10 Ways to Slash Your Grocery Bill

Saving money is hard. Finding ways to cut back on your expenses can be stressful, difficult and depressing. However, knowing a handful of tricks can help you slash your grocery budget so you can work on saving more without even breaking a sweat. Read on for 10 ways to slash your grocery bill:

1.) Practice meal planning. Planning your meals makes it easy to get everything you need for the week in 1 fell swoop, which means no more tempting mid-week runs to the grocery store. It also helps you avoid overspending and it takes the hassle out of the 5 o'clock rush when you need to figure out what to put on the dinner table.
2.) Keep your pantry organized. Organization is the key to avoiding take-out because you're too tired to rifle through your pantry and then cook dinner.
3.) Don't shop hungry or tired. Once a week I make a "cheat" dinner that's ridiculously easy like sandwiches or something in the crock pot. It's ready as soon as my husband walks through the door. We eat, I help him get set up with the kids in the living room (it's also movie night) and then I spend an hour of kid-free time at the grocery store.
4.) Avoid convenience food. Pop your own popcorn in an air popper, make your own spaghetti sauce, shred your own cheese, etc. You'll save money and it will taste better and be better for you.
5.) Don't be a brand snob. Lets face it, there's not a lot of difference between brands of mustard or rice. Get whatever is the cheapest.
6.) Don't buy in bulk because you can. If you don't have the space or the need, buying in bulk doesn't make sense.
7.) Look up and look down. Eye level products are almost always the most expensive. Check out the upper and lower shelves for better deals. Of course, if you're short like me, nature has taken care of this one for you.
8.) Be smart about your drinks. Beverages have the biggest markup. Iced tea in a can can cost $2.50 on sale. A whole package of tea bags won't even cost that much and will make 30 times as much beverage.
9.) Take up gardening or visit your local farmer's market. Gardening has a modest start-up cost, but when you don't have to buy produce for 3-4 months, it's totally worth it. You can even can the surplus to last all year. The farmer's market can be another great resource depending on where you live.
10.) Hop on the meatless Monday trend. Cutting otu teh meat once a week can save you $20 a month or more. Probably more unless you're cutting out cheap meats like hot dogs and pork chops.