7 Frugal Grocery Shopping Habits

Frugal grocery shopping habits can help save your family big bucks.  When you start incorporating them into your own grocery shopping routine, you’ll begin to rack up the savings.  These are the things our forum members mentioned are Things a Smart Grocery Shopper Knows.

7 Frugal Grocery Shopping Habits

• A smart grocery shopper knows the unit price of what he/she is buying and compares prices.  Sometimes it’s the bigger item, sometimes it’s the smaller one.  If the store doesn’t list the unit price on the sign, it’s easily calculated with the calculator feature on your smartphone.

• A smart grocery shopper knows where the markdown shelves are located in the store and checks them on every visit.  Most often, they are towards the back.

• A smart grocery shopper doesn’t waste time in the grocery store.  She has a list and sticks to it.  Impulse purchases can blow any grocery budget.  Studies have shown that the longer you spend in a store, the more money you spend.  She may even take it one step further and set a stopwatch so she doesn’t linger in the store, or grab a basket instead of a cart.

• A smart grocery shopper knows that generic or store brands are often just as good as their brand-name counterparts, and usually cost much less.  That said, a smart shopper also knows that the store brand isn’t always cheaper.  She is always ready to compare prices across brands and is not typically brand-loyal.

• A smart shopper knows the prices of the things she buys most often.  She may even carry a price book– electronically on her smartphone, or in her purse. When she notices something on sale at a rock-bottom price, she stocks up.

• A smart grocery shopper knows what is on sale at her store each week (especially loss leaders) and often uses coupons on top of those sales to save even more.  That said, a smart shopper also knows that all advertised sales aren’t always a great deal (see price book tip above).  She will not buy things she doesn’t need just because they are on sale.

• A smart shopper watches the register and makes sure groceries ring up correctly and all discounts are applied.  If they don’t, she is aware of stores’ policies to correct the mistake.

Are there any frugal grocery habits we’ve missed?  Comment below!  Save more by learning How To Cut Your Grocery Bill in Half