Some Smart Grocery $aving Tips

Real Simple has a few ideas, that I thing are great, on how to save $$$ at the grocery store.

1. Purchase oranges, onions, and potatoes in bags rather than individually. You'll pay roughly half the price.

2. Don't buy non-grocery items at the supermarket. These items are usually cheaper at mass-market retailers (like Targer). Paper product deals are best at Costco or Sam's Club (warehouse clubs).

3. Opt for frozen seafood over fresh. Vacuum-packaged salmon, flounder, and tilapia fillets and bags of frozen shrimp are 20%-40% less than their counterparts at the fish counter.

4. Buy ground beef and chicken breats in bulk or family size packages and you'll save big; 20% on ground beef and 50% on a pound of chicken.

5. Find out an item's cost per unit (CPU). It's listed on the shelf sticker next to the price. It will tell you what an item's cost per pound or ounce (make sure you notice the difference between comparisons) is, which can keep you from getting hoodwinked by packaging.

6. Pick products on the top and bottom shelves at the supermarket. Bigger sizes of items, which tend to offer a lower price per unit, are usually placed on the highest and lowest shelves. Smaller sizes, with a higher price per unit, are often given prime placement at eye level.

7. Buy store brands instead of name brands. Store brands are usually close to the market leader in quality yet less costly. In fact, the same manufacturer that makes the branded product often manufactures the house brand.

8. Avoid buying prepared and packaged goods. You’ll pay a premium for convenience. Consumer Reports once found that two pounds of carrots cost $1.29, compared with $7.16 for the same amount of precut sticks.

9. Join a warehouse club. Bulk retailers such as BJ’s Wholesale Club and Costco can be 20 to 50 percent cheaper than regular grocery stores when it comes to products like condiments, coffee, bottled water, and canned beans and vegetables. (The supermarket has better deals on items like produce, chips, and cookies.)

Here's to keeping our money in our wallets!