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A mom of two has tips for saving you major coin at the grocery store.

Victoria Jones, who goes by “Victoria’s Meal Prep” on social media, is not a fan of waste. She often shows viewers how to save money by using fruit cores and peels and other kitchen scraps, but she also wants to make sure they don’t waste in-app deals at the grocery store.

“I created this account because what was happening is I kept giving these tips to different people in my life, and they all started asking me, ‘Well, where do you buy things?’ or ‘How do you do this?’” Jones tells TODAY.com.

“I really feel like there’s a need to know how it is that I go grocery shopping and use the coupons in the apps that I can share with other people so that they can also save money,” she says. “I think the stores make it really hard on purpose.”

Victoria Jones’ money-saving grocery shopping tips

Jones really knows how to save, and she is sharing her tips for keeping money in your pocket at the grocery store:

Have a plan and take inventory

This one seems simple, but how many of us walk into the grocery store not knowing what we’re going to make for dinner that night? Jones calls this a “trap.”

“I start off with thinking, ‘What is it that I need to cook?’” Jones says. “My staples are the same staples everybody else has. I need cheap proteins; I need eggs, milk and yogurt; I need fruits and vegetables, and then maybe bread or pasta.”

Jones says simply knowing what you need will keep you from tossing another taco seasoning into your cart when you already have three at home.

Know which stores carry which low-cost items

Jones says, at the beginning of the month, she already knows what she will need to feed herself and her family, so she can plan to wait for a sale on certain items rather than picking them up at full price because she’s running low. Take, for example, eggs.

“For my last video, I needed eggs, so I was like, ‘OK, is there a place that currently has a sale on eggs, or is there a store that I know has marked-down eggs?’ So, I went to Kroger, and they usually have a special area where they have markdown dairy and egg places, so I check there to see if they have any cheap eggs, and then I combine that with any discounts that they give you.”

Find the clearance area

Don’t discount the clearance area of your local supermarket, Jones says.

“If you shop at any Kroger brand store, they have clearance items with stickers and areas in their store where they have like a lot of clearance items for, like, 65% off,” Jones says, adding that it won’t just be stocked with strange, unwanted flavors of soda.

“They have meat on clearance; they have fruits and veggies on clearance,” she says. “If you’re in your own store, just take one trip to walk around the edge of the store and see if there are any areas. If you just go really slow, you can find where they keep their clearance items.”

Download grocery apps and keep scrolling

The little grocery inserts in your local paper aren’t where the best deals are anymore, Jones says. But you have to look to find them.

“If you go in the app and see the coupons right on the first page, it’s going to be the things that companies pay them to promote,” she says, instructing you to just scroll past all that. “The first page is always going to be some overpriced crap that you’re probably not going to want to buy anyways, and even with the coupon, it is really expensive.”

She says the real deals are after all that, so give yourself time to scroll through all the sales. Your favorite item might be on the last page.

Grocery apps may have points you’re not using

Jones’ preferred store, Kroger, has a points system for savings on groceries. Most other popular supermarket apps and loyalty programs use points, cash back or digital rewards to help you save. But you have to be vigilant.

“You know, because my budget is low, I only had like $2 off, but I was like, ‘OK, cool, I could buy eggs and apply the $2 off,’ and my eggs cost 60 cents.”

This story first appeared on TODAY.com. More from TODAY:

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