I subscribe to a variety of homemaking newsletters, many of which have reader feedback and questions printed.  Recently I have noticed many readers asking about how they can cut their grocery bills.  I sent this response in just a few weeks ago to one of these newsletters and thought some of you might benefit from it to...

I wanted to submit a reply to the question on keeping grocery costs down. I have a family of 4 as well and our average shopping total (this includes house wares and groceries) is about $70 each week, and we rarely have hot dogs. (c: My best tip is to find a store that has an "ad-match" program. This means that that store will honor competitors ads all the time. Most Wal-Mart SuperCenters and SafeWay stores do this, though its not always readily advertised. What I do is make a list (always!) by taking a look around our pantry. There are several items that I like to keep on hand because they are versatile. For instance, I use canned spaghetti sauce (much cheaper than jarred) in spaghetti, parmesan chicken, meat loaf and in buttered pasta as a side dish so we always keep a few cans on hand. Next I gather ads from the local newspapers (I spend about $1.50 on papers, but save well over $30 a week with this system, yes it’s worth it.) The ads help me determine the fresh meat and produce for the week. I don’t only buy what is on sale, but it makes a big part of the list. Now you’re ready to shop. Eat something before you go, a small snack is fine, so that you don’t buy extra junk that you don’t need. Once you’re at the store, stick to your list. This is very important, if you don’t you will find you don’t have everything you needed and a bunch of things you didn’t. When you buy meat, always buy in family packs and freeze (in zip top freezer bags) enough for one meal for your family. If you cook more than you need chances are it will end up in garbage. Watch what you throw out too. If you buy 6 oranges every week and throw out 2 of the 6, only buy 4 next week. I quit working with the birth of our daughter and had to cut costs. A big part of my part time pay was wasted in the checkout line. Using these tips we have cut food costs from about $150 each week to about $70 over 3 years. I hope this system works as well for you as it has for me.

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