When money is tight, one of the easiest places to cut a chunk out of your monthly expenses is to shop smarter at the grocery store. And we’re not talking about switching to a diet of only rice and beans, or packaged blocks of noodle soup. You can actually get great food for a lower price by using some of these five grocery store secrets.

1. Buy Generic Items

If you’re purchasing name-brand items, you’re probably paying a premium just to get a different packaging. The food inside the box, bag, or can is not noticeably different from the item marketed under the store brand. If you’re suspicious, pick up the leading brand and the generic and give the ingredients a quick scan. Comparing the ingredients will show exactly what you’re paying for with the pricier brand versus the generic. Plus, once you get used to seeing the different packages in your kitchen, you’ll never want to go back to paying extra for the name brands.

2. Plan Your List

Impulse buys make up a large portion of your grocery bill, and planning out your list before you head to the store is the best way to keep impulse purchases to a minimum. It also encourages you to pick the meals you will cook for the week ahead of time, which decreases the chance that you’ll have to go to the store again mid-week for a missed ingredient. To give yourself some wiggle room for in-store deals or things you forgot to put on the list, set a specific dollar amount you can spend on non-list purchases each week.

3. Use Coupons

Manufacturers and individual stores release tons of coupons for products that you may be buying anyway. Look at the store circular, Sunday newspaper, and printable coupon websites to find free coupons you may want to use. When you take the coupons to the store, make sure you’re actually getting a deal by comparing the after-coupon price to similar products. Also ask yourself whether the product is something you’d ordinarily buy anyway, rather than purchasing something you don’t need just because you have a coupon for it.

4. Grow Your Own

Growing produce in your own yard is one of the best ways to cut your grocery bill, especially during the summer months. A little garden space can turn into a lot of food, especially if you stick to planting the things that you know your family will eat. Plus, if you use organic  methods and seed, you’ll get organic food without paying a premium. If you can’t bring yourself to garden, at least educate yourself about what produce is in season at any given point and stick to buying those items, which are at their best prices of the year.

5. Stock Up on Sale Items

When you know that your household uses a particular shelf-stable product and you see it listed in the grocery store’s sale circular, go ahead and stock up on it so you can get enough for several months at this week’s low price. Most sales ads run in 6-week to 12-week cycles, depending on the store and region, so don’t bother getting more than you can use in three months. Regardless of what you’ve seen in extreme couponing television specials, you don’t actually need a two-year supply of toothpaste.

Being a savvy shopper requires a little bit of attention, but the time and energy you put into your grocery shopping will pay off big in your household budget’s bottom line. The typical family can cut at least 10 percent off the grocery bill by implementing each of these strategies. In the process, you may even find some inexpensive, nutritious foods that your family loves eating!

Authors Bio:
Holly Watson is a stay-at-home mom, former financial adviser, and baking enthusiast. She is currently obsessing over perfecting her ‘Mimosa’ cupcakes. She blogs on behalf of Sears and other prestigious brands she uses.