I have found that Trader Joe's has some really good prices on stuff (for instance Morningstar Farms veggie sausage is a few dollars cheaper than at the supermarkets for the same thing) especially their house brand.

i have found, at least in New York City and Albany, that farmer's markets are generally the most expensive places to buy any of the items they sell.

I have also found that "I have found" is a popular way to start comments on this thread.

I, personally, LOVE coupons and will spend all the time necessary to clip them - while watching re-runs of Scrubs.

I, however, cannot seem to find any good coupons here in Atlanta. Are they in the Sunday paper? All my Sunday papers end up rather light in the coupon department.

The word for the day is "I", boys and girls. Let's all use it to start our comments...

In reference to #3 - I would certainly hope the brand name food I see in stores is made by the factories where brand name food is made.

"2) Pay attention to unit pricing."

Supermarket I shop at already has price per unit somewhere in the price tag.

Specifically regarding Wal-Mart's store-brand stuff... one of the reasons I don't like shopping at Wal-Mart is that much of their store-brand food doesn't tell you WHERE it was produced and/or packaged. It typically says it was made "...for Wal-Mart Stores Inc, Bentonville, AR" which tells me exactly nothing. I know it was made for bloody Wal-Mart, I want to know WHERE it was made.

I don't really need more excuses NOT to shop at Wal-Mart, but that's a good one.

@Mr. Guy: Really? In Boston and in New York I found outdoor farmer's markets to have very good deals on in-season produce. (Though some of the more specialty products certainly cost twice what they were worth.)

I can't say the same for what I've found so far in DC/NoVa, though. $6 for a half-sized bunch of asparagus? That's worse than NYC supermarket prices!

Cutting down on waste is always a good start. We always try to buy stuff that we can freeze for later eating.

Shop more often and buy smaller quantities. This helps with guaging how much food you eat on a daily basis, so that you dont overbuy. It also helps with fresh foods, since that bag of string beans you bought last week wont go bad sitting in the fridge.

Walk to the grocery store. It helps with your general heath. You also will have to carry everything home, so it helps with keeping you from overbuying.

I save by just buying raw ingredients and cooking them.

In college, one of my professors (in a business class) told us that most times, the store brands are manufactured by some of the brand-name companies. Also, the "no name" products tend to be the remainders of the aforementioned items - so you'll get pieces that weren't of a high enough quality for the branded foods.

@snazz: I agree with buying smaller quantities. I'm single and live alone. Often, it's cheaper to buy in bulk, but then the food is never eaten and must be thrown away.

As an aside, many people simply cannot walk to the grocery store. The closest one to me is across six lanes of unforgiving highway.

Our Receptionist has found that one awesome way to cut down on food costs is to take her lunch with her to work.

Imagine how much the average person spends daily on lunch either by ordering for a delevery or by visiting a restaurant.

For affluent professionals, that is no problem. Many take business lunches with clients.

But if you are living on a budget - think of the difference shopping in the local supermarket and bringing you lunch with you for the day (of - if your company provides a fridge & microwave - for the week)

The time it takes you to run to the store during the busy lunch hour - you could make a tasty tuna or cold cuts sandwich. Or even open and heat a large can of quality soup and dinner leftovers. Perhaps even bring a pie or cake that will remain fresh for the week. You can use the bottom desk drawer as a storage area for your treats

In this era of skyrocketing gas prices and rent prices - there is no shame in using your resources to the fullest

I would love to know where people FIND coupons. I would love some but am unaware as to where people find such awesome ones!

Things I can freeze and canned goods I usually buy in huge quantities while they're on sale. My local supermarket typically has pork on sale one week, chicken the next, beef and so on.

If I ever decide I don't want to go grocery shopping for a month or two I can survive off of soup and pork chops, I just may end up with scurvy from the lack of fresh vegetables.

Are we really at a point, economically, where it's okay to encourage people to buy anything at Wal-Mart? I like saving a few bucks too, but I like the feeling that comes with knowing I didn't have to go to Wal-Mart a whole lot more.

