Two words can help you save money on everything: patience and research.

Let's start with your grocery bill - which is likely going up again. You can't stop eating, but most of us would like to trim our grocery spending. Statistics Canada pegs our grocery bill at 11 percent of our household expenditure but many people would tell you it is more.

"Yeah," agreed one shopper. "We look and try to save a bit of money here and there."

"I shop for deals and then I work more to try and compensate" explained another. "It's tough you know, I'm a single mom so it's really hard."

Checking weekend flyers is one of the easiest ways to save money.

At Walmart last weekend 10 pounds of potatoes were advertised at $3.97. At Save on Foods, they were a dollar cheaper and a BC product too. Looking for laundry detergent? The best price on Sunlight detergent was in an unlikely place: Canadian Tire. Safeway had 'Buy one Get one Free' on a number of products. That's a real saving.

Other ways to save on groceries:

  • Make a list -- with a budget in mind.
  • Shop in bulk -- you can always freeze leftover servings for later.
  • Don't shop hungry -- have a light snack before you go.
  • And don't shop with kids -they'll make you buy things you may not need.

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Flyers can help you save on other items too -- like a TV. Visions had good prices, but on one advertised model Sears was a little bit less.

"The items featured prominently on the front page are almost always on sale, but you've got to be really careful about the prices of goods on the interior pages. That's because manufacturers sometimes simply pay for the privilege of advertising, and there's no sale price involved," explained Tod Marks of Consumer Reports.

Another way to save, is buying off season. Like buying patio furniture or barbecue's in the fall -- when stores are trying to clear them out. Selection may be limited -- but prices are low.

And items usually go on sale at set times of year. For televisions, look for sales prior to the December holidays. And for big higher end flat-screen TVs, look in January.

Want a new digital camera? Aim for savings in April.

And if you're thinking about a new computer, the best prices are for back to school and in November.

Time to redecorate? A little patience will save you a lot of dollars. Every six months furniture goes on sale in February and again in July.

When buying appliances you can save money buy skipping some pricey extra features you'll never use. Instead of stainless steel insides, get a dishwasher with plastic. Washing machines have plenty of extra features you probably don't need like special cycles for bedding, active wear and sanitizing.

" Stick with the regular heavy duty , normal, delicate, and white cycles , that's all you really need," says Kim Kleman of Consumer Reports.

And don't forget the art of haggling -- many stores will match or beat prices -- particularly on bigger ticket items like furniture appliances and electronics and jewelry.Or if they won't beat it -- get them to throw in something extra.

Remember, it's impossible for any store to have the lowest price's on everything. They can't do it and stay in business. So they lure you in with the "loss leaders" and hope you buy everything there. A prudent shopper recognizes the true bargains -- and stocks up.

So how much could you save?

If you buy sale items, use coupons, you can save 20 to 30 percent on just about anything. The flip side of that is if you want it now if you "must have" the latest and greatest then you will always pay too much.