Grocery budget

Every now and then, an article shows up on Deseret News with the story of how a family of, say, 4 cut back their grocery bill to some still rather large amount. Kevin and I discuss these articles in shock -- how could people still spend that much?

Now, the more I've thought about it, the more reasonable it is for a family of 4 to spend, well, several hundred dollars on food. I mean, our family of three doesn't spend much, but it's made up of not very tall people, including a stay-at-home mom and a toddler who really doesn't add much to the grocery bill. So if we lived somewhere where food was more expensive, had bigger appetites, and lived a busier lifestyle, it would make sense to spend closer to that range.

But even so . . . I think there are legitimate ways to save money at the grocery store that might be overlooked. So I thought I would share some things that have worked for us to keep our grocery bill low these days.

Planning

• Have a meal plan for when you go to the grocery store. Plan your meals around what's on sale, and stick to it. As an added bonus, this makes the rest of the week go much more smoothly because you know every day what you're going to make.
• Look at coupons, but don't obsess over them. Honestly, most coupons won't save you money because they're making you spend money on things you don't need like snacks. We find that we get the most use out of coupons for things like cereal, especially when that cereal is on sale.
• Go to the same store as much as possible. I don't know that this necessarily saves as much money as going to the store with the cheapest deal, but I do know that it saves time and energy. Additionally, the longer you go to a certain store, the better feel you have for when things are on sale at that store. That way, you can kind of guess when the things you want will be on sale, and save up til then.
• Try to go to the store as little as possible. It's very hard to go to a store to buy one item because there just might be something else you'd like, so the fewer trips you have, the fewer chances you have to buy extra items.

At the store

• Buy the cheapest version you can stand. There are definitely some things that name brand is the best for, but it's worth it to check the store brands first.
• Pay attention to unit price. Usually bulk will be cheaper per ounce, but not always.
• If you are low on something, and you know it will be on sale soon, get the smallest amount possible. For example, if you know that cereal will be on sale next week, go for the 14 ounce instead of the 18 ounce if the 14 ounce will get you by for the week, even if the unit price is more. Why? Well, because it should still cost less overall! And since you'll be able to get your cereal for much cheaper the next week, the average unit price will still be less. (I just checked this with an imaginary $2 box of 14 oz, $2.50 box of 18 oz, and $2 on-sale box of 20 oz. Buying 1 $2 box of 14 oz. and 4 boxes of $2 20 oz. ends up being slightly cheaper per ounce than one 18 oz. box and 4 20 oz. boxes.) This one isn't a huge deal, and honestly the results will vary, but generally buying more of something that's more expensive than it needs to be isn't going to save you money. 
• Don't be afraid to buy a lot of something if it's on sale and it will last. Hooray for food storage and freezers!

Lifestyle

• The biggest way to save money is to not buy something. There are things I've discovered since getting married -- we really don't need ice cream in the freezer all the time. Or juice, or crackers, or snack foods, or supplies to make cookies, etc. It's not necessarily bad to want those things, but that's all they are -- wants. And, the less you buy them, the less you want them.
• Plan your meals so that you don't throw food away. Keep tabs on your produce and leftovers, and use them!
• Use your freezer! Meat lasts so much longer in the freezer than the fridge, and if you buy it on sale it can be so much more affordable. Freezers are also great for fruits, vegetables, and bread. But not milk, I've heard. (Ew.)

Eh, there are probably other tips I could share, but this is long enough for now.

What else have you used to save money/change your spending habits?