Ways to Save on Your Grocery Bill

Welcome to my post for the Des Moines Area Frugal Blog Tour.  My site is the last stop on the tour.  I hope that you have been able to visit the other Des Moines frugal bloggers over the last couple of weeks.  You can see everyone that was on the tour here.  There is also information on a giveaway and if you have visted my site before you know I love giveaways!

I was asked to share about some of the ways I save and I decided to focus on my grocery bill.  Here are some of my tips:

• Always make your list based on what is on sale that week - check your grocery ads and go from there.  We make a weekly trip to both Hy-Vee and Fareway after reviewing the ads.
• Match up your coupons with the items on sale for the week. 
• Be sure to pair your store coupons with manufacturer's coupons to sweeten the deal.  Most store coupon policies allow one store coupon and one manufacturer's coupon per item.
• Stock pile!  Yes, we get teased about the boxes of cereal and canned items on the shelves in the basement, but we stock up when items are on sale and have the items available when we need them.
• Definitely comparison shop.  We would always buy Hy-Vee brand milk at our West Des Moines Hy-Vee and were paying about $2.89 for a gallon of store brand milk.  We did this for I don't know how long before we realized we can buy a gallon of AE skim milk at our Waukee Fareway for only $2.67. 

I love coupons and would encourage everyone to use them, but I do have a few words of caution too:

• Just because there is a coupon doesn't mean you have to use it.  Deals aren't "one size fits all".  If the coupon is for a product you don't normally buy you aren't really saving anything by adding that to your cart.
• Store brand items are often times still cheaper than the popular national brands even when you have a coupon for the brand name item.  Be sure to calculate what your cost is after coupon and see if you are really getting a good deal.

Here are some of my favorite ways to get coupons:

• We subscibe to the Sunday Des Moines Register.  For us it is about convenience.  We like to read the paper before church.  I like to be able to check out the ads and skim over the coupons to see if there are ones I'd like more of.
• On days I want extra coupons we fill up the car with gas at Kum & Go.  I love that Kum & Go gives you a free paper with a $15 fuel purchase.
• Don't be afraid to ask friends and family for coupons.  I have no shame and we always ask my mother-in-law for her coupons that she's not using.  I like having the extras ready and available when I need them.
• You can always print coupons from sites like Coupons.com, but I like to print my coupons from sites that are powered by Coupons.com and reward me for printing and using the coupons.  My faves for this are Swag Bucks and My Points.
• Pick up a Hy-Vee/Upromise Card at your local store then register it online at Upromise.com, load eCoupons to the card and present the card at checkout to add to college savings.