My suggestions for cutting down the grocery bill:
*Make a price book. Scope out the prices of things you normally buy at several of the local stores. You may be surprised by the variety of prices at different stores...and find that the prices at your favorite store may not be as good as you thought.
*Read the weekly ads. I go through them and see what's on sale or a good deal. I know if it's a good deal because I have a price book. I'm personally not quite to the point where I plan meals based on the sales, but it is a money saving tip.
*Use coupons. You can find coupons in the paper, from online coupons sites, in the stores, or trade for them. I was surprised to find coupons for some items like meat and produce. All coupons help...provided it's for something you normally buy or it replaces that normal purchase.
*When you find something really cheap, buy a lot of it (aka stockpile)! It's even better when you can combine coupons with sales. This means that when pasta goes on sale you buy 4 lbs (or more!) rather than the 1lb you'll use for tonight's dinner.
Slowly but surely as the stockpile grows and your awareness of prices grows, you'll find good deals and your grocery budget will shrink.
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