POSTED BY: KENNETH NAUGLE (February 21, 2008 10:51 AM)
Want to save money on food, particularly groceries? Here's what I did. 1. Find a discount grocer. Many places have chains like Aldi's or Sav-A-Lot. They are hard to find, low key, with minimal advertising budgets and heavy emphasis on store brands. If you find one, it could cut your grocery bill by 20% or 30% over a major chain store. 2. Don't forget that "dollar" stores often sell a basic selection of food items for less than the super-market next door. 3. Know your grocers. Prices are not the same. Also, always pick up the discount paper on the way in. When staples like canned veggies, macaroni, spaghetti sauce, etc. that you know you will use long term go on sale, stock up. It may be hard to separate this from "impulse" buying, but done properly saves good money long term.

POSTED BY: Dody (February 22, 2008 03:10 AM)
We save on food in more ways than you could imagine. 1. Combine coupons with the discount bin. If you have 50 cents off a box of cheerios and they have cheerios in the discount bin for one dollar, you can buy cheerios fifty cents. This works well with rebates too. 2. Always go to a discount bakery. I get bread for 25 cents per loaf in Batesville Ar bakery. 3. Learn to cook whole grain vegetarian dishes. Vegetarian meals are so healthy and really so inexpensive if you don't use all the fake meat stuff. 4. Use the farmers market! Your local farmers market supports your local economy and is usually cheaper then your local grocery store. 5. Grow some veggies your self. "Patio Gardens" are so chic, and so self sufficient. Nothing is nicer then a cup of tea on the balcony next to your "garden". Imagine the beautiful smells of fresh herbs, the taste of vine ripe tomatoes, or the joy of seeing your garden grow. 6. Bring your own bags when you shop, some Kroger stores give you money back for each bag you supply.

POSTED BY: ladywaterwind (March 01, 2008 09:19 AM)
I really wish you would have had a better outline on coupons, and really gotten rid of that junk about buying generic. Yes, sometimes generic is a good idea, but by combining a coupon with a loss leader sale and buying multiples of that item, you can really see a HUGE chunk of savings on name brand items. There's many websites out who offer advice on how to do this, including www.hotcouponworld.com where one member is writing about how she is ONLY SPENDING $800 FOR A YEAR on her family's groceries.

POSTED BY: camille (March 01, 2008 09:54 AM)
There are tons of ways to save money at the grocery and drug stores. Combining coupons with sales, and clearanced items. Rebates are another way and then stockpiling, so YOU pickwhat price you want to buy something at, instead of whatever the stores normally charge. There are also alot of items you can get for free w/coupons...toothpaste, toilet paper,deoderant are just a few. I almost never but generic anymore because i can get it so much cheaper when on sale with a coupon

POSTED BY: Jonathan (March 01, 2008 11:43 AM)
Some things I have done to save money: 1. I pay ALL bills online; 2. Go to matinees; 3. Read newspapers online; 4. Grocery shopping at Aldis; 5. Brita water filter instead of bottled waters; 6. Got a job walking distance from home to save gas and I go home for lunch; 7. Ticket discounts for local sporting events; 8. Keep eye out for discount or free admissions for favorite places to visit; 9. Dollar stores; 10. I take a yearly vacation. I go to a beach that is just a short 4-hour drive away, and I go in the off season anyway. I also get coupons in advance for the places I want to see; 11. I dont know about other city transit systems, but here in Washington, our METRO rail system offers on weekends reduced fares and NO parking fee; 12. I got a gas card from WAWA. When I use that card, it adds points to my record that I can redeem for $25 and $50 gift cards; 13. Annual Passes for places you will frequent anyway.

POSTED BY: Jane (March 01, 2008 02:12 PM)
My family of four plus two dogs buys groceries, hba, dog food and eats out for less than $800 a year. We almost always buy name brand food, not store brand.

POSTED BY: seagullsnest (March 10, 2008 10:02 PM)
Check out Angelfoods Ministries on line to really save on food costs.