Save money on your grocery bill the Bargain Mums way

Grocery prices are skyrocketing, along with everything else, so there is no better time than now to embrace your inner Bargain Mum and start saving potentially thousands of dollars each year on your grocery bill. I have compiled a list of the best grocery shopping tips, some of them you may have heard of, but a refresher never hurts...

1. Use bargainmums.com.au - The Bargain Mums website compiles the best bargain at the major supermarkets, so you can search and compare all the supermarket specials in the one place. Make sure you also use the shopping list function, so you don't forget any of the fantastic bargain you have found once you get to the supermarket.
2. Meal Plan - Meal planning has a few benefits, it means you can use up items you already have at home, as you know what you will need for the week/fortnight etc ahead, which in turn will save you money. It also means you don't spend anytime wondering what to have for dinner that night. It's well worth the small amount of time it takes to meal plan.
3. Buy in bulk - If something you use often is significantly reduced, buy up big. It's worth if it if you have the room to store the items, and they are not perishable in the short term, such as nappies, toilet paper and tinned tomatoes.
   
4. Cook double - Wherever possible, cook a double batch when you make dinner. For example, when you cook bolognese sauce, cook double and freeze half. That way, if you can't be bothered cooked and your tempted to get takeaway, you have a quick meal ready to go. It also saves on electricity, gas etc as you wont be cooking a full meal the nights you eat your freezer meals.
5. Take note of unit pricing - I love unit pricing, it enable you to quickly work out what brand and packaging size is the cheapest, without having to carry around a calculator. Sometimes the biggest size isn't the cheapest, as well as the generic brand not always being cheaper than the brand name product.
6. Don't shop when hungry - You will seriously spend more money in the supermarket when you are hungry, and it will probably be on things you really don't need. Shop after a good meal and you will have a better chance of sticking to your list.
7. Go meat free - You don't have eliminate meat all together, but having at least one meat free day a month will help save a few dollars. When you do use meat, try using a little less and bulking up your meal with veggies.
8. Check your receipt - Do this before leaving the supermarket, if an item has scanned at a higher price than it should have, let the customer service desk know. Often the first wrongly priced item will be free.
9. Don't buy your lunch - This would have to be one of the most widely used money saving tip, but it's true. Stock up on food to make your lunch each day, if you have appealing sandwich fillings etc you will be more likely to make your lunch, and therefore less likely to waste your money on buying lunch. You can save serious money with this tip, if you spent $10 per day buying your lunch and a drink, that's $50 a week, or $2600 per year