Coupon Queen: Budgeting tips for the grocery store

Grocery prices are skyrocketing. If you need help controlling your grocery budget, here are a few ways to save money on groceries before you even enter the building. Join the program If your store has a loyalty program, sign up for it before you head to the store. On top of some stores offering lower prices on food throughout the store to their members, sometimes you'll be targeted for extra coupons too. On top of this, some stores can keep track of your spending and can offer you additional savings back. This can add up significantly, especially if you shop there regularly. Download the app If your grocery store has a smartphone app, download it before heading to the store. You can "clip" electronic coupons weekly to lower your out-of-pocket expenses. Sometimes these coupons can become tailored to how you shop. This means coupons may appear for the items you shop for the most. Best of all, checking out is so easy. Just scan your bar code, and all the items you bought and had a coupon for will come off your total. Follow budget-friendly food blogs Following budget-friendly food blogs has transformed my cooking repertoire and helped keep our grocery bills low. Following these blogs takes out the guesswork on what to prepare that week, which keeps me from choosing carry-out as a quick choice. These short, easy recipes make me actually want to cook dinner too. Three of my favorites are Budget Bytes, The Frugal Chef, and 5 Dollar Dinners. Create a list Once you know what you will cook that week, create a list. This list will prevent you from buying things you don't need and keep you from forgetting the ingredients that you do. I created my list based on the items that we will use that week, along with the sale prices in the ad. If something is on a significant drop that week, it may get added to the list for the following week's dinner. Check Ibotta app Before shopping, I always use the Ibotta app to see what offers match my grocery list. Once you have clipped the offer and bought the items, that money gets added to your Ibotta account. This app gives me extra savings that are hard to pass up. This week's deal Here's a deal that you can get this week at CVS. Buy (2) Colgate Total Pro-Shield Mouthwash 16.9 oz. Bottles — $5.49 each Use the $4/2 select Colgate Products digital manufacturer's coupon (found online at CVS or their app) Pay $6.98 Get back $5 ExtraBucks* Final: $1.98 total – just 99 cents each! *ExtraBucks can be spent like cash in the store. Rachel Krych is passionate about helping others spend less and save more. In addition to her weekly column, she has a blog, Couponing With Rachel, which earns her compensation from Google for ads it places there, and from entertainment marketers whose promotional codes she touts. She doesn't write about entertainment in her column. Email her at couponingwithrachel@hotmail.com.