How to Save Money on Food, Without Coupons!

I pride myself on being pretty thrifty. I shop around for good deals before making most purchases. I detest paying full price for anything. To me, bargain hunting is like a fine art. I love finding awesome deals and spending less than others for the exact same item. Today, I want to share with you one of the ways I save money at the grocery sure- even if I don’t have any coupons!

There are a few ways to save money on groceries, coupons are one of the most popular. I do not cut out as many coupons as I used to (bad mommy!), but I try to as often as I can. Remember to use your coupons when the item is on sale-and stock up on that item if you are able to. Rebates are another way to save, although they are not always available. Store rewards are very useful, many markets have a card that you swipe for extra savings. Of course, sales are a great way to save too. But I’m not talking about any of these ways to save, I’m talking about Red Tags!

Every store has an area devoted to items the store is trying to get rid of. Maybe they have too much of an item, maybe it’s a seasonal product, or close to the expiration date; whatever the reason-the price has been drastically reduced! Here’s a few items I picked up yesterday, at Safeway:

All of these products were marked 50% off! I’m talking name brand items here. Some are even organic! Brands like, Quaker, Kellogg’s, Del Monte, Glory Foods, Muir Glen Organic & Nature’s Path Organic. None of these items were anywhere near their expiration dates. The cereal boxes were a little bent up, SO WHAT?! The product inside is still intact. I don’t think the turnip greens were selling very well, so they were marked down to move them. The can of corn was bent, some people won’t buy bent cans- I’m not some people! There were tons of Quaker Chewy’s marked down and they were all chocolate chip flavored… maybe it’s not a very good seller? For whatever reason-all these items were marked down and I took full advantage of it & stocked up. Imagine if I’d had coupons for this stuff too? I did have one for the Quaker products ($1 off of 2). I visit the 50% off racks every time I shop at Safeway, without fail. If you have been walking past the 50% off rack at your grocery store, you have been passing up huge savings!

But what about other items, like dairy & meat? It’s not often that you find coupons for these two products, although they are out there from time to time. Never fear, Mommy Powers is here! You can find milk marked down too! I find it all the time, it is usually close to the “buy by” date. “Buy by” is not the same as “Use by”… so don’t get the two confused. If it says “Buy by” and the date is 5 days away, by all means, snatch it up! I am a milk freak! I buy four gallons a week- 2 fat-free, for me & 2 whole, for the rest of the family. I love milk and have no problem drinking it all down before the “buy by” date! Milk is usually marked 25% off. That brings us to meat and my next photo:

Yes, you are seeing that correctly, 30% & 50% off on meat! There is a clearance section in the meat department, did you know that? Lots of times I will not buy any meat unless it’s in the clearance section, it’s just so expensive! Most of the marked down meat is a couple days shy of the “Sell by” date. As long as the meat is still nice and red, and looks good, I buy it! It usually goes right into the freezer when I get home, unless I am going to prepare it that night. Keep it in the freezer, until you are ready to cook it.

This is the good stuff! Do you know how expensive lamb is? They had three of these available and you know what? I bought all three! Here’s the original sticker price:

 You see that price? $17.14… I paid half of that! On all three! So you see, there are ways to save at the grocery store, without coupons! I hope I have helped you- what ways do you save money at the store? I’d love to hear your tips!