I have narrowed it down to 2 steps that will help your grocery bill split in half: Price matching & Meal Planning.
Couponing has became one of the newest trends around the U.S today. There are many different strategies that are used in this process that I however find confusing or time consuming. Living in the fast paced and hectic world that we do taking the time to coupon can be too stressful. I have found the solution to this problem, price matching. Price matching can be one of the most helpful tools I have started using in my own personal life.
The first step when price matching is to create a list of the groceries you will be shopping for while also grouping them into categories such as : Produce, dairy, meat, etc.
Second you will determine which stores you would like to "Price match" with. I have found that it is much easier to surf the web for local stores around you that have an online weekly ad. If you are living in the Southwest region of Missouri here are a few that I find most helpful along with the link:
Next, you will go to each web page and find their weekly ad they have uploaded for you. Some stores have categories and some have a basic traditional ad. You can start by going through your list and recognizing if their are any of the items on sale. If so, then next to your item you will simply right the name of the store and the sale price next to it.
Along the way you will discover items that are not on your list that may be a very good deal. It's important to stay on track. However, if there is something you or your family may be able to put to use, add it to your list.
Once you have gone through each store and have your final list ready, now it is time for the fun part: Wal-Mart! I have found that Wal-Mart does not require you to have the ad's present. However, some grocers may require this. If so, you can simply print them off and have them along with you.
