Confessions of Grocery Bargain Hunters - 5 Essential Tips

In the past, I remember telling my partner that food is food and bargain hunting at the grocery store wouldn't impact our spending enough to make it worthwhile. Now that we've been shopping at the stores with the best sales and keeping track of our grocery bills, I know I was wrong. We've listed out the following tips that will help you save money without compromising on the foods you love.

1. Make a date with your flyers
Grab an international coffee moment and dig through those flyers before the sales start (Friday or Sat early AM). It's worth planning out some early morning shopping to a couple of stores in order to catch the best sales.

Grocery Bargain Hunter Confession - we fight to the death Sat AM to see who can take advantage of those door crasher specials before inventory runs out. 

2. Make room for the good stuff
Make sure to have room in your fridge or freezer for the sale items so that you can purchase in bulk.  In fact, consider buying a freezer to store and save any extra products you may not be able to use all at once. You might think this isn't worth the investment, but buying a freezer will save you money in the long run.

Grocery Bargain Hunter Confession - we once bought 15 chickens because they were 1/2 price. Sure, the cashier asked us how many kids we had because we filled the entire cart with chickens ;)

3. Check the unit price
Don't just compare price tags when you're shopping, since products are often sold in varying sizes. Always check the unit price (such as the price per 100 grams) - this information is usually listed on the shelf tag. It's the only way to know which product is actually the best deal - this applies to single products and mega sizes.

Grocery Bargain Hunter Confession - we bought a restaurant size jar of pickles in the past because of the fabulous savings - we obviously love pickles! 

4. Reconsider what brands you buy
We've recently started buying the store brand products and found that we often like these products more than national brands.

Grocery Bargain Hunter Confession - we love the local grocery store brand of frozen raspberries so much that we filled our freezer with them the last time they went on sale.

5. Make a list
It sounds like an old cliché, but it's true - make a list of the things you need and stick to it. There are far too many tempting items in the store to just meander down the aisles, picking up anything that looks good. When making your list, think about major meals and try to plan around sales. 

Grocery Bargain Hunter Confession - Everytime we've gone shopping without a list, not only do we forget the basics, we come home with nothing but junk food. 

Groceries are things we buy regularly and often.  Changing your buying habits can have a huge impact on your household budget.  Just remember, don't buy sale items for the sake of saving - make sure you still purchase the foods you like and will use.  A wasted food item is money down the drain.

Dumb Stuff We Bought

Image by litherland

I thought it might be worthwhile to publish an entry on all the crap we've purchased in the last few years. Recently, the both of us decided to work as contractors - this gives us a HUGE amount of freedom but means we have to stick to our household budget until we both generate steady income.

Rooting through some past purchases, I noticed that we used to buy A LOT of junk. Honestly, we have bought clothing, make up, shoes and food that we never even used, just for the sake of shopping. It was like we were afraid to leave the store without anything! It's really sad to think about all the wasted money.

In the past couple of weeks we've stopped doubling up on items that are not on sale, like groceries, and have challenged ourselves on all purchases. This has resulted in less spoiled food and smarter purchases - as an aside, I shopped around for a sale on dress shoes and ended up buying a pair of Rudsak boots (originally $275) for $115!

Our secret, ask yourself 1 question each time you shop Do I want to spend my hard-earned money on this? You'll find it interesting how many times you'll answer no.

Here's a reader challenge - Tell us about some of the bad purchases you've made. For each comment we receive, we'll post a write up and picture of something dumb we bought :)