How to save money buying groceries for a family of five

In today’s tough economic climate, it is increasingly difficult to go grocery shopping and leave the store not feeling as though you’ve just spent your life savings on one week’s provisions. The economy doesn’t really look like a quick-fix scenario is going to turn up anytime soon, so you need a plan that will help your family survive this impending recession.

How do you decide what expenses to trim? What else can you cut, after you’ve probably already gone through a list and eliminated every non-essential cost you can think of? Here are some tips for saving money when purchasing groceries.

Plan your meals. Plan your family’s meals ahead of time and STICK TO YOUR PLAN. It is very easy to get off-schedule or change your meal plans, and that could add unnecessary costs to your food budget.

Use coupons. Coupons can be a great tool if you use them wisely. The problem with coupons is if you clip them out to buy a product you normally would not purchase, and very well may not use in the end, you are wasting money, not saving money. ONLY clip and save coupons for food products that you KNOW absolutely you will put to good use.

Visit the grocery store less often. Try making a list of the items you need and schedule your trips for once every two weeks, or, if you can manage it, once a month. This will save on gas (which is especially important these days), and it will also save on impulse-buying, which seems to occur more often, the more you visit the grocery store.

Watch newspapers for sale ads. Grocery stores often advertise sales in local newspapers. Do not make an extra trip to the store just to save a few cents on one or two products; combine any sale ads with your semi-monthly, or monthly, trek to the store.

Shop the clearance section. Many times you can find perfectly good items, just maybe a little closer to their expiration date than items stocked elsewhere in the store, which will suit your purposes just fine. Numerous items may be located in the clearance sections of grocery stores, including milk, bread, and meat -- the basic staples you need! There is nothing wrong with foods on clearance. You just may need to use them sooner, which is probably what you’ll end up doing anyway.

Buy in bulk. If you have one of those giant stores (like a Sam’s Club) near where you live, plan to go once a month and stock up. These larger stores tend to have bulk quantities of items for less than you would normally pay for smaller quantities.

Purchase a deep freeze. If you don’t have a very big freezer space in your refrigerator/freezer, you might want to consider purchasing a separate and larger deep freeze that can accommodate bulk quantities of food items. This can save you money in the long run as well as cut down on the number of times you have to travel to the grocery store.

Make do with what you have. If you run out of milk or bread, do not make a special trip to the store to resupply at that moment. Keep powdered milk, which has a shelf life of approximately forever, for those occasional emergency situations. Keep bread alternatives, such as box mixes of muffins or cornbread, on hand to tide you over. Or, buy an extra loaf of bread when you make your monthly trip to the grocery store and put it in the freezer so it will keep longer and will be available for emergency situations.

Ask questions; talk to the grocery store employees. Don’t be afraid to ask questions. Many times, the employees of a grocery store will be happy to answer questions like, “Do you know when hamburger is going to be marked down?” or “Do you happen to know when apples or bananas may go on sale?” The grocery store wants all the food to sell, and they don’t want to have to throw any food away. Besides, people understand how hard it can be to feed a family on a small budget.

Many remedies are available to help you save money and cut costs on groceries and food items. Take advantage of all the opportunities you can find. Using these tips and helpful advice can save you a significant amount of money at the grocery store.