Saving money on groceries has become ever more important in the current economy. And yet, it can also be turned into a fun little game. Read on for a few tricks that will help you save a lot of money on groceries.

Have you noticed that certain things are cheaper in store A and others cheaper in store B? And you wish you could ever remember what they were? Start taking notes! And avoid driving back and forth to all the grocery stores to save a few pennies. That will cost you more in fuel than you would probably save, right?

Here are a few strategies I've come up with that help me make the most of my grocery store dollars.

There are three nearby grocery stores. Store A has terrific deals on cream, prepared foods, quality meat and poultry, omega-3 eggs, most types of produce, and various other things. Store B has much better prices on canned goods, coffee, and frozen goods. Store C has less of a selection but sometimes good prices on produce and meat. Moreover, I like certain kinds of things that only store A carries. Store B is much closer to where I live, however.

So what I do is this: I keep running tally of the prices for things I tend to like (mostly in my head) and I buy them in the store that's cheaper. Meanwhile, going to too many stores may easily tempt you into buying more than you need, leading to potential waste, which is definitely NOT a good way to save money.

So here's the plan. I go to store A about once every week or two,, and at that point I get the things I can only get there, plus stock up on those that are cheaper there.

In addition, the Sunday paper has inserts for both stores, so I know what each has on sale that week. And if some of that fits with my plan, I'll incorporate it into my shopping trips. In the meantime, and for little impromptu purchases (ran out of onions...), I go to the nearby store. And occasionally, when I want to stock up on produce, I stop at store C to see what they have on sale.

What about coupons? Absolutely. I keep them in a coupon pouch, sorted by what they're for, and use them whenever appropriate. What I don't do is buy things just because I happen to have a coupon. Instead, I make sure I have coupons with me for the things I plan to buy anyway, to get the best savings on groceries.