There will be times when you end up at the grocery store with no shopping plan in place. Due to time restraints, you failed to review the sales flyer and you rushed out without any of your coupons. It could be that you're on vacation and in a town that's unfamiliar. You may even be in the grocery store without a well thought out shopping list.
Even when you aren't prepared, it doesn't mean that you can't still make the grocery shopping economical and not a waste of money. When you find that you have arrives at the grocery store without a battle plan, there are still a number of steps that you can take to reduce your the amount you spend at the grocery store:
Buy store brands
Pay attention to the sale prices
Use your loyalty card for discounts or rebates
Look for coupons along the aisles or on products
Buy in bulk, or at least price compare the various sizes
Look for BOGO offers
Stick to the outside aisles of the store
Don't buy more than you need for this trip
Don't assume that, “special” means sale
Look for displays selling damaged or about to expire foods
Watch for pricing mistakes
Don't buy more than you have to
Keep these steps in mind when you do find that you are in the grocery store unprepared so that you don't pay more than you have to.
You can read the full article and details on each of the above steps to reduce the grocery shopping when unprepared at saving advice
Rebate Fanatic. Saving you money every time you shop online! Sign Up and Start Saving Today
Thanks for your ideas; they were really great! The only thing I thought to add is to keep your coupons together in a box in your trunk! If you absolutely cannot clip ALL your coupons, at least clip FOOD coupons in a coupon binder.
Do NOT throw away the others! File them according to Red Plum, Smart Source, P&G, etc., write the newspaper date on the front (listed *tiny* on side), and put them in a box in the trunk. Many websites offer a list of the coupon schedule. Print it out, read it, and put it with the inserts. This helps when you can plan ahead. Many sites have coupon match-ups, so you can go to the inserts to match them with great deals. This is how many experts do it, but they will tell you that taking the time to clip and organize in a binder is truly worth your time. (Let’s say your time is worth $10/hour, about the time it takes to get organized each week. If you’re saving $40/week in coupons, you’ve made back your time times 4!)
Thanks again for the wonderful article. I have definitely used all these methods at one time or another. And it’s very true that prices will be wrong from time to time!