An Analytical Approach to Grocery Shopping Can Save Serious Cash

I currently shop around at a mix of convenience grocers (Safeway, etc) and more expensive stores (local co-op, more expensive department store)

I recommend having a set of goods you like to purchase, and investigating the prices for those goods. The creation and analysis of this set, called a "market basket", is actually the same method used to generate consumer inflation data and analyze changes in food pricing. You can be "hard" about this by carrying a smartphone or a notebook to the different local stores to document prices, or you can be "soft" and just try to remember how much things cost wherever you are shopping (my preferred method), but it's a good way to find out whether you're getting a good deal on your regular items.

For instance, the stores in my area are pretty ridiculous on eggs right now.

One store charges around 5 dollars for an 18 pack, the next store charges $4.00, a third charges $3.3x, and the last store charges $2.1x for 18 eggs.

So while store 4 is a great choice for eggs, it's also across town, and store 1 and 2 have better prices on potatoes and milk.

Also, keep in mind prices of goods and derivative goods for perspective on value.

I can buy cheese for 3 or 4 dollars a pound on sale, or I can buy milk for 42 cents a pound but I'll get about 8 pounds of it (1 gallon). For the nutrition (from my perspective, anyway), milk provides a better value for the money in this case.

This also applies to a whole meal. Buying a pizza is the same as buying the cheese, sauce, crust, toppings and seasonings for a pizza and then paying someone to cook it for you. If all you want is to eat pizza, you can usually save money by cutting out the part where you pay someone to cook the pizza for you, and you can enjoy eating all of the leftover ingredients in other recipes.

Just look for value in your expenses and you'll do fine.

I've applied the technique above to my own expenses after moving to a brand new area, and I've managed to keep my food costs under 100 dollars per month for just myself without depriving myself of anything, really. Comparison shopping and buying groceries at the place where they are least expensive, along with keeping my eyes open for below-market pricing on items that I personally value, allow me to eat quite well on under 1200 dollars per year.