Food is a must buy for everyone. We often fall into bad habits at the grocery store which ends up costing us lots of extra money in the long run. Here are some ideas to consistently save you money at the grocery checkout.

Some of these ideas are taken from a great article (Fifty ways to save on groceries) from the Toronto Star on Aug 23, 2007.

  • Never shop when you are hungry. This is the #1 rule for controlling impulse purchases. (everything looks delicious when you are hungry!)
  • Shop alone if you can. If you have to take children, let them prepare their own list of products they can actually pick up and put in the basket. Let them select a special fruit or vegetable they really like
  • If possible, grocery shop at a quiet time so you can compare prices. Tuesdays and Wednesdays are the best.
  • Ask for rain checks if a sale product is out of stock
  • Stock up on basics when they are on sale
  • With meat, figure cost per serving instead of cost per pound. A pound of ground beef or boneless meat will make more servings than a pound with a lot of bones or fat.
  • Look beyond eye level on the shelves. Manufacturers pay for this prime space. Look high and low for comparable items.