Saving Money on Groceries: Nine ways to keep more money in your pocket. 

There are two ways to save money on your groceries: buy less or pay less.

"Buying less" always sounds like you have to diminish your lifestyle. And "spending less" sounds like you have to go into the supermarket with a bag full of coupons. 
True, these are ways to cut down on your grocery shopping bills - but, with a little thought, you can reduce your spending in other ways, too.

Reuse. You may be able to buy less because you are using less or reusing the same things more than once - such as plastic bags and containers. You can also buy less by making things last longer. Dilute fruit juice, for example. This will help you save money and calories.

Another way to buy less and save on your grocery shopping is to buy smart and think about all the things that you might be wasting because they’ve gone bad or expired before they get used. This often happens with items such as large yogurt containers and some fruits and vegetables. 

Ditch disposables. Also think about all the disposable items you might be buying that could be replaced by a permanent item... permanent coffee filters, plastic food containers instead of disposable bags, razors for shaving, even water filters. 

Be careful with your coupons. The same thing goes for coupons. Sure, coupons are a great way to save money on groceries but if you’re buying things you normally wouldn’t buy ( or you're buying twice as much to get the special sale price), you may actually end up spending more. Sometimes the coupon offers are higher-priced items than the store brands. 

By the same token, be careful of store brand or value products that are cheaper imitations of the real thing. Buying lower quality can be a money saver if you choose wisely, but if you end up using twice as much and the product lasts half as long, you might as well enjoy the real thing.

The Internet makes it easy to find and print just the coupons you want for the items you would be buying anyway. Momscape and Coupons.com, for example, have teamed up on this printable grocery coupons website - which allows you to print only the coupons you need, free. Just click the box next to the offer you want, and when you're all finished, the coupons you selected go right to your printer. 

Shop the clearance section. The most common way to pay less for items is to buy the items on sale, to buy less expensive brands, or to buy products in bulk.  Often items that are reduced for clearance are perfectly suitable to consume...it's just that the store has to sell them quickly - or face throwing them out. 

Try to avoid impulsive buying. Many people buy impulsively because the products are there on the shelf in front of them. Don't go to the grocery store hungry - or without a list. 

You can also shop around different stores to find the bargains and you might be surprised by how much you can save.

Purchase non-food items elsewhere. 
You may find that non-food items, such as vitamins, paper products, beauty and personal care items may be less expensive at your local discount store. If you love particular products, price them online. For example, I can't imagine a day without my Biolage Conditioning Balm or my philosophy face wash - both of which I purchase online (with a coupon code, of course.) This limits the impulse buying that automatically occurs when I take my kids into Wal-Mart, too. 

Be wary of supermarket tricks. These are things like raising the price of a popular brand for about two weeks then ‘price cutting’ to just below the original price to make it look like it’s on special offer. 

Supermarkets can raise and lower their prices to match the supplier’s situation. So if a product supplier is struggling to supply apples one week, then the price will go up, and when the apples start flooding back in again, a special offer price will appear.

But don’t make the common mistakes that many people make. When supermarkets put things on special offer, such as ‘buy one and get one free’ people think this is a great deal. It often is, but this may make you simply consume more so you really won’t be saving much at all. 

The best ‘two for the price of one’ offers are on things that you can only consume at a certain rate like bathroom and cleaning products, such as toothpaste and soap powder. 

Try Amazon Grocery
You can now get your non-perishables online through amazon. Choose from more than 14,000 products, including cookies and candy, coffee and tea, natural & organic, baby care, household, pet supplies, etc. All items are eligible for free Super Saver Shipping and Amazon Prime. You can get some great deals - and delivered right to your door, just like other amazon purchases. Check out Amazon.com Coupon codes here, too, to see if you can save even more. 
Think of Bargain Shopping as a game
It's kind of fun to see how much money you can save - and how much you can really limit your spending, without allowing it to dampen your lifestyle. Now let's see how many dollars you can save today!