Every week most grocery stores send out print advertisements showing their weekly grocery specials. Some people read through these, but most just throw them in the garbage, not understanding how applying the information in these ads can help them save money and shop more efficiently.

Shopping according to the weekly print ads is a great way to save money on your grocery bill. Going through the ads ahead of time and deciding which items to buy can help curb impulse spending, which is the biggest source of overspending on groceries. By being aware of the sales items at different stores, you can avoid overpriced products and truly shop the lowest prices. Knowing what is on sale each week also makes it possible to buy in bulk. This helps you to avoid the high prices when an item is not on sale, but needed at home. You will already have built up a supply of the item, bought when the price per item was a good, affordable deal.

One of the best things about studying the weekly grocery print ads is how it can help you discover the cycle that most stores follow in their sales pricing. Soon you will see patterns in the prices—fruit that is in season is usually priced lower than fruit out of season, holiday foods (turkey, cranberries, barbecue foods, Halloween treats, and more) are usually much cheaper right after the holidays or right at the last minute before the holidays, and canned goods are cheapest when stores do bulk sales or “case-lot” sales (usually the beginning of spring and fall). Understanding the weekly grocery specials will help you see the long-term cycles of sales, making your shopping more efficient and less expensive overall.

Truly taking advantage of the grocery specials may require some changes in your shopping habits. Be prepared to go to the grocery store more often instead of once or twice a month. The best way to shop weekly grocery specials is to go every week, just as the ads come out. Page through them and then make up your shopping list. You may also find it saves you a lot of money to visit different grocery stores. You will have to decide this based on how close the stores are to you and how precious your time is. You also will want to start planning your meals so you don’t have to run out at the last minute for grocery items. Last-minute runs to the store usually end in impulse buying, so they are to be avoided if possible. Planning your meals according to what is on sale that week will help you do this. All of these things will help you save money on your grocery bill.