Slash Your Grocery Bill By Shopping Smart

(CBS)  This story was originally broadcast Feb. 7, 2009

Even in good economic times, food costs take a big bite out of the family budget. And in times like these, it's especially important to get the most bang out of our supermarket buck.

There are some tricks that can help slash your grocery bills in ways you might not expect.

On The Early Show Saturday Edition, Tod Marks, a senior editor at Consumer Reports, took viewers on a smart shopping spree at a Shop Rite supermarket in the northern New York City suburb of West Nyack, N.Y.

His tips:

Join your store's shopping club: It could save you up to 30 percent or more if you hit it right

Bags beat bulk: Loose potatoes cost more than bagged because they aren't sold in large lots, and larger sized potatoes cost a premium, since they're harder to grow (the unit price for loose is 99 cents a pound compared to 60 cents per pound for bagged)

Always check for sales on meat: For instance, Mark found boneless pork chops costing less than boned because of a sale and shoppers' club discount on a family pack (boned is $7.32 per lb. compared to de-boned on sale for $4.47 per lb.).

Bigger isn't always better: A 17-ounce cereal box is $1.99 on sale as opposed to $4.89 for a 23-ounce box. Even without a sale, the unit price is cheaper on the small box ($3.38 compared to $3.41 for a larger size), so smaller sizes are often cheaper.

Fresh can make you frugal: Fresh-baked rolls at the store's bakery were $1.99 for six as opposed to $3.19 for a packaged brand name's rolls.

Organic isn't always healthier: For instance, a store brand's regular milk is $3.39 a gallon compared to $5.49 of the same store brand for organic. If you're looking top avoid growth hormones, read the labels; neither one comes from cows fed growth hormones, so save your money.

Resist impulse buying: It's tempting to buy soda from the cooler near the checkout lane. But a 20-ounce bottle of Coke is $1.49. Go back and get a six-pack in the aisle for $3.64! The cooler Cokes are a little larger, but it will still take five of them to make up a six-pack. The savings on the six-pack is $3.56 - more than half.

The totals? $116.15 for a shopping cart filled without shopping smart, compared to $65.16 with - a savings of more than 40 percent!

[hatsoff20]

1- Why do I have to register just to leave a comment - this is such a pain!

2- It's all well and good to tell people with 4 or more in a family how to save at the supermarket.
What about the single 1 person family's and 2 person family's -how do we save at the supermarket.
2- 99.99% of all coupons are got 2,3 or 4 or more items for large family's - that leaves out the 1 & 2 member family's

[grannyk47]

Shop weekly grocery ads - make menus and lists
Shop every two weeks
Clip coupons
Shop at Grocery Outlet and Discount Grocery warehouse stores
Grow produce at home

[grannyk47]

Well, I get the Wednesday newspaper with the grocery store ads and build a menu for two weeks. I shop every two weeks unless I need to stop for produce - but I get oranges and apples along with the more perishable produce, and save the long-keepers for the 2nd week. Then I build my shopping list. I shop really early on Saturday (I work and it is not practical for me to shop during the week) I begin at the Grocery Outlet discount store and get as much as possible there. Drive down the road to WinCo (a local warehouse discount grocery) and buy as much of the rest as possible. I buy frozen over canned fruits and veggies and pay a little more but the quality is much better. I buy rice milk and avoid all those hassles with antibiotics and hormones.
In summer, I grow a lot of veggies and have an apricot tree and a strawberry patch. What I don''t grow I buy at the local Farmers'' market or stand.
By shopping the ads I find that what''s on sale in the stores that advertise has always been "on sale" at the discount stores.

One thing about buying in bulk - if you don''t use all you buy (i.e. potatoes) it''s better to just buy a couple you will use, even if the individual price is higher, your total cost is less and no waste. Same for any perishable item.

[varaaki]

Wrong. That''''s hardly the only difference between organic and regular milk. - Posted by ontheleft at 11:52 AM

Can people not read? Did you not see the "if" at the beginning of the sentence? The statement "IF you are looking to avoid growth hormones, THEN there is no difference" is true. It is not claimed that is the ONLY difference. Reading comprehension, people.

[ontheleft]

'' If you''re looking top avoid growth hormones, read the labels; neither one comes from cows fed growth hormones, so save your money''

Wrong. That''s hardly the only difference between organic and regular milk. Conventional cows are loaded with antibiotics because of their close living quarters and the antibiotics wind up in the milk you drink and go right into your body. That is the biggest concern with conventional milk, not to mention how the cows are treated compared to organic cows. Also, organic milk tastes MUCH better.

[smt451d]

But wait. By slashing your grocery bill, you''re taking dollars out of the pockets of the people who work in grocery stores. Eventually those stores will have to close or raise the prices of the items they sell, in order to offset the "smart shopper". Therefore, the smarter you shop, the more it will cost you. Not smart.

[kevboom]

jdcars... check out http://***********/cqz78d
New Web 2.0 tools that let renters submit information on their landlords and gather information on similar properties. Kinda like the better business bureau, only in a format everyone can use daily from their home computer.

[jdcars]

After visiting with some of my co-workers the over the past couple years, I realized how often and how common those that rent an apartment/house are being taken advantage from via landowners. The quality of living (e.g. old house) for some may be quite low, and generally the cost of monthly rent is reflected by that grade of quality. However, is it fair to a renter to have to pay $500.00 a month for a heating bill because the quality of insulation is so bad? The most common example of landowners taking advantage of renters is via deposit. I''m sure there are many of you out there that can relate. Unfortunately, there is no good way to really "check" on properties available to renters or the landowners that manage property. Many of you are aware of carfax where one can learn the history of a car available for purchase. Why not have a similar website where one can search on a landowner (possibly require landowners to federally "register") or piece of property to determine any types of accusations against the landowner or problems with past properties. I really think this would help those that may be short financially (aid in slowing economic depression) and also help increase the level of upkeep (improve the quality of our "neighborhoods") via landowners to insure that their property is occupied. Thanks.

That man did not save any money. He only bought one pack of meat. I did not see any can goods. You can save a lot of money on can vegetables. Your meat bill alone would run you about hundred dollars. He does not know how to shop.