1. Planning the week’s menu and mak-ing a list of the items you’ll needbefore you shop can cut down on anumber of unnecessary purchases.Low-cost recipes can often be found onthe labels of products you mayalready have at home.

2. If you’re bringing the children to thestore with you, set a dollar amountahead of time, and let each child pickout one item within that limit. Olderchildren can be kept busy and learn byhelping to compare prices.

3. The Sunday newspaper and onlinesites usually contain a variety ofcoupons. Many stores run double—sometimes triple—coupon sales. Thiscan be a great time to stock up onitems with a long shelf life (such aslaundry detergent, toothpaste, papergoods, etc.) that can often be very cost-ly at the regular price. Be careful not tobuy too much ahead of time. Also,buying perishable items in bulk maynot always be a savings. Keep in mindthat you should only buy what you willreasonably use. That extra money maybe better spent on reducing debt orbringing a delinquent bill current.

Suggestions That Can Help You Save Money

Grocery Shopping Tips

Revised 4/21/17

4. Ask friends and co-workers if they’d like to swapcoupons. Be careful, however, that you don’t findyourself buying items that you may not use simplybecause you have a coupon.

5. Don’t assume that the store brand of a particularitem is always going to be the least expensive orthat the least expensive brand is the best buy. Ifno one in the household likes the taste, it will ulti-mately be a waste of food and money. Comparegeneric items to brand-name items with couponsto make sure you are getting the best price.

6. Utilize store discount cards, which you can sign upfor at no charge at almost all stores. Some storeseven offer additional discounts that you can printout from their websites. If more than one store is inclose proximity to you, it may be worth it to go toboth for their sale items.

7. Check your receipts! Even with computerized reg-isters, mistakes can happen. Some stores willrefund the entire purchase price and allow you tostill keep the item if the price rings up incorrectly.

8. Look at the dates to make sure the items you’re buy-ing aren’t expired or going to expire in a short peri-od of time, causing you to throw them away.

9. If you have time, try homemade meals or treatsinstead of only buying pricey pre-made goods.You can even prepare meals over the weekend oron your day off and freeze them until you’re readyto use them. Not only can you save money, butthe family can share in the process.

10. Don’t forget to allow a few extra dollars in your shop-ping budget for items you forgot to put on your listor unadvertised items that are a great buy.

11. Don’t shop when you’re hungry. Not only will youdo more impulse buying, but you’ll also tend to buyproducts that may be high in fat or sugar content.

An Educational Message from

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