BellaOnline Forums Career Unemployment Saving money at the grocery store

Saving money at the grocery store...is there really such a thing? One Sunday I was looking through the paper and decided to try clipping coupons. I spent an hour clipping coupons, put them in a nice neat envelope (I was SO proud of myself...lol) and proceeded to leave them in the car until well past the expiration date.
The effort was an attempt to save money at the grocery store. I remember when, not to long ago, I use to be able to buy a good weeks worth of grocery for under $100. Now I go to the grocery store and already have $100 in my basket before I move out of the hamburger and chicken aisle.
Grocery shopping has definitely become a challenge.
How do you save money at the grocery store?

Hi Dianne, I saw your post and know how you feel about the coupons. I do use them though. I tend to cut out more than I will ever use unless it is a great buy and something I do want to use or try. I usually use a good organizer and keep it in the car. But I do carry it in with me. Sometimes I don't use any and then sometimes I save a bundle with them. I also use the MVP cards which the supermarkets give. I save a bundle there.

I couldn't believe the price of pasta since November. The price generally would run around 99 cents a lb. but it had skyrocketed to $1.45 and more. The other day I saw a good deal and stocked up. It was about 88 cents a lb. I'm set for a couple of months. This is something I use.

You have to be careful in the supermarket. Only buy what you use and look for those coupons. Online, visit the web pages of the brands you like and see if they offer coupons for your favorite products. Sometimes their coupons are more valuable than the ones in the paper.

Good luck.

Hi Angie!!!
How big is the organizer that you use? Is it small enough to put it in your pocketbook?
We love mostaccioli pasta. I use it in everything from cheese and mac to pasta salad,etc...now not only is it hard to find around here but the price went up too. :-)
Using the word "stock up" is an understatement when it comes to my ex-mother in law...she would have cabinets full of groceries. But then it would all go bad before she had a chance to use it. So I try to steer clear of stocking up too often. It's hard to do sometimes when stores are having the 10 for $10 sales.
ohhh great idea on the product web pages for coupons. I never thought about that...I'll give it a whirl...Thanks!!!

The organizer is about 6 x 3 more or less and is divided into categories. I like one with lots of categories. It fits into a good size bag (not my little organizer bag). I'm not recommending you order this one but this is what mine looked like before it fell apart.

Here is a link:

Coupon organizer - accessories

I received an email today from Smead. It was about being organized but there was an item about couponing and saving money.
A coupon organizer can save you money

OH my gosh Angie, excellent article. It had me practically rolling on the floor because that one particular paragraph was so me...clipping coupons then forgetting about them.
I'll try this again. Especially since my oldest son is in hard times so I took him to the grocery store and bought him $100 in grocery, then I had to turn around and by another $100 for my house. Crazy!!!
Thanks for sharing!!!

Unless you really plan ahead, couponing can get out of hand. I prefer an organizer with a lot of categories rather than just a few broad ones where coupons tend to get lost.

I find I can save a few dollars every time I shop - In the old day when the store handed me the money, I would often put it in a bucket at home. Now the coupons are scanned and the price automatically reduced I don't see or feel the reduction.

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I use to do the coupon thing but now since I only buy "generic" (usually WalMart) - coupons do not help.

LOL, I have to "remind" myself when the generic does not measure up to my taste buds standards that I am saving money.

When I have a little EXTRA, I will go ahead and splurge and if I am not feeling "lazy" will try to locate a coupon online as I do not subscribe to anything that contains coupons.

One of my goals is to start putting aside any coupons that I know I will be using when I have extra - of course I have yet to make time to do this.

I so admire those coupon folks - my adult daughter is one. She LOVES Publix and has a system figured when she loads up on their "buy one, get one free" sales. Now I love their yogurt, nothing like it has ever measured up for the price. But unless someone is headed that way - WalMart is my only store for right now. And do I HATE the lines = all in the name of saving...

Actually some generic isn't that bad. I must say I am a avid Walmart shopper though with the 4 Super Walmarts in the 30 mile radius there is only one that I would buy meat from. The rest sell a rather gray looking product.

But, I admit - I love Walmart! One stop shopping for me!

