All this week, Canada AM is presenting "AM Financial Fix" in which we'll follow two people as they get their finances in order.

Today, we offer tips on saving money at the grocery store and using those savings to pay down your mortgage faster.

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Kim Clancy of frugalshopper.ca says there's a lot that Kent Cousins and his wife Sandy Usami can do to save money while grocery shopping.

According to Kim, the grocery savings begin before you even walk in the store. Choosing to shop at discount grocery stores like No Frills, Real Canadian Superstore, and Save-On Foods can cut costs by 30 per cent.

When it comes to buying food, bigger is almost always better. For example, loose potatoes can cost 67 cents a pound, meaning it will cost $6.70 to buy 10 pounds of potatoes. But if you buy them in bulk in a bag, 10 pounds will cost only $1.97.

The same applies for meat and dairy products. A "club pack" of sausage is $1.50 a kilogram -- much cheaper than the smaller package, and extras can be frozen. Four-litre bags of milk cost only 52 cents more than two-litre cartons of milk.

Kim is the ultimate coupon clipper. Kent and Sandy don't use coupons because they often forget them at home but Kim says that's no excuse. She keeps her coupon box in her car and recommends Kent and Sandy do the same.

Debt reduction

So how should Kent and Sandy spend their savings? Personal finance expert Patricia Lovett-Reid says the couple should focus on debt reduction.

She says the best way to figure out your debt is to draw up a net worth statement,  to look at your assets and liabilities.

"This creates a road map, it highlights the areas that you have in debt, and it gives you opportunities to set some goals and give you a benchmark, year after year."

Lovett-Reid says a common thing that people will do when drawing up their net worth statement is to forget about the amount that they owe on their mortgage. But for most people, that's the biggest debt they will ever pay off.

She says there are lots of ways to pay off mortgages faster and more economically and some are quite simple and painless.

"Most people pay a monthly mortgage. One of the first things that you can do is take that monthly mortgage and pay half of it on a bi-weekly basis," she recommends. "What you're doing is going from 12 payments per year to 26 payments so you're actually making one extra payment."

So instead of paying $1,000 12 times a year, for a total of $12,000 a year, you'll pay $500 26 times a year, for an annual payment of $13,000.

Or, once a year, when you have a little extra cash on hand, you can double up your mortgage payment

"Or take it a step further and say I don't want to make this lump sum; what I'd rather do is add 1/12 to each monthly payment. The net result is the same thing," Lovett-Reid. The annual cost may not seem like much but the results will add up over the long term.

"If you had a $300,000 mortgage, 30-year amortization at 7 per cent, you go from a 30-year term to a 23-year term. You shave off about seven years."

Lovett-Reid says it's important to check your mortgage agreement to ensure you won't incur any penalties for overpaying, "but most allow a lump sum maybe up to 10 per cent."

Tomorrow, we'll tell you how you can save money on at the pump. Plus, what your different options are when it comes to car insurance.