was ok though, because I was busy with preparing and shopping for Christmas.
Last week I spent a few hours going through all of my coupons.  They needed some weeding out and organizing.  I clipped all the coupons that the list recommended I use.  Then I also included some coupons I had that would be expiring soon.  I wanted to see if any of them would be worth the buy.
I headed out to Lowe’s Foods (with a 2-year-old).  We shopped around the store …read more