COUPON QUEEN: Tips for budgeting at the grocery store

Are you overspending on groceries each month? Here are a few quick tips on how to save money on groceries before you even set foot in the store. Discount days Hey seniors, you can save, on average, 10 percent if you shop on certain days of the week. For instance, at Discount Drug Mart, seniors receive 10 percent off their entire purchase on eligible items on the first Wednesday of the month. You'll receive 20 percent off Discount Drug Mart brand health and beauty items and eligible home health care items. If shopping in the store, Walgreens offers a senior shopping day on the first Tuesday of each month, where you'll save twenty percent on eligible regular-priced purchases. Seniors can also shop online that whole week for twenty percent off with code SENIOR20. Ask your store if they have a special savings day. Research Not all grocery stores have the same prices. This includes sales as well as regular prices. It may not seem like a considerable amount, but adding 40 cents to $1 more per item is a lot of money. Look at the things you buy often and compare prices at local stores. There are items that I prefer buying at one store over another based on price and quality. It's okay to shop around. Know the sales Most know that big box stores run big sales around the holidays, but many other stores run specific sales yearly. For instance, Target hosts an unadvertised toy clearance each January and July. Browse the aisles and pay close attention to the clearance tag, as prices are slashed by up to seventy percent. Giant Eagle also hosts a yearly cereal deal every summer, and while this sale includes different varieties each year, when you add coupons on top of the sale prices, you can often get cereal for under a dollar. Know the season Before making your list and heading to the store, be sure what you plan to buy is currently in season. My boys love raspberries, but $5 for 6 ounces in February? No way! While we will splurge occasionally in the winter, we usually buy cheaper fruit or use the berries from the freezer we picked the previous summer. These are great in smoothies. Eat before you go We've probably all experienced this. You go to the store, and suddenly, you have a cart full of groceries you never planned on buying, all because you are hungry. Never go shopping on an empty stomach. If you are on the go and don't have a snack bar in your car, grab a quick snack before shopping. You may find that spending a little cash before you shop can save you at the checkout. Tune in every Tuesday at 8:40 a.m. on AM 930 WEOL or 100.3 FM to hear me chat about money-saving tips. You can listen online or on the radio. This week's deal Here's a deal you can grab this week at Walgreens. Complete Home or Walgreens Food Storage Bags — buy 1, get 2 free = as low as 93 cents each when you buy three (regularly $2.79 — $3.49) 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.