Boring!

Oops, didn't mean to check out for a week!
Well, my grocery tips aren't anything spectacular, but they help a lot.
When Mr. Man and I were first married, we lived in an aprtment comlex that was on a corner smack between a Walmart and an Albertson's. I walked to whichever store suited my fancy, bought whatever suited my fancy and usually was left wondering what was going to be for dinner.
When I'm left wondering what we should have for dinner, it's usually dinner out. Not so good on a budget.
One of many good things that resulted from Mr. Man and I sharing a car for a year was I couldn't do things without first planning them. After we had Little Miss, meal planning became a big part of my budgeting. It became a necessity when we were sharing a car.
So my grocery tips?
Have a list. A detailed list. Sit down for a bit and plan meals for the week, list the ingredients you need for said meals and make your list accordingly. I like to make the meat for one meal stretch into two. A few weeks ago, we got a yummy roast chicken from Costco. We had a nice meal from that, then a few days later I made chicken and dumplings out of the leftovers. Yummy!
I plan for 5 meals for 7 days, knowing that one night we might all feel like cereal and baked potatoes, or that some meals will become leftovers.
I try to plan breakfast and lunch as well, although I'm not amazing at this. But I get oatmeal or cereal for the week, as well as lunch meat or cheese and crackers to help with lunch ideas. The trick is that I shop weekly. And I know my store.
I recently tried the couponing thing at bigger chains, but it did't work out in the end. That milk special? It was the same price at my regular store.
That deal on cheese? Sorry, I know my store sells it cheaper.
I shop often enough that prices are fixed in my mind and I can compare pretty easily.
We buy a lot of things in bulk. Not just costco bulk where you get canned veggies and such, but the bulk where everything goes in little bags with twistie ties. Flour, sugar, oatmeal, choc. chips, etc are all much, much cheaper if you head over to this little corner of your store.
I also have a path I take through the store. Produce first. I buy the produce I know I need for meals, then work in vegetables and fruit to snack on. I choose the produce that is cheapest that week. If apples and oranges are expensive, I stock up on bananas. For snacks, I try to stick to things that are less than $1.00/lb. Or I head to Costco. More expensive sometimes, but more quality and quantity, so it lasts longer.
Anyway. Boring post. I'm yawning just writing it!!
Any other ways you save outside of the grocery store that you want to share?