The Commandments

The Six Commandments of Saving Money at the Grocery Store

1. PLAN, PLAN, PLAN. I sit down once a week with my Sunday paper circulars, my coupon books and my computer. I check my favorite websites for tips on how to pair coupons with sales, I scour the circulars for the week's deals and I plan my weekly menu.
2. PLAN YOUR MENU. I base my weekly menu on what's on sale. If tilapia, ground beef and chuck roast are on sale this week, that's what we're having for dinners. If it's chicken, we eat chicken. If there are particularly good deals, I stock up for another time.
3. STOCK UP. Find a place in your house that you can use for a pantry. It's important to have room to stock up because when you find a good deal, you'll want to buy more than one. Everything in couponing is cyclical, so you might get juice boxes on sale with coupons for $.50 this week, but they won't come back around for a while, so you should buy several to stock up for that preschool party you know is coming.
4. BE DISCIPLINED AT THE STORE. I don't buy ANYTHING that's not on my list unless it is a unadvertised sale and I have have a coupon to stack with it. My kids know how it works, so they don't ask for a million things as we go through the store. I try to shop on the weekends without them, but because I go in the store organized and with a plan, it's really not that much of a hassle to have them with me. They know how the plan works and they can help me find things on my list.
5. SHOP ONCE A WEEK. I go to the grocery store once a week. Period. If we run out, we do without. It is impossible to go into the grocery store without spending at least $20--if you do that several times a week, then you're going to end up waaaaaay overspending your budget. There's just too much temptation (and Ben & Jerry's) to go in there without a plan. I have had great luck with this once a week shopping thing. Very rarely do we run out of anything because I've already shopped that week with a specific plan.
6. SET YOUR BUDGET AND STICK TO IT.  This isn't complicated. Decide how much you have to spend and make it work. It's about self-discipline and it takes practice.