Five Easy Ways to Save on Groceries

Five Easy Ways to Save on Groceries

Groceries take a big chunk out of our paychecks.  I am always looking for new ways to save money on groceries.  Most people know the traditional ways to save money like couponing and reading the sales ads, but there are so many other ways to save on food.  I have come up with five ways to save even more money at the grocery store.

1.  Buy a discounted gift card at Giftcardgranny or Cardpool.

Most of their gift cards are for stores like Target and Wal-Mart.  If you are fortunate enough to live buy a Super Target or Super Wal-Mart then this will come in handy.  Sometimes you can find Giant Eagle or Kroger cards also.  I also found cards for Whole foods, Walgreen, and Safeway.  You can purchase gift cards for up to 7% off.  The higher the amount the more you save. It’s not a huge savings, but every little bit helps!

2.  Find out if your store accepts competitor’s coupons.

I already knew some stores accepted competitor’s sale ads, but did not know about the coupons.  I recently received some coupons in the mail for meat and eggs from Giant Eagle.  I knew I wasn’t going to have time to go to Giant Eagle that week.  I was planning on going to Shop and Save.  I was pleasantly surprised when I saw a big sign in the window that said they accepted other stores coupons.  I thought it was too good to be true.  I ended up getting a better deal because Shop and Save’s prices were lower.   It’s nice to know I can do my shopping at one store.

3.  Use apps like Favado, Ibotta, and Keyring.

I have been using Ibotta for awhile.  It seems to be hit or miss with me.  They don’t always have offers on items I’m already buying.  I did save $3.00 last week though.  I know other people who have saved even more.  To learn more about it go here.  The Keyring app lets you load

all your loyalty cards onto your phone.  There are also more than 67,000 coupons and over 13,000 brands and retailers to choose!  Favado is a new one for me and I am very excited to start using it.  This app notifies you when a favorite item is on sale.  There are more than 65,000 grocery stores and drugstores nationwide participating.  What I love about it is that it combines coupons and offers with both published and secret sales.  You can also build your weekly shopping list using the app.  You have the potential to save up to 70% off your grocery bill! Do you use apps to grocery shop?

4.  Shop at stores like Aldi and Bottom Dollar.

Right now Bottom Dollar stores are only in the states of New Jersey, Ohio, and Pennsylvania. I think they plan on expanding.  Bottom Dollar carries name brands at discounts and Aldi carries mostly the Aldi brand.  I shop mostly at Aldi because it’s closer.  I have been happy with most of their items.  I especially like to purchase produce and cheese.  They now have an organic line alos.  I usually can get a whole cart of groceries for under $70!  You have to remember they don’t accept credit cards (they do accept debit cards.) and you have to bring your own bags and bag it yourself.  It is well worth it though!

5.  Use what you have.

Have you ever noticed how full your pantry can be, but you still can’t find anything to make?  It’s kind of the same with my wardrobe!  I invite you to take a challenge to take a good look at what you already have in your refrigerator, freezer, and pantry.  I was surprised to find out how many cans of beans I had pushed to the back of my pantry!  I also found several half used frozen veggies in my freezer.  I decided to purchase a plastic upright container from Joann Fabrics.  I now place all my partially used up frozen items in there.  Now I check that bin first when preparing meals.  I ended up having enough food in my kitchen to skip one of my weekly grocery trips. I’m challenging myself to see how long I can go without making another food trip.

I hope you found these tips useful and now have some more tools to use for your next grocery shopping trip.  Do you have a creative way you save on groceries?