Grocery Shopping Strategies

I find I save the most money on groceries with the following ideas:

• I live by three different grocery stores so I check the front and back of each flyer every week. That is where they list their hook sales, sometimes incredibly good deals to attract you in to their store. I make a list of the three stores and their best deals for items I would be interested in. I shop for those items while I do my shopping from my shopping list that week.
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  I don't believe in stocking up on sale items too much, since I learned from a supermarket chain that most sales run on a 3-4 week cycle, so the sale will return again. Of course if it's fresh, seasonal food, that may be an exception. You need to be prepared to freeze, dehydrate or preserve extra if you buy fresh in bulk!
  

• Crockpots do wonders in tenderizing meat and are great to use regularly while you are at work, so you don't end up buying more expensive take-out food just because you are tired and hungry at the end of the day. It's like having someone home cooking for you. Use it! It's great for softening dried beans, which are cheaper and fresher than canned beans too.
  

• I buy bulk sale meat and ask my butcher to cut it up into our family sized portions to save time and packing materials, while getting a cheaper per lb. price.
  

• Since we don't eat out at restaurants much, when I go shopping (if they are on sale), I treat myself and our family to a store purchased fully cooked rotisserie chicken on grocery shopping day. At $3.99, I cannot buy a fresh whole chicken and cook it for less. It's a great value! I can pick up a salad or bag of veggies, cranberry sauce, instant potatoes (or canned yams) or a package of stuffing to add to it, if I want.
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  I have an easy, hot and delicious dinner after a day out shopping.

  It's my personal treat on shopping day. Sometimes I buy a few whole rotisserie chickens and freeze them right in their containers for future quick, inexpensive meals! I place them in a pan in a low oven for a while and they are great. Good cold too.
  

• We eat smaller portions of meat and larger portions of veggies as we grow older and I find that we don't miss it and feel lighter as a result.

These are just a few hints of a veteran grocery shopper and chef. ; )