Dunnan on Dollars

  Personal Finance Tips from Nancy Dunnan

Slashing Your Grocery Bill...

22 Easy Tips

September 26, 2008 - I just came home from the grocery store - something that has always been a diversion and a bit of a fun outing - until today! 

I'm sure you're having the same experience. Prices keep going up and up.

Here are 22 ways to reduce your grocery bill.

$Tip: Send us your suggestions and if we print them we'll send you a copy of the new edition of Nancy Dunnan's book, "How To Invest $50 to $5,000."

Before leaving home...

1. Make a list. This is so obvious yet many shoppers run out the door without one in hand. Writing down what you really need helps reduce expensive impulse purchases. Then check your list against your inventory. You may have forgotten that you already have enough canned vegetables to get you through the entire winter.

2. Make a separate list. For toiletries and paper products. They're less pricey at Walgreens, RiteAid, Costco, Sam's Club, BJ's and the like.

3. Clip coupons. But selectively so. Use them only for items on your list or that you know will be on next week's list.

4. Have a meal or at least a snack. It's a no brainer, but one we're likely to forget. If you're hungry you'll automatically buy more than you need and you'll wind up adding items to your cart that you can eat immediately, before getting home to your pantry. So never shop on an empty stomach.

5. Arrange your family's time so you can shop alone. Or at least without the children in tow. Kids are great at talking parents into buying something that's unnecessarily expensive. You may also find you purchase more if you shop with a friend. Your spouse or partner, on the other hand, may have a leveling effect on spending.

6. Plan to shop on double coupon days. Provided you use coupons.

7. Bring a calculator in your purse or pocket. Use it to keep a running tally of items in your cart. It will also come in handy to compare unit prices. Generally speaking, bigger is cheaper, but not always.

On the way to the store...

8. Get cash. Using debit and credit cards automatically makes it easier to spend more. Put the amount you've budgeted in an envelope or special section of your wallet.

At the store...

9. Pick the right store. Convenience store prices are usually outrageous. Check out food warehouses as well as supermarkets.

10. Study the store's layout. Typically milk (the #1 item purchased in America), ice cream and other dairy products along with meat are at the rear of the store. This is intentional because it means you must walk by a lot of other items before you get to your destination.

11. Return your bottles. It's a pain but you might as well get back your deposit.

12. Resist bottle water. From Italy. France. Maine. Most cities and towns have decent tap water. If for some reason, you don't care for your local water, buy a filter.

13. Think store label. Brand name items typically cost more. According to a taste test done by Consumer Reports, store brands are often just as good or better than named brands.

14. Study end-of-the-aisle deals carefully. These features may simply be features and not lower priced items. Many grocery stores promote seasonal items in these prime spaces - such as candy for Halloween and bread stuffing and canned pumpkin for Thanksgiving.
And, often, manufacturers pay extra for these prime locations.

15. Buy soft drinks in large bottles. It's much cheaper. Then refill smaller, easier-to-handle bottles at home.

16. Avoid single servings. You'll pay dearly for the convenience.

17. Skip the p's. That's prepared, precut and peeled. Those cubes of watermelon, cantaloupe, pineapple and strawberries mixed into a plastic container are priced to include the cost of labor. Do your own slicing and dicing. Prepared sandwiches, wraps and school lunch box items also add up quickly.

18. Skip the g. Grated items, that is. Grate your own carrots, cheese, potatoes and other items.

19. Bend your knees. Higher priced items tend to be at eye level. Lower priced groceries are often on the bottom shelf.

20. Watch the bill. If you've been keeping a running tally on your calculator, hit "total" before you reach check-out. Then make sure your amounts match those on the scanner.

21. Look the other way. At checkout. Do you really need those magazines, recipe booklets, candy and gadgets?

Finally,

22. If you buy a lot of groceries every week, it may be worth the $10 fee (good for eight weeks) to register with the Grocery Game (www.GroceryGame.com).

The site provides a list of products that will be on sale at your favorite supermarket. The list is available before the standard circulars are sent in the mail or actually available in the stores.

The store's individual coupons are also presented. 

Two other helpful sources: Deal Catcher (www.dealcatcher.com) and Cool Savings (www.coolsavings.com).

- Nancy Dunnan

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If you want to suggest a column topic for Nancy, drop her a line.

Like what Nancy has to say? you might be interested in the new edition of her book:
How To Invest $50 To $5,000: The Small Investor's Step By Step Plan for Low-Risk, High-Value Investing