GROCERIES

Save $840
Redeem weekly
The estimated average weekly grocery bill for an American household is $90, according to the Food Marketing Institute, a food retailer and wholesaler trade association in Washington, D.C. By using a store’s discount card, you can shave about 18 percent off that cost. Another way to keep the register from ringing: Don’t bring the kids, who may ask for treats you weren’t planning on buying. You can also save by stocking up on coupons. www.couponcart.com or CoolSavings (www.coolsavings.com), and shop on double-coupon days if your grocer has them. Avoid buying prepared and packaged goods. For example, Consumer Reports found that two pounds of carrots cost $1.29, compared with $7.16 for the same amount of precut carrot sticks. Finally, stock up on freezable foods after their peak times. Gary Foreman, publisher of the Dollar Stretcher website (www.thedollarstretcher.com), notes that prices for turkeys are slashed after Thanksgiving and Christmas.

GAS

Save $240
Redeem on Tuesdays
An American family with one car and one SUV or minivan consumes about 1,200 gallons of gas each year, according to the Federal Highway Administration. At any time, however, the price of a gallon of gas can vary by as much as 20 cents within a metropolitan area, says Brad Proctor, founder of GasPriceWatch, a consumer-advocacy website. To get the best bargain, avoid buying gas on weekends, when most people travel or run errands and gas stations raise prices accordingly. (Tip: Plan to take care of errands all at once instead of making extra trips.) Also, stay away from stations on toll highways, which charge high prices to their captive customers. To find the lowest price near your home or job on a given day, go to www.gaspricewatch.com or GasBuddy (www.gasbuddy.com) and enter your home or work ZIP code. These sites bring together volunteer “price spotters” (GasPriceWatch has 110,000) who regularly update the sites with prices at local stations. If you can stick to pumping once a week, says Proctor, you can often find the best prices on Tuesdays.