4 Secrets to Cutting Your Grocery Bill in Half
Walking out of the grocery store with two bags, a $200 grocery bill and an expression that can best be described as befuddlement-bordering-on-blind-rage happens to all of us at some point. And because it's a feeling we don't want to have ever again, we turned to Coupons.com's savings expert, Jeanette Pavini, to uncover the tried-and-true method she says has cut her grocery bill by up to 50 percent.
It all boils down to four steps:
1. Let the Newspaper Help You Decide What's for Dinner.
Pavini scours grocery store sales circulars on Sunday nights to find out what cuts of meat and types of produce are on sale, then uses those as the basis for figuring out what recipes to cook that week. (If you don't subscribe to a newspaper, you can typically visit your store's website and sign up to have the flyer sent to your inbox each week.)
Not sure what to cook? Try searching for the discounted food + recipe. A sale on ground beef, for example, could lead to any one of these 50 dinner ideas, and a sale on avocados could convince you to finally try that cheesy beef-and-avocado quesadilla you pinned months ago.
"March is National Frozen Food Month, so expect to find more deals on frozen foods then," Pavini says.
The Key: Focus on the grocery store(s) you normally go to, so you're not overwhelmed by options-or running to six different places and blowing your entire gas budget in an afternoon.
2. Find Coupons to Match the Discounts.
Once you've settled on your recipes for the week, look at the ingredients you'd need to buy and search online for coupons to match what's on sale to get an even better deal. Doing this helped Pavini create a Thanksgiving dinner for 10 people for just $30 this past November.
The Key: Link up your loyalty cards. Many stores-like Target, Whole Foods and Publix-have apps that allow you to browse and add coupons to the app, then simply scan a barcode at the checkout to apply all of the discounts (read: No more coupon clipping or printing!).
3. Check for Debit or Credit Card Bonus Deals.
Coupons.com has a section of its site that offers discounts that can be linked to your credit or debit card (like getting a $10 Regal movie theater gift card every time you use your Visa at Regal), Pavini says, so when you swipe your card while shopping, it immediately applies the deals. You could also log on to your bank's website and look for any member deals, which often change monthly.
The Key: Commit to only linking to deals you'd normally use, so you're not tempted to overspend just because you'll get a discount.
4. Always Ask for Rain Checks.
If whatever you're buying isn't in stock, ask for a rain check at that price. Often, the manager will allow you to buy a certain number of the item at the reduced price, so you can stock up at a later date.
The Key: Toilet paper, detergent and other nonperishables are ideal for this type of discount, since you can stock up without feeling pressured to use it all ASAP before it goes bad.
If you're looking for even more ideas, try these grocery store shopping hacks or these 17 ways to spend less at Trader Joe's.
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