AOL(ARA) - Food prices are up, way up. The overall cost of weekly groceries today is nearly six percent more than last year - higher than the inflation rate. As food prices continue to rise, shoppers are on the hunt for easy ways to save money on groceries.

"The key to cutting the grocery bill is not about changing the way you eat, but about changing the way you buy the foods that you like to eat," says Stephanie Nelson of www.CouponMom.com. She offers three simple principles to help everyday grocery shoppers become "strategic shoppers" who can save big at the checkout.

Know How to Get Low Prices: Strategic shoppers learn the price ranges of their most common grocery items by starting a "price book" and stocking up when favorite items hit the lowest prices. By taking this approach, shoppers can save an average of 50 to 70 percent off of these items.

Store loyalty cards are another key strategy for saving at the grocery store. Some loyalty programs send extra coupons in the mail and even offer discounts on the food bill once a certain dollar amount is spent in the store.

Know How to Use Coupons: When it comes to coupons, it's important to know when to use them, where to use them and where to find them. As a strategic shopper, be sure to recognize when favorite brand name items hit their lowest prices and use the coupons at that point to save the most money on the grocery bill.

Many grocery stores offer shoppers even more savings through "bonus" coupon programs. This means that these stores will double or triple coupons up to a certain amount, such as 50 cents. Shoppers can also use the free grocery deals lists for 41 stores in 50 states available at www.couponmom.com to save money by combining sales and coupons.

Know Where to Find Coupons: Strategic shoppers seek out coupons from traditional sources, like the Sunday newspaper, as well as from online coupon Web sites, like http://www.Shortcuts.com. A few coupon-collecting strategies include:

* Buy more than one copy of the newspaper when it is a high-coupon week.

* Sign up for store loyalty cards to receive special coupon mailings and coupons at checkout.

* Use free online coupons that can be linked to loyalty cards at http://www.Shortcuts.com.

* Review the weekly ads for local grocery stores for extra savings coupons and specials.

* Look out for coupons in the store: red coupon shelf boxes, tear off pads on store displays, at the customer service counter and on product packages.

Log on to http://www.Shortcuts.com for a free e-book called "Shortcuts and The Coupon Mom System Show You How to Cut Your Grocery Bill in Half." Full of tips to help shoppers take full advantage of coupons, this e-book offers tips that can help anyone see significant savings on their receipt, every time they shop for groceries.

Courtesy of ARAcontent