By Michelle Davidson, Managing Editor 

Times are tough, and many people are looking for ways to cut costs and save money. Grocery expenses in particular can take a big chunk of your income. If you shop wisely, however, you can rein in those costs. Follow these 10 tips to cut your grocery bills.

1. Make a list -- To avoid impulse buying, make a list of what you need and stick to that list when you get to the store. Go through your pantry, cabinets, refrigerator, and freezer and determine what you really need.

2. Check store flyers for sales -- Before you head to the store, check the flyers for your local stores. You could find that CVS, Target, or Walgreens will have your items on sale whereas your grocery store will have them at full price.

3. Cut coupons -- Check the flyers in your newspaper or visit websites such as Smartsource.com and Coupons.com for coupons for brand-name items. If you collect Box Tops for your child's school, register at BoxTops4education.com and get coupons for products they support. You can save money and help your child's school earn money.

4. Organize your coupons -- Make sure that after you cut your coupons you can easily find them. Consider buying an inexpensive cardboard organizer or put them in clearly identifiable envelopes or folders that you can easily find when you make your shopping list.

5. Sign up for store savings cards -- Many stores, such as Stop & Shop, Price Chopper, CVS and PetsMart, have membership programs that provide discounts on items. They will also give you coupons for items you buy regularly or "money" back to purchase items at their store. For example, CVS gives you $1 in Extra Bucks for every two prescriptions filled at its stores. At the end of the quarter, you will receive all the Extra Bucks you accumulated for future purchases at their stores.

6. Don't shop when you're hungry or with hungry kids -- When you're hungry, you're more apt to make impulse purchases. Everything you see looks good to you. And if your kids are fussy from being hungry, you're likely to get them something to eat while you're shopping, handing over an empty bag or box at the checkout. Avoid those extra costs and eat before heading out.

7. Buy store-brand or generic items -- Often generic or store-brand items taste the same and work the same as name-brand items, and you can save 50 cents to $1 on an item.

8. Buy less meat or cheaper cuts of meat -- Consider cooking a couple meat-free dinners a week, such as vegetable stir-fry, vegetable lasagna, or vegetable casserole. Or try using cheaper cuts of meat such as chicken thighs, skirt steak, or flank steak. When cooked well, they can taste just as good as the more expensive cuts. (For cooking ideas, see Kidz Rule USA's recipe for Tasty Bite-sized Chicken Bites and About.com's "How to Make Cheap Steak Taste Good."

9. Buy fewer organic items -- Many people have turned to organic items for health and environmental reasons. But organic items are expensive -- often costing 25% to 50% more. Consider scaling back the organic items that you buy.

According to Consumer Reports, items with the highest amount of pesticide residues are peaches, apples, sweet bell peppers, celery, nectarines, strawberries, cherries, lettuce, imported grapes, pears, spinach, and potatoes. Those are the ones worth spending the extra money for organic options.

Fruits and vegetables with the lowest residues are onions, avocado, frozen sweet corn, pineapples, mangoes, frozen sweet peas, asparagus, kiwi, bananas, cabbage, broccoli, and eggplant. When short of cash, you can feel safe buying conventionally grown versions of those fruits and vegetables.

10. Buy in bulk -- Take advantage of "buy one, get one free" sales, buy as many sale items as you can, or shop at warehouse stores such as Costco and BJ's. You can store non-perishable items for a year or more and load up your freezer. If you don't have room to store the items, consider sharing with a friend, family member, or neighbor - you can split the cost and share the savings!