LOL, yes watch out for the meat - I use to work for them several years ago and could tell you some stories

LOL...my daughter worked for a grocery store and would tell me stories too.

Like when I thought it was awesome when they had name brand ice cream like Breyers on sale at 2 for $5.00. She said whenever there was a sale like that it was because the ice cream had been left out of the freezer upon delivery and they had to sell it quickly. Scary what stores do... :-)

LOL, the next time you are in a WalMart, check out the grocery carts that are usually sitting in the Customer Service areas or in the aisles. These are the "returns" that per their main office, suppose to be returned to the store shelves or freezers immediately. Girl, they don't keep enough help in the back for people to come and get the items for their department when you call them. I would see meat and ice cream sitting in the cart near my register for hours. I remember one time they were offering meat for some very low price to the employees. I did not bite, but some of the other cashiers was so excited. I told them something was not right knowing how WalMart had become since Sam the owner died. I heard when he was alive, he cared about his customers and employees. Now all his heirs care about is cash. Anyway, the next day, I was giggling as the cashiers brought back the meat. The dates had expired by the time they got the meat home, that's WalMart for you. And if the cashiers had paid attention to the color of the chicken and saw all the blood that was dripping, nasty. They would have figured out what was going on.

WOW! That sounds nasty and just so wrong! Funny how health inspectors are never around when you need them. LOL

Oh Girl, they get busted regularly when the smell gets bad in the meat area. But they have the BIG bucks for those high profile attorneys. That is why it took a group action suit for us to get a settlement over not getting our lunch breaks. I was too chicken to complain to the labor department because back then my daughter was still at home and I needed my paycheck. After our awesome manager quit, it was like hell came to the store. Anyway, we won and now the registers are suppose to shut down after 6 hours of working. Now they don't have a choice and have to replace the cashier. They use to still push their luck and have a manager sign on and force the cashier to work. I refused to do this and ended up getting fired - but got my unemployment as they knew I would run my mouth. Yes, love the Walmart prices but when I can do better, I do not shop there. The funny part is that I have been noticing the prices going up on the items I usually buy. Hmmmm, sounds like Publix will become my regular store soon.

And that was my FIRST and LAST job as a cashier. Now I find myself being VERY nice to the cashiers when I go there as I know the abuse they deal with when people get mad at WalMart. I had things thrown at me (usually what the customer was buying/lol) and some words I never knew existed. The old manager would put the customers out and ban them. When he left (got tired of being harassed into not caring about his employees) - it was the famous "the customer is always right"...

They got rid of a lot of us by reducing our hours. I stuck it out as I knew until I found something else, I could fly below the radar. What got me was when the new manager had one of their friends come through my line and then call the 1-800-Walmart number to complain about my customer service. When someone is blind and yells discrimination - there is no argument, out the door you go! Walmart does not want any more bad press so these complaints trigger an automatic termination. If you have the cash you can fight it and either get your job back or compensation. LOL, they thought I was going to pitch a fit like one cashier (sweet girl) and had to be escorted out in handcuffs. Of course they made sure we all saw this like a warning.

When they told me it was my last day, I calmly thanked them and made sure I had it in writing that I had returned my smock, discount card and employee badge. Yes, from working in human resource I knew they could keep your last paycheck or take out for the cost of the items. And I was not leaving the store until I got this in writing.

Anyway, that is my Walmart story

It can be done. Not only by using coupons. Make your budget, make sure you have that money and then buy what is on sale with or without coupons. It is hard and it sucks but it can be done and it for sure is cheaper than fast food and other food like that that many people say are cheaper but are not!

When one looks at the relative price of groceries they have actually dropped quite a bit from decades ago. Also, the selections used to be far more limited. So we are getting a bit spoiled, from that kind of long-term point of view.

For coupons, I belong to Swagbucks and just click and print. It's quick, easy, and I just print the ones I'm going to use. Plus I get cash back. So it works out well all around.

I clip coupons too but like the digital ones that are applied to my store card. They also have a shop and earn program so that when you buy a certain specified amount in a category they increase your savings by a 2,3 4, 5 dollars. Drug stores have programs too.