How to Save Big Money at the Grocery Store

The trick to saving money starts with changing your perception of it.

It's easy to think that 50 cents isn't much. By itself I guess it isn't. But when you save 40 cents here, and 80 cents there, and $1.50 on this item and...

Too often people get frustrated with budgeting because they're looking for ways to save "real money" ... so how is it done? By saving a little money, and watching it add up.

How much money? Follow along with me -- at the end of this article I'll add up the savings so you can see for yourself.

For many years the grocery industry has used the following marketing trick: heavily advertise a huge bargain (priced so low, in fact, that they lose money on it) to increase traffic to the store. Once people are in the door, they buy other items, like bread or milk, where the profit is high.

Thus the term "loss leader." The grocery store is willing to lose money on one item in hopes that you'll buy other groceries while you're in the store.

I love loss leaders, and focus my attention on picking up only those items where the bargains are best. The gas cost is manageable because the distance between grocery stores is only a few miles.

Can you discipline yourself to go into a store and only buy the super-bargains? It's a great way to save money.

I found 5 lb. bags of Gold Medal flour at Long's for 99 cents -- and they were out.

They gave me a raincheck and within a week I bought two 5 lb. bags for two bucks. Flour usually costs $2.50 for a single bag. This saved me $3.02 on two bags. (Due to varying sales tax rates -- and easier math! -- I'm ignoring tax charges. But you get the idea.)

Is this big money? No, but at the end of this article I'm going to add up all the savings from these examples. It helps when you can see the actual dollars that stay in your pocket. Think big picture.

My local Long's has Barilla pasta for 89 cents per one pound package.

That's cheaper by 11 cents for a local grocery, and 36 cents cheaper than Safeway. Since pasta lasts for so long, it's worth it to stock up when you find deals like this. I bought 10 packages, which saved me $3.60 over the Safeway price. Barilla is excellent pasta.

I found pinto beans at Walmart for 79 cents for a one pound bag, and bought 5 of them. Dry beans last a really long time. These same bags were selling for $1.19 at Safeway.

Is 40 cents saved per bag much money? Welllll, since I bought 5 bags, I saved $2. This money adds up really fast.

I found Van Kamp's Pork and Beans selling for 3 cans for .99. Since I use these to make baked beans I bought 12 cans. They're selling for $1.30/can at Safeway! I saved $11.64.

Many people think that coupon clipping is a waste of time. I've heard people say their time is "worth more than that." But, geez, how much time does it take?

I don't even use scissors. Sometimes I simply carry the circular with the coupons in them to the store, or other times I'll tear them out with my hands -- so long as the cashier can scan the bar code, that's all that counts.

Change your mind about coupons.

Once you stop envisioning them as a time-waster, or not worth your time, you'll find they really save you a lot of money. I bought Mott's apple juice for $1.49 using a coupon -- it's usually $2.79. Saved me $1.30.

I found a coupon for four boxes of Cheerios cereal for $4! What a bargain! They usually sell for $3.59 each. The coupon required that I also buy $10 of other products -- I used coupons to buy the other items -- and saved $10.36 on cereal.

How much have I saved?

$3.02 on those two bags of flour; $3.60 for pasta; $2 on pinto beans; $11.64 on those cans of pork and beans; $1.30 on apple juice; and $10.36 on breakfast cereal.

Grand total? I saved $31.92!

Maybe you're thinking -- but, uh, is $31.92 a lot of money?

Wellll, considering I only bought a few items, yeah, it is. Learn how to save money like this on every shopping trip, and soon you're creating big savings.

In these tough times, saving money at the grocery store is really smart.