Looking for the best ways to save money on groceries? This is one tip you likely haven’t tried! Find out how sales flyers can save you time and money and how to meal plan using sales flyers.
This article was originally published in January 2020 and has been updated to be more helpful now.
The weekly ads from grocery stores are an overlooked resource when it comes to saving money on groceries.
While grocery sales flyers have been a long time staple in newspapers and at the front of stores, these days only about 10% of shoppers are using them to decide where to shop.
There are many ways you can use these sales ads to help you save money on groceries and it will mean savings without having to find and deal with coupons!
Save Money on Groceries With Sales Flyers
Use Sales to Plan Meals
When meal planning it’s best to already know what you have on hand and plan meals with those items first but once you’ve done that you can use the sales flyers as inspiration.
Look at the sales flyers for the store or stores you like to shop at and see what’s on sale. Think if there are some meals you can make using some of those items.
For example, when I see a good deal on rotisserie chicken I may buy a couple. I can make several dinners using the meat and also have to prepped to use for sandwiches for lunches. You can even freeze some of the meat for dinners in the future. I even have an article here on the site with 30 recipes you can make using a rotisserie chicken.
Use Sales for Snacks
When I buy snacks we aren’t super picky. We want items with good ingredients but there are a lot of options that fit within this.
I will look at sales and pick things we like from those items. If there is a favorite on sale I may stock up to have some on hand for longer, assuming it will stay good.
Remember to look at the cost per ounce with snacks because most of the time the bigger sizes are cheaper and it’s usually best to stay away from the single-serving packages.
If you like to have single-serving packages around stock up on some silicone reusable snack bags and pre-fill those. This will save on waste and usually saves money. It only takes a couple of minutes to prep these and you can even make your own snack mixes this way.
Watch for Double Ad Days
Some stores have one day a week where you can use last week’s sales flyer and the new week’s. Sprouts, for example, has double ad days on Wednesday. This means twice the sales to pick from on Wednesday.
Some stores also have days when they double coupons which can be really helpful if you need to save even more money. You can usually find these details on their websites or the sales flyers themselves.
Stock Up on Commonly Used Items
We all have items we like to keep stocked in our home. When those items come on sale it’s good to stock up if you have the room in your home and budget.
You do need to be careful though, check the expiration dates and be mindful of your space. Some foods can be stuck in the freezer to extend life but not all and you don’t want to buy things just to have them go bad. Food waste is a big problem and a huge waste of money.
Additional Resouce: What to Buy Each Month to Save Money
Don’t Buy Items on Sale That You Don’t Need
I can’t tell you how often I see people buy things just because they are a “good deal”, on sale, or have a coupon. This is what the stores are hoping we will do of course.
The thing is if it’s an item you’d never buy without the deal you aren’t saving money. Now if it’s an item you have wanted to try but won’t pay the full price that’s okay but if it’s something you will never use or really don’t want to have to use don’t buy it.
Use Store Apps
Most stores have apps these days and the apps often have the sale flyers. It’s nice to be able to keep them with you without having to carry around actual flyers.
This will allow you to check prices while shopping or even let a store know that they missed a sale item so they can honor that advertised price.
Additional Resource: The Best Money-Saving Grocery Apps
Ask for Rain Checks
When a store is out of an item that is on sale they will often give you a rain check to allow you to get that item at the sale price later when it’s restocked.
It’s always disappointing when you are counting on a sale to only find the shelf cleared, this happens, even more, when it’s a really good deal. Getting rain checks means you no longer have to miss out.
Match Sales with Coupons
If you really want to save money you can also use coupons with the sales. I don’t spend hours hunting down coupons and I never clip them from newspapers anymore.
Many stores now have coupons in their apps so you don’t have to print or clip anything. You can also check brand sites to see if they have any coupons available. When you can find them and match them with a sale you can save huge bucks.
Putting Together Your Meal Plan
These tips are great for helping you save money on groceries but how do you keep it all organized and make sure you are really using the food you get?
A meal plan is essential. If you have tried but failed at meal planning it’s likely due to the wrong kind of meal planning for you. You need to find a system that actually works for you.
You need to ask yourself questions like, how often do you want to grocery shop? And take into consideration things like how much space you have for food storage.
Figuring out this system will make it quick and easy to meal plan. If you want more tips for meal planning you can get more tips for creating an efficient and money-saving meal plan by reading Meal Planning That Saves You Time and Money.
And don’t forget to pick up my meal planning printable pack. It works well with all kinds of meal planning systems.
Jaime says
Awesome tips! Wal Mart price matches most things from their ad, so that’s a great way to save money if you have a Wal Mart closer to you than another grocery store! You just have to make sure you have the other store’s ad.
Lisa Sharp says
A few stores do that, it’s always good to ask. 🙂
Natalie says
These are excellent ideas. I always forget to ask for rain checks. Thanks for sharing!
Lisa Sharp says
Me too! I meant to get one the other day at Sprouts. Oops!
diane says
I love shopping at sprouts but never seem to make it there on wednesday!
Lisa Sharp says
I rarely make it there on Wednesdays but it’s exciting when I do!
Samantha&Bev@reinspireddecor.com says
Great tips! I also love finding new things to try when they are on sale.
Lisa Sharp says
It’s the best way to try new stuff for sure!
Jessica Cangiano says
Good tips, Lisa! Couponing is not the mega “industry”, if you will, in Canada that it is in the States (there are significantly fewer coupons produced for use here and we can usually one use at a time on a given item or sometimes for a whole transaction even, it depends on the store and/or any sales happening then), so watching flyers becomes all the more important, especially if you’re on a tight budget. I check them out online most weeks, as we don’t get the newspaper, and try to shop according, especially for meat, which has massively gone up in prices here in the last couple of years (like, it’s ridiculously expensive most of the time now).
? Jessica
Lisa Sharp says
Meat has gone up here as well. I get most of my meat locally and we have had a bad drought so beef costs have gone up and sometimes it’s a bit hard to find the cuts I want. Thanks for stopping by again!
giulia lombardo says
i DON’T USE COUPONS A LOT ALSO BECAUSE THEY WORK A LITTLE BIT DIFFERENT IN ITALY, HOWEVER i HAVE A LOVELY DISCOUNT NEAR HOME THAT OFFER ME GREAT FOOD QUALITY AT GOOD PRICES!
Deanna Piercy says
I order my groceries online and always start by checking the sale items. I keep a pretty good stock on hand at all times so I can focus my weekly shopping on sales, aside from my usual weekly perishables.