15 Coupon-Free Supermarket Saving Strategies

If coupon clipping is a challenge for you but you are still looking for ways to save money on groceries, then you need to review these supermarket saving strategies before your next trip to the store.

My extensive knowledge of the grocery business, gained from working on the Publix Super Markets account for over 14 years, has given me insights into ways to save money on groceries without using coupons.

1.  Make a List – We keep a magnetic pad on the refrigerator and jot down items when we start to get low. This is key – don’t wait until you run out … or then you become desperate and will pay any price.

2.  Review Grocery Sales Ads – Do this online before you head out to the store to review all the sale items. Se what’s on sale that’s on your list and what is a good stock up buy.

3.  Only Buy What’s On Your List AND On Sale – This is key. My husband may want ice cream so I’ll add it to the list, but if it’s not on sale I’ll look for another sweet that is. If it’s a critical need, exceptions can be made, but for the most part I will go without until the items go on sale. And then I stock up if it’s appropriate. Never pay retail!

4.  Stock Up Sales – All grocery stores run seasonal or themed sales throughout the year with sales on featured items – Italian Fest, Spring Cleaning Sale, Holiday specials (St. Patrick’s Day, Easter, Mother’s Day, Memorial, Father’s Day, July 4^th, Labor Day, Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Years). These sales are always around the same time each year and you can save big on certain items by planning ahead.

5.  Buy-One-Get-One-Free – These are weekly specials, just check the sale ads. If you have established brand loyalty and there are certain items that you like, look for the BOGO sales and stock up when on sale.

6.  Brand Loyalty – Whether the brands are national brands or store brands, if you are loyal to a brand you can then easily watch for the product to go on sale and then stock up. This is the only way I shop. If it’s not on sale I don’t buy it. An example: I am a loyal Colgate girl and needed toothpaste. I went to Publix and it was $3.89 a tube. Not on sale. I passed as I still had some left (key .. don’t wait until you run out). I then stopped by Target and  found a twin pack on sale at Target from $6.54 to $3.22 ($1.61 per tube), I bought two twin packs (4 tubes).

7.  Brand Swap – Perhaps a contradiction to brand loyalty, but there are the items that I am brand loyal to (Colgate toothpaste) and the products that I can go back and forth on and brand swap on. One of those products is coffee. There are about three different brands that I like and I buy what’s on sale (Don Francesco, New England, Eight O’ Clock coffee) and stock up. I just hit a BOGO sale at Publix for Eight O’ Clock coffee and bought four bags.

8.  Switch to Private-Label Products – Make the switch from national brands to private-label store brands and reduce your grocery bill by 30% ($40.91 average).  Despite an increase in coupons and price promotion by national brands, the latest market basket research by the Private Label Manufacturers Association documents that shoppers can still cut 30% off their grocery bill by purchasing store brand products in their weekly trips to the supermarket.

More shoppers are now purchasing store-brand versions of their favorite products and private-label sales rose to $88 billion in U.S. supermarkets. The September 2009 Consumer Reports magazine documented in blind tests how consumers time and again found that retailer’s brands were equal to or better than leading national brands in terms of taste. Publix makes many of their own products and I find many Publix store brands to be of a much higher quality than national brands. Do your own taste test and start making the switch.

9.  Shop Once a Week or Less – The more frequently you go to the store the more you will be tempted to buy impulse items not on your list. Also, if you make separate trips to the store for each meal you will spend more. $20 hear and $20 there doesn’t seem like much for each trip but it adds up to far more than if you made one trip and planned your meals – a nice meal one day, leftovers the next.

10.  Watch for In-Store Sales – All stores have in-store specials and rewards that are either automatic or require a rewards type card to save. Take advantage of these easy savings.

11.  Check the In-Store Clearance Area – Every store has an area where they deeply discount frozen and non-perishable items. They may be nearing expiration or are simply being discontinued. These are perfectly good products and can save you big! I got Starbucks coffee at Walmart on the clearance rack for 75% savings. Just always make sure to check the expiration dates.

12.  Cash Back Credit Card – Only use a credit card if you plan to pay the balance off monthly. Get a cash back card that rewards you for your grocery purchases. Most give 1 – 2% cash back for grocery purchases.

13.  Pay Attention to Unit Pricing – When price shopping always compare unit pricing. Bigger is not always better, but the per ounce price will make it an easy decision.

14.  Shop Around – I am not the type to go to four different stores to buy my groceries for the week as I feel you waste more in time and gas than the money you save. But, I do know what’s best to buy where and I go to certain stores for certain items. It’s a planned trip to a store and when I’m there I buy what is needed and can be bought for a good price. I don’t run all over town every day.

15. Eliminate waste – Waste is big in this county. Determine items that spoil quickly and buy smaller quantities more frequently or buy frozen versions that stay fresh longer.

Admittedly, I am not a good coupon clipper. Given that I have a frugal website I probably shouldn’t admit this, but it’s true. I have good intentions and clip the coupons, but then forget to bring them to the store or I bring them and forget to use them … then I think to use them and they’ve expired. The list of redemption issues goes on … but the above supermarket saving strategies help me save money on groceries.

What supermarket saving strategies do you use to save money on groceries? Please share.