Save Money at the Grocery Store!

Did you know that an espresso maker costs less than 5 espressos from a coffee house? You can pick one up at one of those big department stores for under $30! You can also pick up a coffee pot and a thermos mug for about $15 total! I bought a cup of coffee at a local fast food place and it was $1.78 for just a single cup of coffee! I could hardly believe it! I buy coffee beans for $7 a pound, grind my own beans and brew my own coffee. After the initial investment of about $15 for the coffee maker and $7 for 2 weeks worth of coffee, each cup now costs about $.27!

There are many ways to save money. 99% of the time you are paying about a 70% or higher convenience markup! So, there we have it, you can save money or have convenience. I for one, given those two options, will choose to save money every time! I buy generic food items more than name brand. I have yet to find a great deal of difference with generic foods. I also buy in bulk whenever I have the option.

When I go to the grocery store I try to always eat before hand and take a list. Taking a list is one thin, sticking to it is another! I find that if I am hungry I tend to stray from the list more than when I am not! Sticking to a list will do many things for you. Lets look at the process for making a list.

First I sit down and write a menu for the entire week. I do a menu for each meal of the day. After that is complete I start my list. I try to lump like items together so that I can make my shopping trip take the least amount of time. Only after I complete the list from my menu do I add things like snacks and or deserts. I do not have kids in the house so that makes it a little bit easier for me. If you have children in your house you may want to treat snacks like a meal in your menu.

If I plan to have more than one meal with ground beef/turkey I try to estimate how much I will need. I then buy in bulk. The more you buy the less times you have to pay for packaging. I put a star next to items that I can buy in bulk. After that is complete I look through all the coupons I have. I put a check mark next to each item on the list that I have a coupon for, this makes sure I don't forget to use the coupon. Then I look at all the store specials from the circulars and put an X next to each item that I am going to get price matched.

By the way, I always get my list together on Sunday morning with the newspaper. That way the circulars are current and all the coupons are right there! I have saved hundreds of dollars by taking the 30 minutes to make a list, look for coupons and circulars. Saving on your grocery trip is not hard to do and it gets easier the longer you keep to your routine.

Here are a few tips that you can Tweet by clicking on them.


TIP: Shop less often and buy in bulk whenever you can!

TIP: A $10 coffee pot is far less expensive than a week of Starbucks!

Click HERE to Tweet this Article to your Twitter Account!

As always we are on the lookout for great tips and tricks to save money so feel free to leave a comment with your money saving tips!