I was watching Good Morning America this morning and they had a very interesting segment on Grocery Auctions. I went to the GMA Website and found all kinds of interesting tips and information about saving money on groceries. If you have some spare time today you may want to check it out.

NBC also has an article about grocery auctions on their site. The Associated Content also gives some tips if there is a Grocery Auction near you.

According to another article I found there aren’t a whole lot of them around, but I wonder if this will change as more people look for ways to stretch their budgets.

I have shopped “ding and dent” stores, being careful of expiration dates and damage to the packaging. No dented cans. I’m funny about that, although when I shop the nearby Aldis the way they toss the groceries into the cart I have arrived home with dented cans that I know I had not chosen and found they were fine. Still I would not choose dented items. But I have no issues with banged up boxes as long as I know the product inside is in another sealed package.

I used to be an avid coupon user, but we no longer get the newspaper, which was where I got most of my coupons, so this has fallen to the wayside. I know there are websites where you can get coupons, but for the most part they are for items I may not use. I have learned in the past that unless there are outstanding savings and the price with the coupon for a name brand product is significantly lower than the no-name item, it really wasn’t worth it to me. I found that in the past I would buy an item that I normally would have passed up because I had a coupon.

Another way I try to save money on groceries is stocking up on sale items and using my freezer. I buy discounted meat all the time and freeze it. Same thing for bakery items. I find discounted milk all the time which is a real blessing in our house because we go through about 4 gallons a week. I have heard you can freeze milk but I have never tried that. I may in the future but for now I much rather buy what we can use.

Then there are the store discount cards where you get the savings only when you use it. While I know these are used to track your spending and what products are purchased there are significant savings attached to them. A lot of stores have special promotions around the holidays that if you spend so much for so many weeks you get a free meal or dollar off coupon. I always seem to miss these because I shop several different grocery stores buying what we need.

I think the biggest way to save money on groceries is to have a menu. I know that when we fly by the seat of our pants we spend a whole lot more and eat out more. I have shared my standard Grocery list forms along with other lists we use often here, but I have created another blank grocery list form and a Menu Planning form. We post this on the fridge for everyone to see. I find when everyone knows what they are to eat it eliminates the dreaded question “What’s for supper?”

Blank Grocery List

Menu Planning Form

To find the other forms we use look under the Home Manager Printables section on our Freebies page.

I’d love to hear about the ways you save money on your grocery bill.