No Coupons Needed :: How to $ave on Groceries

no couponsGrocery shopping: love it or hate it, it has to be done! And when you have several mouths to feed, it can seem like you’re spending a small fortune on food. no coupons

Sure the idea of couponing sounds great, but seriously who has that kind of time?!

Not this mama! And I find that there are very few coupons for what I buy most, which is produce, dairy, and meat.

The good news is you can often find these items a discount whether you plan ahead or meal plan on the fly. Here are some tips I’ve used to help cut down my weekly grocery bills:

Shop the ad. Every week, usually on Wednesday, grocery stores put out an ad showcasing what’s on special that week. You can find the ads in the store, online or through their app. Use this when creating your meal plan! For instance if ground beef  is on sale, you may tweak your plan of having chicken fajitas and make beef tacos instead.

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Look for clearance tags!

Look for the clearance tags. This by far is my favorite shopping trick. I’m like a kid in a candy story when Dillon’s puts yellow stickers on produce, dairy, and meat. These stickers mean the item is close to expiring, but don’t let that freak you out. The marked-down produce and dairy almost always lasts at least a week. With the meat, if I don’t use it by the date on the package, I just throw it in the freezer. Dillon’s does its markdowns first thing in the morning and often mid-afternoon – and they go fast. I’ve seen similar stickers at Wal-Mart. Just ask someone at your favorite store about when they do markdowns and make it part of your grocery shopping routine.

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Check out the reduced price produce bin!

Check out reduced produce bins. These bins are often on the end cap at Dillon’s and hold pre-bagged produce. Often an entire bag is 99 cents. I recently got 11 organic avocados for 99 cents!  That’s the cost of just one regular avocado. Hello, homemade guacamole! These items are usually more ripe, but still worth checking out if you are going to use it within a few days.

Consider Aldi. Does your kid like goldfish crackers, cereal, and fruit snacks? If you’re willing to stray from name brands, Aldi has just about every snack food or cereal you give your child for a lot less. Plus Aldi has taken steps to remove all artificial colors, partially hydrogenated oils (PHOs) and added MSG  from its products. Besides kids snacks, Aldi has a great selection and prices on things like nuts, baking supplies and produce. They also have a great line of gluten-free items. If you go, just make sure to bring a quarter for the cart and your own shopping bags – that’s part of how they keep their cost down!

I actually enjoy grocery shopping and don’t mind making two trips. My average shopping includes Aldi every two weeks and Dillon’s every week. That doesn’t work for everyone, but hopefully incorporating just one of these tips will help you save at the store. Seriously look for the yellow tags, if I haven’t gotten to them first!

Happy shopping and saving!

Kim Trinchet
Kim is a Wichita transplant who never planned to stay, but 15 years later she’s convinced Wichita is the perfect place to raise a family. She’s a wife to Jorge and a mama to Nico and Lucia. She moved here from the Chicago suburbs and works in the communications world. The rest of her time is focused on seeking out adventures with her little family. She also loves browsing grocery store aisles, reading cookbooks, iced coffee and wine. Kim’s trying to learn Spanish as well, her kiddos are bilingual and already speak better than she does!