Similar to the money-saving tip last week, this week’s tip is about food. If you have decided to cut back on eating out, now comes down to groceries. I know what you are thinking, “I’m already saving money by eating at home”; but your grocery habits could also be hurting your budget. You could be spending more money on things that you don’t really need. So this week’s tip – it smart grocery shopping to save money!
But What does this mean?
The biggest thing this means to have a game plan going into the stores, usually in the form of a grocery list. If you have a grocery list, you are more likely to stick within a budget and not fall for sale tactics. You can cut down your grocery bill substantially if you know what you need and aren’t just browsing what the store has. Your mind (and stomach) will make you think you need more than you actually do. It is okay to make splurge purchases but it should not take over the entire trip. Even as simple as sticking to the staples of meals can save money. What I mean by that is, bread, rice, meat/eggs, pasta sauce
Planning ahead
If you have a good grocery list, you can look for deals in local circulars for the best price. This can cut down the cost if you can find a good deal. If you are planning on getting fruit in general, get grapes or melon when it’s on sale rather than full price on strawberries. This can be an effective strategy to save money. For things like bread, look at the store brand rather than name brand as this can be up to a couple of dollar savings. All these little things, changes in your shopping habits, can add up to a lot of savings each week.
If you sit down once a week to write out a grocery list, you are less likely to need to go to the grocery store during the week; which will decrease impulse buying. Smart grocery shopping saves both time and money. If you can stick with this, you may only save $10-$20 a week but you will save a lot of money over the course of the year. Even $10 savings per week, is over $520 savings over the entire year.
Conclusion
Smart grocery shopping saves a lot of money over the long-term. However, this usually means a change in habits, which can be difficult. You can still make impromptu purchase but just be more aware of them to prevent it from getting out of hand. Making a grocery list on the weekends, should prevent recurrent visits to the store throughout the week.
Do you have any grocery saving tips? Post them in the comments below