More on Shopping Smart

The grocery bill is one of the largest expenses in any household.  Clearly, if you're a Tightwad Gourmand, you're going to have to learn to shop smart.  Here's what I do to get the most bang for my buck:

• I make a menu.  I plan what we're going to eat for the next two weeks and shop based on that.
• I make a shopping list and stick to it.  Sometimes I still go off the list a little.  No one is perfect, but if I fly blind, I will invariably forget something essential (oh no, I forgot to buy coffee!), and come back with a bunch of junk that sounded good at the time.  Kettle Chips may be delicious, but they don't make a meal.
• I use coupons, but only if they're for things I was going to buy anyway.
• Sometimes I shop at bargain places like Grocery Outlet, then plan the menu around the things I picked up there.  This takes up a bit of time, however, because I can't get everything I need at Grocery Outlet, which means I still have to go to my usual grocery store.  I make it out to the bargain place maybe every other month or so.
• I'm aware of what is actually a bargain.  Just because it's at the bargain outlet doesn't mean it's a better price than the regular grocery store.  Same thing goes for the dollar store.  You should be familiar with what you usually pay for items you purchase frequently.  Start paying attention if you haven't already.
• I shop for value, not just price.  If I know I like and will enjoy a certain brand, even if it's a little more expensive, I'm getting it.  Buying cheap stuff that you won't eat is a waste of money.  Sometimes my favorite brand is on sale, so I stock up when it is.
• I look at the unit prices on the price tags.  Not all grocery stores do this, but I think most do.  It's usually printed really small near the bottom of the tag.  Sometimes its actually cheaper to buy two small things than one big thing.  This happens at Winco a lot, for some reason.  Once I needed a quart of cream for a recipe, and it was cheaper to buy two pints than a one-quart carton.
• Most of my items are from the perimeter of the store.  Convenience foods are usually located in the middle of the store.  Ingredients for cooking from scratch are usually in the perimeter and are heaps cheaper than premade stuff. 
• I grate my own cheese, cut my own salads, and chop my own veggies.  Why pay a factory for this relatively easy labor?  It takes what, 30 seconds to chop up a head of romaine?  You can't afford NOT to do these things yourself.  I do have one exception though...I like to buy a certain brand of reduced-fat shredded cheese because the unit price is lower than a block of reduced-fat cheddar that I would have to grate myself.  This is highly unusual, but I wouldn't have known this if I hadn't looked at the unit price!

You may be wondering how much I spend on groceries.  There's only two of us living here, and we eat really well on about $60 a week for the both of us.  Not too shabby, when you consider that the average two-person family on a "thrifty" budget spends $78.70 per week (see this chart).

Good luck, and happy shopping!