When I hear people tell me that they don’t have time to coupon, I hear “I don’t want to coupon.”. It can be an overwhelming undertaking if you don’t know how to get started.
I completely understand that, which is why I have so many free ways to help you get started:
- FREE How To Coupon eBook
- FREE How To Coupon Videos
- Couponing Question & Answers section
- How To Read A Coupon Matchup
But, I know there are many people who just don’t believe they have the time or they honestly don’t want to put in the effort and that is fine, there are many ways to save money on groceries without couponing.
In fact, I am going to share 10 Money Saving Tips For Grocery Shopping Without Coupons now:
10 Money Saving Tips For Grocery Shopping Without Coupons
1. Use Smartphone apps
I LOVE smartphone apps! They are free to download to your phone and FREE to use – but, what’s more they make YOU money!
Basically most of them are cash back apps where you choose what you’re going to purchase and when you have done so, you just scan your receipt into your phone and the app checks it and gives you money back!
No coupons needed!
Here is my list of 13 FREE Must Have Money Saving Apps!
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2. Don’t Pay The Grocery Store To Do The Work For You
I remember the first time I went to the grocery store and saw already chopped onions prepared for me to purchase. I thought that was the coolest thing ever!
Then I thought about the fact that it probably costs more, and it does. So, then you have to weigh that out.
Here’s part of the issue: normally when you buy a product already prepared, ie:
- chopped onions
- shredded carrots
- shredded cheese
you’re getting less and paying more.
There is less than a normal sized onion in the container, yet you pay for at least a full sized onion, same with all of the others.
So, don’t pay the grocery store to do your work. It is more convenient, but, think about how convenience stores started and how much more everything there costs, it’s the same thing.
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3. Check Unit Prices
Always check the tags on the shelf. Look at that unit price, are 2 of the smaller ones less than the larger one?
Most of the time we think that the larger one holds more and is less than buying 2. Sometimes that’s the case, but often it’s not.
By the same token, the larger one will cost more usually (I have seen that not be the case) and we may opt for the smaller one, but, when we look at the unit price we may just find that the larger is less expensive after all for the amount we are receiving.
So, make sure you know how much you are paying per ounce or unit before you opt for the larger OR the smaller item.
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4. Don’t Shop At Eye Level
Do you know how many things go into the making of a grocery store? There is an actual science behind it. Did you know that there are small bumps that you don’t even feel that slow down your cart in certain areas of the store?
Did you know that most people go into a store and turn right? That’s not coincidence they WANT you to do that! Try going the other way around once, you’ll see a whole different store.
Did you know that often the most expensive brand items are at eye level on the shelves? If you venture to look higher or lower, you’ll often find better prices and deals.
5. Buy In Bulk
This is where a couponer lives. We wait for a great deal, match it with a coupon, and buy as many as it takes to get us through until that next great sale.
A couponer doesn’t have to buy, we can wait for that next great sale and coupon to come together because we bought enough to wait out the sale and coupon during the last sale.
So, when you find a good deal, take advantage of it.
No, you don’t have to buy 68 bags of cat food. But, (if you have a cat) buy enough during that great deal to get you to the next one.
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6. Buy Store Brands
There are certain items I am brand loyal about:
- Ruffles (no other chip holds up)
- Diet Coke
- Starbucks coffee
But, there are other items I don’t really care too much about:
- mustard
- salt
- milk
- beans
- rice
- toothpaste
- etc.
For the things that you aren’t brand loyal, think about buying the store brand, which is almost always less expensive.
7. Meal Plan Or Just Make A List
Meal planning is easy and so convenient. You never have to worry what you’re making for dinner tonight – it’s in the plan and you already bought everything you needed and have it all available because you made a plan and a list!
There’s nothing more frustrating, time consuming, and expensive, than having to stop what you’re preparing to run to the store and buy an ingredient that you are out of or you forgot.
Both of which can be remedied by having a plan and making a list.
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8. Price Match
Most of the larger stores (Walmart, Target, etc) offer price matching of local stores. SO, there is no need to run around to 7 different stores to get the best deals.
Just get the circulars from the paper, find the best deals on what you have on your list (see above) and use those to get the same price at your store. That’s it, so easy.
9. Shop At The Best Times
Once a week your store will move meat to a special area I call “the cheap meat section”. Find out when that happens at your store, ask the butcher, and shop that day.
Stock up on good deals you know your family will eat and freeze them. Sometimes we can get a month’s worth very inexpensively by checking that section and stocking up!
10. Pay Attention To Prices
This is a couponers trick, we use a price book to track prices week to week and we know that there is a cycle of prices for any particular item.
The price starts high and dips and may go back up and then way down. When we know what the “buy price” of an item is, we don’t buy it unless it hits that price or lower.
When it does hit that price or lower we have a coupon ready and we strike!
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This is when we buy plenty to last – we know the cycle because we have been using our price book, so we know about when that price will drop again and how many we need to buy to last until then.
So, just pay attention to the prices of the things you buy on a regular basis and you will begin to see that cycle and you’ll know what the “buy price” is and you’ll know that’s the time to buy!
So, those are my 10 tips – do you have some you’d like to share? We’d love to hear them!
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