I especially enjoy stocking up on things I need around the house, like cleaning supplies or band-aids or shampoo. These things are the best to hoard since they don't go bad, I'll always need them, and my taste in shampoos and cleaning supplies is unlikely to change. Find a brand that you like, stick to it, and watch for sales. My favourite cleaning line, GreenWorks, often goes on sale for $2 a bottle at Shoppers, down from about $4.50. Crazy! I recently got a giant-size bottle of my favourite shampoo at a discount price, AND it came with a free bottle of the matching conditioner. Sweet! And if you shop at a store with a points system (like Shoppers Drug Mart with their Optimum points thing) the savings can really add up. And it's a bit of an insurance policy in a way; I know that if things get tight around a few key times of year (which it inevitably does) we won't have to worry about not having enough change to scrape together for necessities like toilet paper or dish soap. And I know that if I DO happen to run out of something, I can cash in some points at the register and save some precious dollars. Here is where you'll be rewarded for loyalty, and it makes sense to take advantage of it.
Melissa's point about sale prices is a good one, too. I recently read an article about what food items are best to buy on sale. I couldn't find the original article despite my best search efforts, but there are some similar ones here and here. It really opened my eyes as to what I was being gouged for and what to buy only when it's on sale. One of the biggest things I didn't realize was putting holes in my pockets was cereal. For this reason I now only buy cereal when it's on sale; this week my local grocery store has big boxes on sale for about $2.50, which is a big dip from their regular price of $4.75 for the smaller, slimmer boxes. Score! And if there's a great sale at a grocery store that's 20 minutes away, and if I need to do a "big" grocery run anyway, I'll go and it will be worth the trip. Grocery stores often won't reward your loyalty, so there's no real need to just stick to one. Shop around. Most stores have their flyers available online as well, so even if you don't get a regular news publication delivered to your door you can still keep up with what's on sale. Unfortunately for me, the only grocery store in my little town is a 24-hour Foodland, which generally has prices that are higher than most. But this means I just hunt that much harder for deals at grocery stores in neighbouring towns. To make the drive when I need more apples is a bit silly, but for large trips the savings really add up, and what you can get at a discount store for $50 is more than what would cost the same at a 24-hour store.
The only grocery chain that offers rewards (as far as I know) are the PC-associated stores (Loblaws, No Frills, etc). If you get a PC Mastercard, you can earn points on any dollar you spend, ANYwhere, which is pretty great when you think about it. If you take it a step further and create a PC bank account, you earn points anywhere plus double the points when you use your PC Debit card at participating PC stores.
I feel like an infomercial announcer. But wait! There's more!
For those who drive cars daily, there's another way to save on groceries: If you head to a Superstore/No Frills gas station, you will earn $0.02 on every litre that's redeemable for a discount off your next purchase at a PC store. (On top of that, the gas prices at these locations are the cheapest by at least about $0.05). If you use your PC debit card to pay at the pump, it doubles to $0.04 per litre. And in a car with a large gas tank, that can really add up. I've been handed receipts from these gas bars with numbers like $1.98 at the top. The biggest one I got was something like $2.06. Two whole dollars! I know! Filling up a few times a week really adds up the savings, all from something we have to buy anyway: gas. I had maybe 4 or 5 receipts with me last time I did a big grocery trip, and we saved about $7. That's 3 loaves of bread, or a big family-size pack of chicken drumsticks. For free! Awesome, right?!
I know this extra discount is only available to people who drive a lot, and happen to live in an area with these specific stores (location finder can be found here). But the Superstore/No Frills/Independent grocery store trend is growing, as people realize that shopping at over-priced "boutique" grocery stores is a rip-off. Do a little looking around, and you'd be surprised at what you find! The deals are out there, you just may have to put in a tiny bit more effort to take advantage of them. Good luck with your deal-hunting!
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