Now there are ways to save money in the grocery store, and they may or may not take much effort on your part to learn some great ways to save money. Your greater savings can often be found in the perishable departments of a grocery store. The perishable departments are the bakery, meat, and produce departments. Looking at the grocery ads can also be of great assistance. Also, believe it or not something as simple as writing down a list can help you save money. I'll show you a few techniques that will help you save money.

Now for me, I have saved more in the meat department, than any other department. No, I am not purchasing meat that is barely fresh. Keep in mind that often the same or similar cuts of meat can be sold at very different prices. Why buy stew meat for a couple of bucks more, when you can buy a chuck roast, and cut it yourself. Did you know that the chuck sits right next to the ribeye? If you look closely, you can get some chuck steaks that are on the tail end of a ribeye, and enjoy a similar tasty cut of meat, for the same basic price. For the product department, take a look at the bags of bulk produce, you can find some good deals there, but check to make sure all of the fruits/veggies in the bag are good and fresh. Please bypass the cut up veggies, you can cut your own fajita veggies, or stop by the salad bar for less.

Often the items on the first page of a grocery ad are sold at a loss. Grocery stores do this to get you into the store. Why not plan a few meals around the meat items that are on sale. You can always stock up on soda's and snack items that are often one of the first places we cut when we are looking at staying on a budget. You may notice that these sales run in cycles, and you may be able to plan when you are going to purchase that favorite laundry detergent at a cost savings. So take a look at the ad, and remember Wal-Mart will match another store's ads, so if you shop there, grab the Wednesday's ads before you go.

Finally, going into a grocery store without a list, either mental or a physical one is setting yourself up for impulse purchase buys. Purchase what you are going to use. Grocery stores make tons of money off of us walking in grabbing a soda while we shop. You can bring a soda purchased on sale from home. Stick to your list. Don't cut yourself short, but keep your list down to what you need, you can also take a few moments before you leave and see if you have any of those items at home. I personally have way too many roasting bags; I didn't look before I grabbed that chuck roast that was on sale.

Even saving a few dollars here and there can help you reduce your grocery bill by 5 to 10%. Who of us here can't use that? You can spend it on something else, or even do something shocking like save that extra money for something else. You may also want to allocate part of your grocery bill to stock up on things you will need and items that do not spoil. It is difficult to have too much toilet paper, although it is possible. These are just a few steps in reducing your grocery bill.

Stephanie Manley is the editor for http://www.copykat.com

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