@Snazz: I have a Publix about a mile from my house and I've started walking there every other day or so. Your words are gold-dipped truth. Gone are the days of forgetting about the fresh fruits and veggies in the crisper, as I now just leave them all on the counter and use them up within a day or two.

Also, for the pedestrian grocery shopper, those "green bags" that all the stores are selling now are AWESOME for lugging your junk home. Way more comfortable to carry than plastic sacks, and they hold a good deal more.

@GearheadGeek:
All store brand stuff is like this...it will say Manufactured for (Insert Store Here), (Insert Headquarters city here). Very rarely do you see any other information to give away who really made the product.

@Triborough: yeah, we stock up on the MSF bacon there, as it is about 1/2 what we pay for it at the supermarket...

Shop at ethnic food stores: better groceries, less cost

Shop at farmer's markets: when they're closing. They don't want to pack up the stuff, and they mark it down a lot (YMMV)

Make your own junkfood: more fun, healthier, cheaper

Menu Plan: so that you can use ingredients from the night before for the next day's recipes, and reduce waste/eating out

Learn to Cook: not follow recipes. Being creative lets use make use of odd stuff you have at home, and you don't drive to the store for just one "essential" ingredient.

Get the Sunday paper. Troll the recycling center and get other people's Sunday paper inserts. THat's how you make the real money, having multiple coupons. And get the internet coupons, double coupons (only in some parts of the country, no clue why some states have 'em and some don't--is it illegal in some states?).

Anyway, I have found that I don't like coupons. They're a hassle and almost never for stuff I buy. I agree with snazz above--shop small, shop often, and walk to the store. Works for me.

When I make a list I order everything from what I need most to what I need least. Then I set a spending limit before entering the store. Once I'm in I put things in my cart in order of the list, even if it means walking the length of the store five times. As I place items in my cart, I subtract their cost from my total budget. The stuff at the bottom of the list doesn't always fit my budget, but at least I leave with what I need. I'm aware of sales if I need the item, but I don't get too obsessed over them. It's all about nutritious, cheap, and versatile basics.

Also: As much as we hate on Target around here I go there all the time since they have great deals. Be aware of their sneaky pricing and use it to your advantage.

@Advertising Guru: I bring my lunch and keep ramen noodles in my bottom drawer for when I forget to bring my lunch. It's not fancy but realizing that lunch only cost me 15 cents is priceless. If your boss sees you making ramen noodles just tell him you need a raise.

One thing I've noticed is how a lot of places will price things at "2 for $5". That doesn't mean you have to buy two of them though. They're PRICED at 2 for $5, which means you can just get 1 for $2.50.

Keep a price book. When you get back from food shopping, take the receipt and write down the date and price of each item. In a month or so you'll be able to predict (pretty accurately) when supermarkets put the same things on sale. For example, I've found that every six to eight weeks, there's usually a sale on things like WISK or TIDE.
By being able to "predict" when things are on sale, I know when to stock up.

This technically isn't using coupons, but it does require the same kind of work... Check out the weekly circular for your favorite store and plan your purchases around what's on sale that week. Even if you don't need the item at the moment, if you buy now when it's on sale you can be ready when you do need it. (This works best with non-perishables, obviously.)

A combination of 2 and 3: Pay attention to unit pricing between store brands, and regular brands.

I noticed that my store brand toilet paper looked almost the same as the regular brand and priced less per package, but it actually cost more per square foot.

Most supermarkets have some shelf space dedicated to clearance items. It is always a good idea to check them out.

@goodywitch: The farmers market idea definitely works. Also, if you're at a bigger market, shop around before buying. I've found that some farmers sell the same produce at different prices.

@EBounding: That's true, but I've also seen some places that indicate - in fine print - that it's 2 for $5 or one for the regular price.

Another thing to try is Shortcuts.com. It is somewhat limited now, but allows you to add coupons right to your savings card at various stores. The selection of coupons isn't great, but it is much easier than clipping coupons.

I would also add -- don't buy cleaning and paper products at a grocery store. Go to the Dollar Store, or Ollie's, or whatever is your local brand of thrift store and load up there.

