How to stretch your grocery-store dollar

I recently participated in a "shopping competition" for a television show. The producers wanted to compare strategies from two savings experts by giving each of us $100 to spend on groceries. I was the coupon user, and the other shopper liked to shop at wholesale clubs and did not believe in coupons.

The rules were very specific. We needed to buy groceries that would feed a family of five for a week while staying within our budget of $100. That ruled out buying a cartload of shampoo that was free with coupons. Although the total at the cash register would be impressive, it wouldn't help teach viewers how to feed their families affordably using coupons. The producers also wanted the results to be realistic for the average shopper, so I could only use coupons from the past two weeks from the newspaper.

In spite of the strict rules, I was able to buy $300 of groceries for $100, which included more than enough food to feed a family a balanced diet for a week. In fact, I was able to stock up for future weeks on many items. My competitor also purchased plenty of wholesome groceries with his $100 using store brands and large quantities at discount and wholesale stores. Overall, viewers learned many excellent savings tips, and I learned a few tips too.

Shop multiple stores: If you have a few store options nearby, it pays to compare prices using the weekly sales circulars. With today's grocery prices, it can be worth going to a couple of stores each week to "cherry-pick" the best deals at each store. I would not have been able to stretch my $100 as far as I did if I had shopped at only one store. It makes sense to make shopping lists for a few stores in your area and coordinate your shopping trip when you are in the area doing other errands. It does not take long to shop when you have a well-organized, short list of items. With this approach, two or three short shopping trips may take the same amount of time that one long trip would, and you would definitely spend less money overall.

Get Creative About Coupons: The key to saving the most is to find as many coupons as possible for the items you need to buy. You also need to know the rules around using coupons. Because I could only use two weeks' worth of newspaper coupons, I sought out additional coupons from the store's weekly ad. In fact, I saved $33 simply by using coupons in the weekly sales circular found in the store. Because you can usually combine store coupons with manufacturers' coupons, I was able to combine coupons from the newspaper and printed from the Web with store coupons that resulted in a 90 percent savings on a group of 21 name-brand items. I also printed coupons for more items and used coupons I found on the packages of some of the items I purchased.

Be Flexible: Be willing to use any reputable brand for the items you need. If it's on sale with a coupon, consider trying a new brand. Store brands should be the winning choice if they are less expensive than the coupon deal or if a coupon deal is not available. You will also save more money if you are flexible about your store choices. If you are not able to shop at more than one store per week, then be willing to go to the store that has the lowest prices for the items that you need. You may be going to a different store each week, but that flexibility will pay off in your pocketbook.