Saving money at the grocery store

These days, we're all trying to save a little here, a little there. And, also, many of us are trying to trim a little here and a little there, not only from our grocery bill, but also from our waistlines.

Here are some quick and easy ideas for saving money and trimming your waistline at the same time...

• Pay for your groceries with cash - Not only will you be more mindful of what you're spending, but chances are you'll buy less than you would if you paid with your credit card.
• Try to grocery shop only once a week - Every time you go to a store it's another opportunity to spend money and put more in your refrigerator.
• Don't pay more for convenience all the time - It's not really that time consuming to slice and dice your own carrots or cut your own stew meat, but you'll certainly pay dearly for the convenience of purchasing them "ready" for cooking.
• Buy private label - Store brands are often much cheaper than comparable national brands.
• Shop in the bulk section - Perfect for healthy options like dried beans, grains and spices.
• Buy family packs of meat/poultry - Divide into smaller portions and freeze when you get home. Larger packages are often cheaper and are on sale often (making that a great time to stock up!).
• Buy produce when it's in season - Not only will it be at the peak of it's freshness and taste, but it will be at the best price of the year, too.
• Use coupons - Ok, hard to believe, but this is now a fashionable thing to do! Remember, however, to use the coupon on the smallest size allowed for the coupon and you'll save even more! $1 off a 10 oz $2 can of tomatoes provides more savings (you pay $1) than $1 off a 20 oz $4 can (you pay $3 for 20 oz, a full $1 more).
• Buy more of these healthy, inexpensive items - Beans, (52 cents per serving), Eggs (23 cents each), Banana (40 cents, or 19 cents if you by at TJ's), Potatoes (30 cents for a russet), Yogurt (50 cents for an 8oz serving), Chicken breasts with ribs (sold in large packages and most always go on sale for about $1 each)