The Golden Rules of Grocery Saving

1. Look for Sales and Special Offers and know what they mean- You may think this seems obvious, but a lot of people do not know how to look at an aisle full of-let's say tomato sauce- and pick out the best deal. If you do not like to do math in your head, you can look for some key signs. Anything that is buy 3, get three free is usually a deal price wise because the store is getting you to buy more than you usually would have. The only way you are saving any money is if you are buying a necessity in the first place. Also, if something is say, 2 for $3, look at the original price- the product cost only $1.59 without the sale, in which case you aren't saving much.
2. Quantity Vs. Quality- In order to be a frugal shopper, you do not need to be cheap. Buying Organic or Whole grain options, fruits and vegetables etc is a good way to provide for your family in the best possible way. That being said, if you are limiting your budget, this is the order of importance of buying Organic: Meat, Milk, Eggs, (Babyfood is a must), Peaches, nectarines, apples, bell peppers, celery, strawberries, cherries, spinach,lettuce, potatoes, pears. Cheap coffee and Tea(try instead- Numi Organic Tea or Organic Raw Chocolate $$)
are very likely to contain high levels of pesticides as well. If you can, buy these products organic. Now, you still need to look for sales with these products since there are many competing Organic Brands. (The Organics brand of Milk is generally cheaper than Horizon)
Green Groceries: A Mail-Order Guide to Organic Food
for $.89
3. OUNCES- every item in a Grocery store is given a very complex price tag. Processed foods are priced per box, but also tell you what their price per oz. is. This information is VITAL when comparing boxes of different sizes and brands because it is the only way you know just how much is in your box. The biggest place that this per Oz pricetag saves money is with things like crackers, cheese, chocolate, sugar, and beverages. (watch out with Ice cream because occasionally it is priced per quart). Take two bags of twix for example, 1 is a bag of regular sized candy bars costing $3 and the other is a bag of minis costing $2. Both bags are the same zie, but if you look at the price tag you will see that the bag of regulars is only 22 cents per oz. while the other is 25. They have tricked you with all that wrapping material. So not only would you have to unwrap more wrappers to get the same ammount of Twix with the minis, you would get less chocolate for your bucks.
4. Diversify your Shopping! Do not become a "Vons Person" or a "Albertsons Person or even a "Trader Joes Person". Why? Loyalty is good, but only really for smaller corporations that aren't a powerful corporation. These huge stores have millions devoted to luring you in and keeping you, your loyalty makes you vulnerable to becoming ignorant of deals and pricing. For example, I used to buy all my milk, cheese and olive oil from Trader Joe's. They also used to have remarkably cheap Ben and Jerry's cookie dough Ice cream. Recently, some of these prices have reached near Vons/Safeway Prices so that when Vons/Safeway has a sale, their products are now the more affordable. While Trader Joe's always has the highest quality packaged goods, their produce and fresh meat department do not offer good selections. Comparing regular grocery stores, we see that Vons generally is higher in cost and quality to Albertsons, but when comparing grocery stores' quality, location is vital. A Ralph's in one are of our city is much nicer than another at the opposite end of town.
5. Look Online before you shop. You do not necessarily have to purchase anything online, but open several browsers to various stores in your location and browse their deals. If you want to limit yourself to one trip, then you can decide by the sales where you would like to go. This also lets you compare your recipe to sales and maybe be inspired to cook something based on a great sale. (Like I was last week when I saw Corned Beef for $.99 a lb) Also, knowing what you want before hand saves you from some hasty impulse buys.
6. Know Your Local Deals- What is the farmer's market like in your area? What produce is grown locally in which seasons? DO you have farmers/produce Coops in the area? (A coop like this one can give you access to large quantities of season vegetables for some annual fee)

If You Read these, then Stay Vigilant and You are on Your way to Frugality and Savings.