Spending smarter on food is a great idea. Start with a few techniques, and watch your food spending plummet.
• Get a loyalty card. Sales in most supermarkets are tied to loyalty cards.
• Be brand-flexible. If you must have Heinz ketchup and will tolerate no other, that’s fine. But surely you don’t have such strong opinions about all products. Substitute a brand that’s on sale or try store brands.
• Know a deal. Keep a price book, a small notepad of items you buy frequently. Unless you have a good memory, it’s the only way to spot a good price.
• Price match. If your store matches competitors’ prices, bring along other supermarkets’ sales fliers to get the lowest prices on more items at your own store. Wal-Mart and Target, for example, have national price-matching policies.
