There are certain things you really must buy. One of them is food. Even if you are sporting a spare tire big enough to float the whole cast of The Biggest Loser, you do need to eat.

You don’t, however, need to run your checking account down into single digits in order to put food on the table. Almost all of us could find some additional cash by trimming our grocery bills.

So, that sounds good but just telling someone to spend less really doesn’t offer a great deal of help. That’s why I’m here to share five great ways to trim your grocery bill down to size. Without further ado, here’s the list. These aren’t just ideas, by the way, they’re recommendations for which I can personally vouch.

1. Do the High-Low. Here’s the deal, those high school kids who put food on the shelves are just following orders. There not in charge of product placement. That job falls squarely on the shoulder of actual merchandising wizards. These sales gurus have found that people are more likely to by the stuff at eye level. So, they put the most profitable items at eye level. That’s the expensive stuff.

Look high. Look low. You’ll find the cheaper alternatives.

2. You need a List. Really. If you go into the store without a list, a few things are going to happen.

First, you’re going to spend a lot of extra time in there. Not only is that annoying, it also increases the likelihood that you’ll break down and make a stupid purchase that isn’t really in line with your budget goals.

Second, it assures that you’ll suddenly realize you need a tub of sour cream right as you finally advance in line to the checkout counter.

Third, the disorganization is going to lead you to spend more than you thought and to shop inefficiently.

Make a list. Stick to the list.

3. Buy things you’ll really eat. You decide to cut the bill down, so you schedule a meal of macaroni and cheese on Monday and canned salmon sandwiches (hey, it was on sale) on Tuesday. In addition to the health issues those incomplete meal choices might present, there’s also a fairly strong likelihood that you’re going to look back on your decisions as if they were made by an insane person.

After a long day at work and realizing that a box of Kraft doesn’t make for a great supper or remembering that there’s really no good way to turn Wonder bread and canned salmon into something edible, you’re going to rebel against your plan.

Before you know it, you’re going to be ordering a pizza or driving to a restaurant–spending more money. And you’ll end up back at the grocery store earlier than planned–spending more money.

4. Eat Before You Go. What do you think hungry people do when they’re in a grocery store surrounded by yummy goodies? Do you think they’re more likely to give in to wasteful impulse shopping than they might be if they were sated before wandering into the store?

This one’s obvious. Don’t go into the supermarket when you’re hungry. You’ll buy more than you need and you’ll probably buy things that didn’t make your list.

5. Buy Quality When it Matters. I can’t tell the difference between the name brand brown rice in a bag and the store brand. They taste the same to me. Maybe you can sense a subtle quality difference, but I can’t. As such, I’m buying the store brand and saving some money. When it comes to creamed corn, however, I won’t touch the generic stuff. It’s like a creepy, runny corn soup. I go with the Jolly Green Giant on that one, even if it runs me an extra twenty cents.

The point is that it’s okay to spend a little more for quality when it makes a difference to you. You want to actually eat the things you buy and there’s no reason to punish yourself with food you don’t like in order to save a few bucks.

If you spend up for the good stuff in areas where it matters to you, you’re going to keep eating at home instead of wasting money at restaurants. It also makes the grocery buying process seem a little less like an exercise in Draconian budgeting.

The next time you need to stock your cupboards, keep these little pearls of wisdom in mind. You’re almost guaranteed to shave some money off of your grocery bill.