5 Ways To Cut Down Grocery Spending
© David McKelvey

Spending on food usually takes a significant fraction of your budget. Americans on the average spend about $9,500 every year on food. That's roughly 13 percent of the total household budget.

Here are a few suggestions to make reasonable cuts from your grocery bill:

1. Shop with a list and check it again. Pass through the kitchen and check for items that you really need to buy. This will get impulsive buying down to a minimum and it will also save you on gas expenses since you won't have to do a second trip to the grocery store.

2. Don't clip coupons unnecessarily. Do you really need to buy that item the coupon is for? Most coupons anyway include deals on packaged foods that are low in nutrition and high in unwanted ingredients. Buy more whole foods to better improve your health.

3. Look at the price scanner. About six percent of grocery shoppers are overcharged at the checkout counter, so do check the price scanner. Verify that the price reflected at the register is indeed the right price. Some stores will even give you the food for free in appreciation of your help in spotting wrongly-scanned items.

4. Switch to generic items. This will usually save you anywhere from 10 to 50 percent on every shopping trip. Brand name products cost big bucks because it costs money to market that recognizable label. Always check if you can find generic items that you can substitute for brand name equivalents.

5. If you need to buy beans, buy them dried and in bulk. There's really no need to buy beans in cans. Buy dried beans, soak them overnight, and save money. It adds protein to your diet without adding to your grocery shopping costs that buying meat does.