Grocery Shelf Items – Money Savings Tips

This Grocery Shelf Items Page contains a number of ways to save money at the grocery store!

Grocery Shelf Items can be one of the fastest ways to save money at the grocery store. And the cool thing about this section of the grocery store is that these items can usually store for a long time! This page has tips for pickles, snack holders, coffee, bulk storage, buying nuts, and emptying bottles.

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For Pickle-Lovers: Re-Pickling!

My daughter came up with a great idea recently. We love Clausen pickles.  After consuming the pickles I cut up cucumbers and put them in the juice to enjoy.  I can use the pickle juice about three times (3 separate cucumbers) before I have to throw the juice away.
Donna F. – Wixom, MI

What to Do with Flat Soda Pop

If you ever have any 2 liter bottles of soda pop that are left over from a party or event and go flat, here’s a great idea. Turn the soda pop into slushy drinks! You may even have soda pop that has gone flat if your family likes to drink soda, but you lost track of a bottle. Soda pop flavored slushies are a refreshing summer treat, so try them next time! Annette Economides – Scottsdale, AZ

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How to Consistently Find Killer Deals on Groceries

Everyone loves getting deals at the grocery store. Saving money on food is one of the fastest ways to put money back into your household budget.

Would you like to save 90 percent on some of your groceries? Would you like to consistently find deals that make your friends envious of your shopping ability? And would you like to do all of this without having to clip any coupons?

In this video, Annette Economides describes some of the deals she’s landed and the stores where she’s found the steeply discounted items. You’ll be amazed at the prices and the size of some of the items.

There are grocery deals to be found everywhere and Annette shows you how to do it.

 

We have written a calendar list of grocery store sales cycles here. Check it out to discover the best time to stock up on different seasonal and staple items.

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Grocery Shelf Items – Snacks in Filters

I use coffee filters instead of paper plates for snack times at my house. I buy 500 basket filters for a little over $2 and paper plates are $1.89 for 100 quantity. The basket shape holds pretzels, popcorn, crackers, chips, nuts, and fruit nicely. I portion out the snacks and put away the boxes so we don’t eat too much.   Elizabeth J. – Lincoln, NE

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Frozen Peanut Butter?

Our grocery store has a whole buggy full of peanut butter that is fixin’ to go out of date and I was wondering if you had ever frozen any. I am going to go ahead and buy 25 containers which should be enough for a year. Hey, at $.50 a container, I think I will take a chance! My hubs eats PBS toast about every morning! Thanks for changing my life by the way! Connie – Fort Smith, AR

Answer:

We’ve never frozen peanut butter because we go through it pretty fast at our house. We do keep the natural stuff in the refrigerator to keep it from going rancid, so we think it should work to freeze it. Try it with one jar and let us know how it works.

We received a response back a couple of days later:  “I froze one to test it, and it did fine! I bought a years supply.”

Coffee Savings Using the Bean

THERE is a difference between the whole bean and the ground coffee!  When I look at coffee prices in the grocery store, there is a $1 difference between the whole bean and the ground coffee packages. The ground coffee is the more expensive of the two.

Here’s what I do: I buy the less expensive one (whole bean) and then use the coffee grinder in the store to grind it up. Not only is it less expensive, but I also grind it at the finest setting. This means that I end up using less coffee than the pre-ground, which is more coarsely ground, to get the same strength coffee in my coffee maker.   Theo Economides – Chicago, IL 

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Clothes Pins to Close Bags

We use clothes pins instead of those expensive, plastic chip clips for clipping bags shut. Clothespins work great, they’re easy to find and are really inexpensive.  Debbie Ludwig – Papua New Guinea

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Grocery Shelf Items – Using the Last Bit

Another idea is when emptying a bottle of BBQ sauce, add water and use this when cooking, for example in baked BBQ pork chops. Natalie G – Las Cruces, NM

Stretch Chocolate Syrup!  Don’t forget to pour milk into the chocolate syrup bottle to get out the last of the chocolate. Then shake it up and you can drink the last glass of chocolate milk right out of the bottle.

There’s usually a way to mix water or milk with whatever is left in most bottles. Then pour it into something you’re baking, cooking, or mixing together, to get the very last out.  That last little bit of chocolate milk is just the sweetest savings of all!  Lilly M. – Hot Springs, AR

Editors’ Note: Lilly thanks for sharing. We do this all of the time – great for smoothies or to add to pancake batter.

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Bulk Storage Saves Money and Time

I buy my flour, sugar, and pasta in bulk then I put it in gallon glass or plastic containers to store.  I only have to buy these items once or twice a year.   Cathy P. – Nineveh, NY 

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I’m a Pecan Nut Too!

Your article about Grocery Shelf Items and pecans (The Bottom Line) was very interesting. I had the same experience! For many years I have been making pecan pies as Christmas gifts for friends, neighbors, and people who have been really nice or helpful to me through the year. It seems that almost everyone likes pecan pies, but not many make them. I have an old recipe that I use and it seems that every year I make more pies than the year before! This year I baked TWENTY PIES!

I have always purchased my pecans at a warehouse club too (Sam’s Club). Their pecans were always better than I could find in the stores . . . bigger and seemed fresher . . . and certainly much less expensive. So this year, I made a special trip there to buy them and was shocked at the price. Yes, I bought them because I felt it was worth the cost to keep up my tradition. Like you, I was told that the higher prices were due to the weather.
Rosalie Vollrath — Cedarburg, WI

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How Do You Store Food if You Shop Less Often?

How can I shop only once a month if I don’t have the storage space? I would like to be able to do this, but only have one refrigerator/freezer.


Answer about creating more storage space for groceries

It’s time to get creative and “invent” storage space.

 


Some ideas for creating more storage space include:

• Put cardboard boxes or plastic bins in available spaces. Store canned foods under a bed. Convert unused closet space to food storage shelves.
• Build mini-shelves under your bathroom sinks to store more toilet paper and personal care items.
• Stack wooden crates on their sides to store canned goods, and cover them with a table cloth to make an end table.
• Freezer space is a little tougher. Repackage prepackaged foods to take up less space. We slice and repackage bulk meat so it is more compact and easier to use.

In our first apartment, we had a small 9 cubic-foot chest freezer that also provided extra counter space.

If efficiency isn’t one of your strengths, ask an organized friend to come over and evaluate options with you.

If these ideas don’t provide enough space, you may need to make a mid-month supplemental shopping trip for perishable items. With some planning, you’ll be stocking your pantry from floor to ceiling and saving “big time” at the grocery store.

Two More Grocery Resources:

1) Our #2 Amazon Best Seller – “Cut Your Grocery Bill in Half” – With so many money saving ideas you won’t have to clip coupons.

2)  Our Audio Seminar CD or Download  Stretching Your Grocery Dollars Without Becoming a Coupon Queen

For more savings at the grocery store, check out our Dairy Section Page.

If you have a favorite way to save on Grocery Shelf Items, please mention it in the comment section below.