Groceries shopping is a must activity to fulfill your daily needs. Everyone does grocery shopping as a routine activity. It is one of the biggest spendings on personal spending or household. Since the pandemic Covid 19, the cost of food has risen and gotten out of control. We can’t avoid that, but We should create a strategy, so the rising cost of groceries is not messed up with your budget which will impact your financial goals. Here are some tips on how to save money on groceries:
How to Save Money on Groceries in 14 Ways
1. Cook From the Scratch
Cook yourself than buying prepared food or eating out at a restaurant or fancy coffee is cheaper. You can make everything from the scratch such as make your own baked bread, condiments, jam, beverages, and more. Besides being cheaper, cooking from the scratch is also healthier.
2. Make a list before grocery shopping
Having a buy list along groceries shopping helps you to focus on what will you buy without being distracted by other goods on the supermarket display. However, you must tell yourself to not be tempted by the items which are not on the list. You must stick to the created list.
3. Check the Official Website or Apss for DealsÂ
Official websites/apps of supermarkets often show the details of deals for specific days. Sometimes, they’ll give catalogs for discount products where it mentions the day of the deals/discount. If we purchase the products on those days, we just save money on groceries.
4. Use Coupons or Membership for Discounts
Grocers often give rewards to its member. Sometimes they’ll give special savings on the product that you already buy such as buy one get one, cash back, or gift. You can utilize it to save on groceries.
5. Buy Generic Brand Products
You can buy products from different brands such as generic brands than name-brand items. Whenever I refer to generic brands, I also include private labels and store brands. Generally, generic brand item is cheaper than name-brand items. You could buy sugar, flour, baking soda, milk, beans cooking oils, cereal, and salt from a generic brand.
The low price of a generic brand doesn’t mean low quality. They’re sometimes produced by the same factory of name-brand products. So, why the generic brand has a lower price? The answer is marketing. Name-brand product companies must hire a creative team to create advertising campaigns, marketing, packaging, and more. Those costs are being charged into the product price. That’s why brand-name products are more expensive than the generic brand.
6. Grow a Garden, Even a Small One
Grow your own small garden to plant herbs, vegetables, and fruits. You can save big money by doing that. You just need to spend a few dollars to buy seeds, but you’ll produce fruits and vegetables. Besides saving money, growing your own garden give you safety and security due to you know the history of the vegetables, their fertilizer, and more.
7. Grocery Shop Online
There are many online stores to buy groceries. You don have to go to the physical store to get the products you need. Shopping grocery online at home helps you to avoid impulsive behavior by keeping you away from the display of products. So, it decreases the temptation to buy other products. Furthermore, you can check exactly whether the product is in your kitchen or not. As a result, you will stop spending money on things you do not need at the moment.
8. Comparing Price Through Grocery Store Websites/Apps
Search the catalog or flyers of the grocery store at websites or apps. Comparing products’ prices that you’re going to buy. So that, you can get the best price and surely it saves you money.
9. Bring a Calculator
If you want to keep on track of the budget that you’ve made. You can bring the calculator during grocery shopping. You can utilize a mobile phone calculator if you don’t have a mini calculator. Calculate every price of the item as you add to the chart. This will help you avoid impulsive purchases. It’s a good way to save money on groceries.
10. Plan Meal Based on What You Have
As you plan a meal for dinner, while you have pasta in your kitchen. Look for recipes you can make using pasta. Make dinner meals from pasta. So you just need to buy additional items.
11. Buy in Bulk
Buy in bulk products that you consume frequently is a way to save money. Put the product in a big container with proper store space condition. Doing portioning by yourself to take on the go. So you can bring your food and beverages from home.
However, not all are cheaper in a bulk. You must carefully calculate and compare the products. Figure out per ounce, gram, or liter for the bulk and compare it to the small package price.
12. Buy in Season
Particular fruits are seasonal. When the season comes, the price is much cheaper than regular time. Buy this kind of fruit in its season to save money. You can do some tricks such as putting on the freezer to make it long last. So you can still consume it out of season.
13. Create Weekly Meal Preparation
Most people grocery shop on weekends. Create a meal plan for a week before shopping. Calculate the number of products needed based on the meal plan. Buy the items and the amount based on them. It avoids unused products left over and rotten/stale.
14. Properly Store Foods and Beverages
Saving money by making sure that there is no wasted food. Storing foods and beverages improperly is the reason food goes to the trash boxes. By storing both perishable and shelf-stable items properly, you can extend the life of your food and reduce waste. So make sure you store products in accordance it supposed to be. Read the back of the package or search on the internet about storing each product you have.
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