Guide to Grocery Savings

You might think that finding the store with the lowest prices, choosing store brands and buying in bulk are the best ways to save money on grocery shopping. If you're not willing to clip coupons that might be true. Clipping coupons and finding out special store offers, however, can make store brands and bulk packages the worst deals you can buy.

I do the majority of my grocery shopping at Kroger and Harris Teeter. I'm close to a Super Target and Walmart Supercenter. Both Target and Walmart offer lower prices than Harris Teeter and Kroger. So why don't I shop there? Kroger offers double coupons every day up to $.50 and also has e-coupons available with their loyalty card from Shortcuts.com and Cellfire.com. Harris Teeter offers double coupons every day up to $.99. They also frequently have triple coupon and super double (coupons up to $1.99) events. Target and Walmart will take manufacturer's coupons, but do not double. If a $.50 coupon will take $1.00 off at Harris Teeter or Kroger, the item has to be $.50 less at Walmart or Target to make it a better deal.

What about buying in bulk? Well, unit prices don't lie. Most of the time larger quantities cost less. Throwing coupons into the mix, however, changes this completely. Let's say you have a coupon good for $.50 off paper towels. If a single roll is $1.25 and a six pack is $5, the cost per roll in the six pack is $.83, making it a better deal. But if the coupon can be used on the single roll and it's doubled you'll get that roll of paper towels for $.25. The six pack of paper towels would be $4, or $.66 per roll. The single roll is now a better deal.

Without coupons, generic or store brand items will usually save you money. With coupons, however, name brand items are often the better deal. If I'm at Harris Teeter and need aluminum foil I could buy a small box of their store brand aluminum foil for $1.49, or Reynold's Wrap aluminum foil for $1.95. If I used a $.50 coupon (doubled) for Reynold's Wrap the cost would only be $.95, making it a better deal than the store brand.

Finally, stock up on items when there's a great sale. When Kroger has Mega Event sales or Harris Teeter has triple coupons I stock up on shelf stable items or things that can go in the freezer. Buying items you know that you will use when there's a great deal will help you avoid spending too much on items when you need them but there's no sale or coupon.