Either that, or buy in bulk at a Costco or Sam's Club.

Markup on normal size, name-brand paper plates, napkins, TP, dishwasher detergent, etc is huge at a grocery.

@TropicalParadise: use google and you'll find coupon swaps online. For the cost of postage you and someone on the other side of the country can swap coupons. eBay is another place to find them.

My little chest freezer has more than earned back its cost, since I'm particular and I like to cook but I don't reliably have time, so I've got nice soups and stews and twice-baked potatoes and such in addition to meat bought when the butcher had a sale. It also means that I was able to stock up before the summer heat and thus limit stove use in the A/C days, reducing cooling costs. I've also been influenced by some of the American bento lunch blogs, so my packed lunches have both improved and been better at using up small quantities that would otherwise have gone to waste.

I also sometimes have no-shopping weeks, where I have to put meals together from what I've already got, and I also pull the overlooked stuff from the back of the cabinet periodically and require its use in something so as to avoid forgotten-can, decade-old sauce bottle syndrome.

And I finally admitted that I don't like lettuce and won't eat it if I buy it, so I quit buying it.

@mbz32190: You misunderstand. I don't mean where as in specifically what company's factory, I mean what COUNTRY. For example, the Safeway store-brand dijon mustard and bread-and-butter pickles from Tom Thumb that are in my refrigerator at the moment say they're manufactured for Safeway, but prominently beneath that say "PRODUCT OF USA."

Packing lunch is the way to go and don't just go boring--fresh fruit, salads, and leftovers can share the space with sandwiches. Also, keep some crackers and peanut butter at work incase you forgot your lunch.

And wean yourself off of soda onto iced tea. Almost free when you make it yourself.

I have definitely started paying attention to unit pricing, and you don't generally need a calculator or anything - most stores will have the unit cost ($0.20 per oz, for example) on the price tag on the shelf. If they don't, you can also just do a rough division of cost per serving, rather than per ounce or whatever.

[Oh, and ummm...'scuse my analness, but in the first sentence in item 6, that should be "when you're hungry...". Sorry, English major, can't help it :)]

If you're going to start stockpiling and you need multiples of certain coupons to combine with sales, you might try one of the coupon clipping "services". You pay for the service, not for the coupons. I only remember one site (one of the largest), but there are many out there.
[www.thecouponclippers.com]

This works for me. Take lunch to work....it saves SO much $. Stop using paper towels and buy some cloth ones and use sponges. Don't buy junk food when you can help it. It runs out so quick for me and my sister and we feel better when we don't have it around to eat. We do go to a farmers market but its a local one. The ones downtown on the weekends tend to be the pricey ones because they aren't permanent and are trying to make a buck. We despise the service at Winco here but they have a bulk section. Also they don't take internet coupons but Wal-Mart does so we go there if there happens to be a coupon. The thing about coupons though is that they tend to be for the newest things that we don't use.

@Maniacmous: brand name food will always be brand name food no matter where its made, its the branding that makes it brand name food.

take a close look, most obvious on the cereal rack, food manufacturers sell the rights to repackage their product on a lot of items like bread, cookies, crackers...it may not be all in the same store, but a piggly wiggly selling piggly wiggly bread in georgia might be the exact same recipe as the kroger bread in ohio as the 'name brand' bread in arkansas

My father is a VP for a manufacturer in the grocery business. Store brands are almost always made by market leading manufacturers - not many other makers can make it in such large quantities for large store chains. His company makes Kroger and Wal-mart brand products and literally on the assembly line the only thing that changes is the bag they put it in...it is all the same.

The formulation of many store brands food products *is* different - simply to differentiate it from the leading brand. So the green beans might be cooked a bit longer or more or less salt might be added to the recipe, etc. If you cracked open a bottle of Big K cola at Kroger and it was actual Coke, Coca-Cola would stand to lose quit a bit of business once word got out about that.

