Here are some well proven techniques for saving money at the supermarket:

MEAL PLANNING

Flip through your local grocery weekly ads and find out what are on sale. Then plan your weekly menu around items that are on sale. Start by listing everyday of the week, then plan your dinners around your activities for the night. Fast dinners for busy nights and slow dinners for the nights we are at home. If ground beef is at a good price one week then you could plan on making Meatloaf on Tuesday and Hamburgers on Friday, this way you can buy ground beef in bulk and on sale.

COUPONS

If you clip coupons, using them when an item is already on sale is a great way to save even more. Find out which one doubles or triples the coupon value. If you really are a diligent coupon clipper, try to only use your coupons when they can be doubled or tripled.

SHOP WITH A LIST

Each time you shop for groceries, always prepare a shopping list. Take into account what you already have and what you have planned for your upcoming meals. Think about what ingredients you need to re-stock. When you're at the store, don't buy anything outside of your shopping list.

BUY IN BULK

Buying items in bulk is really one of the best method to save money. I bake frequently, so I tend to have lots of butter on hand. When I notice that butter is on sale, I usually stock up more and put it in my freezer. Buying in bulk when it's on sale can really save costs in the long term.

BRING A CALCULATOR

Bringing along your calculator can help to decide which purchase saves you more money. Many times you will find it useful when deciding to get the bigger version of something just by doing some simple calculation.

WHO'D HAVE THOUGHT

Try to shop early in the day. You get through the store faster with your list and spend less.

Shop when you're alone. Those little helpers can quickly boost your bill.

Don't shop for food when you're hungry; you'll tend to overbuy.

FOOD ITEMS ONLY

Don't buy non-grocery items, such as dishwashing liquid, shampoo, toilet paper, pet food, etc. at the grocery store. Discount department stores usually offer these for less expensive.

DOUBLE TAKE

As you're walking out of the store, double check your receipts. Not matter how careful you or the store staff might be, sometimes mistakes do happen. Catch them early so you can take care of them. Once you get home, you'll have a hard time remembering to have that $.50 error corrected.