When purchasing food for your family, it can be easy to resort to inexpensive snacks and frozen meals in an attempt to save money. While convenient foods that require little preparation are usually cheap to purchase, they generally offer low nutritional value. Saving money when buying groceries can be done easily while still purchasing healthy foods that will satisfy you and your family.
Apply for a frequent shopper card at a grocery store that you shop at regularly. Frequent shopper cards can be used to obtain discounts and prices that are not available to the general public. These savings may range from a few cents to well over half off the original price on items such as milk, bread and produce. The sale prices associated with frequent shopper cards are usually unadvertised and are separate from coupon prices. Having a frequent shopper card is an easy way to save money on grocery items, especially when combined with coupons or sale flyer prices.
Look in the clearance section of your grocery store. Grocery stores often place items that are nearing expiration at a severely discounted price to sell them before they go bad. This can be an easy way to save money on perishable foods such as dairy products, meat and bread. This is only an effective strategy to save money if your family will consume the food before it expires.
Eliminate unnecessary foods from your grocery expenses. Snack cakes, soda, potato chips and crackers are examples of grocery items you may not actually need but may be tempted to buy. Cutting these foods out of your shopping can save a considerable amount of money.