Store brands are usually equal to or even higher quality than name brand food products. Think about it...if you get screwed on a poor quality box of store brand hot cocoa you may stop buying all store brands from that store - losing a substantial amount of your grocery dollar. Over a lifetime this would be worth tens of thousands of dollars of lost revenue for them. So they make the stuff to be as high quality as can possibly be gotten for the price so as to not f*** you.

@javi0084: Some stores around here do that. However, they often don't use the same unit on competing brands. For example on multi-packs of toilet paper on brand will have unit pricing by the roll, another by the sheet and a third by the foot.

@EBounding: That's usually true, but some stores do "2 for $5" and then have small rpint "Single unit price $3.99"

I wish I could convince my husband to let me pack him a lunch. He claims he never knows if he'll be in the office that day to eat it or not and doesn't want to be bothered with a mini ice chest. He easily spends $40-$50 a week on lunches, but I can't get him to try anything different.

My main problem is that I like to eat lettuce on my sandwiches, but I can never get through more than maybe half a head if I'm lucky before it goes bad. I try to buy the smallest head of lettuce I can find. Any suggestions on ways to keep lettuce fresh longer?

I save a lot with those bonus cards but I signed up with a fake name and always pay cash so they can't spy one me. But if you ever get an email from Rusty Troembone, open it quick!

@Advertising Guru: One of the ways to really cut down on lunches is to troll the area in the company where leftover client/meeting lunches are left. At my firm, I can usually catch a bagel or muffin at about 11 or so maybe 3 days a week and sandwiches at 2 to 4 pm. Somedays, it's BBQ or pizza and somedays, chocolate dipped strawberries or cheesecake or birthday cake. I'll even grab a sandwich and throw it in the fridge for dinner or lunch the next day.

Of course, I keep a can of soup and some fruit cups in my desk as back-up for days when food is scare. And, yes, this doesn't work everywhere...but if it does, yum.

@Jevia: Trim it and put it in moist paper towels, then in a plastic bag (cheap shopping bag, not an airtight ziplock). Or follow my lead and give up entirely.

I like the blog at lunchinabox.net, which I think I first heard about here, for packed lunch tips, and she's got lots of ways to keep stuff cool without an onsite fridge and lots of lunches that are okay even without additional chilling.

@Jevia: Have you seen those thingies in the produce section of Whole Foods that supposedly keep produce fresher longer? I wonder if those work or not.

I second Target. They have the same products as grocery stores for cheaper.

Trader Joe's - amazing. I will never live anywhere there isn't a Trader Joe's.

You can print coupons at smartsource.com, though they are often the same coupon. Sign up at eatingwell.com to receive organic/natural foods coupons.

I stock up on ground turkey at Costco - $11-13 for a 4-pack, and I freeze them in gallon freezer bags. Trader Joe's natural chicken breasts freeze well, too.

Always shop after you have a meal, so you're so full you can't even imagine buying things you might buy while hungry.

Every Sunday I prepare the week's lunches. Eating out daily is expensive and just not what I want to do. When I hit up the stores, I'll have a couple options of what my lunch will be. If the makings aren't on sale, I don't do that for lunch that week. Usually it's on sale the next week.

@TropicalParadise: Great places to find coupons: the left-behind newspaper pile at Starbucks on Sundays, hanging off the coupon printers in the self-checkout lanes, left behind in the basket by other shoppers, hanging from the shelf by the product (one store has $1 coupons off all their storebrand paper products...right next to their products selling for $1 each...score), given out by sampling folks, printed from internet sites (legitimate ones of course), by joining mailing lists for specific products you use, by trading with other people who have coupons they don't need.

The main thing that made me a coupon pro was finding web sites that tell you what coupon insert the needed coupon is in. Once I found those, I could hang on to the inserts and then grab the coupons I needed without clipping all of them at once.

I usually tend to buy pasta, frozen fish, veggies and such in bulk at the local Costco. I have plenty of staples at home so that when I do need to go to the grocery store, I don't spend as much. Also, I almost always buy things that are on sale. I figured out that if I'm not so "brand loyal" I have more flex with what to buy that's on sale.