Savvy shopping at the grocery store

ALBUQUERQUE (KRQE) - Grocery dollars don't go as far as they used to, but there are ways from coupons to the Internet to knowing when to shop that can cut the food bills by as much as half.

Prices on some items have gone up 30 percent or more in recent months. Still there are ways to save.

What many people may not know is that Sunday, Monday and Tuesday are the best days to go grocery shopping. While advertised sales run Wednesdays through Tuesday, many stores offer unadvertised sales Sunday through Tuesday.

And the key is coupons--lots of them.

Some stores like Albertsons will double or triple coupons on certain weeks.

Savvy shopping actually can start online. Two Web sites that know the advertised and unadvertised sales and how to pair them with coupons to get the best price are TheGroceryGame.com and CouponMom.com.

At Grocery Game, color codes say blue buy now, green for free, black means it's an OK price if you really need, it otherwise will be at a better price later.

Just to make sure you're not missing something go through the advertising circulars and write down things you really need.  For example milk not on online sales is listed in one circular for $2 a gallon.

The key to shopping like this is stocking up. Sales are usually in a 12-week cycle, so you have to buy a lot of one thing at a time.

Once your coupons and list are together it's time to head to the store.

One item on the list has a regular price $4.19 but is on sale for $2.99. Add a coupon for 75 cents that multiplies to $1 and that $4.19 item costs only $1.99.

This week at Albertsons you can get BD Frosting for free. It's $1, your coupon get doubled to $1, so that means it's free.

Another really great deal this week is on Swanson chicken broth priced at $1.19. With sale and coupon you get it for 48 cents apiece, more than half off.

What you may not realize is that many times it better to get lotions and similar items at grocery stores instead of discount stores because often grocery stores have better sales.  Toothpaste this week with coupons and sale were 67 cents each.

Now its time to see the results at checkout. Final price with sales, but no coupons: $50.84. With coupons: $35.86.

Another way you can save money is if you have a credit card that gives you cash back. This month a Discover card returned 5 percent cash back on groceries.

That savings is at just one store. You'll find to save money you'll need to visit several stores every week.

At places like Smith's you do need a card to save, but there are benefits. If you have a Rewards card you get a point for every dollar you spend, and after 500 points you get $5 in credit to Smith's.

To save money on fruits and vegetables go to smaller markets like Sunflower Market, Pro's Ranch Market, Farmers Market, the Fruit Basket. Many times the prices are dramatically lower than the supermarkets.

For example Bartlett pairs at one market are only 49 cents a pound. That's more than half off compared to some other places. Bell peppers were only 50 cents each.

Another great place to buy is Walgreens. They have an EasySaver booklet that shows what rebates they offer each month.

This month you can get anti-wrinkle cream worth $19.99 and Almay mascara worth $6.99 for free after sending in for the rebate.

So how did we do overall?

If you were to buy these identical groceries at average grocery store you would spend about $150 for items including meat, the anti-wrinkle cream, mascara and shampoo. With all the coupons all and the saving we spent $50.

And as you know these days every dollar and penny counts.

Another thing to consider. Some stores like Albertsons offer 10 percent discounts for seniors. Theirs is the first Wednesday of every month.

On the last Wednesday of every month they offer a discount for military personnel.