How to save money on your grocery bill

In these economic times, stretching your grocery dollars can sometimes be a challenge.

But a little shopping savvy and some creative thinking can help you rake in the savings when purse strings are tight.

Here are several strategies that can help:

- Buy in bulk. Remember that one of the things you're paying for when you buy a food item is the packaging. Purchasing foods from bulk bins at a natural food store can eliminate the need to pay for packaging.

For those who have excess storage shelves or an extra freezer, buying larger quantities of bulk food when it is inexpensively priced can save quite a bit.

- Go coupon crazy. In today's technological world, there are numerous ways to get your hands on those valuable discount coupons.

You can clip them from the newspaper the old-fashioned way. You can download e-coupons on your smart phone. You can register to receive coupons by mail or e-mail.

Some grocery stores even have coupon-generating machines that vend coupons. No matter how you get them, if you plan ahead and gather coupons for the foods you buy, you can save big money by using coupons.

The Annual Topline U.S. Consumer Packaged Goods Coupon Facts Report for Year-end 2011 reported that consumers saved an almost unbelievable $4.6 billion using coupons. Couponing is definitely worth it.

- Check out the shelf tags. Reading shelf tags is smart shopping because it provides the cost per ounce for the food you are buying. With that information, you can compare apples to apples and make a more educated purchase, saving money.

Take advantage of store discount cards: This is a great strategy for those who are too busy to clip coupons. These discount cards -- which look like credit cards -- offer instant savings on tons of products in the store. All you have to do is swipe your card at checkout to save.

- Consider a co-op. Join a health food co-op and enjoy the benefits of being a member ... one of which is profit-sharing.

- Purchase whole foods. It's easy to fall prey to buying that package of pre-cut celery and that canister of pre-grated Parmesan cheese, but you're paying a premium for the preparation of these foods.

If you purchase full stalks of celery and spend a little time at the kitchen counter cutting them up, you could save. Same holds true for buying a block of Parmesan, grating it by hand, and storing it in an airtight container.

For example, the difference in price between whole carrots and pre-sliced ones is about 65 percent. And you can save about $3 a pound by grating your own cheese.

- Buy produce in season. They're cheaper and more flavorful.

- Grow your own food. From growing herbs in a window box to planting a full garden, your pocketbook will thank you ... and you might just enjoy it!

- Adopt Meatless Monday. Johns Hopkins University promotes Meatless Monday as a way to cut down on the consumption of saturated fat and your carbon footprint, but it can also save about $11 a week for a family of four.

That's $132 a year savings, not to mention improved health.

Source : http://www.goerie.com/article/20120611/LIFESTYLES07/306119986/How-to-save-money-on-your-grocery-bill