How to Save Money At the Grocery Store (10 ways).
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The amount you spend on groceries can vary from month to month, unlike a mortgage or car payment. When a budget fails one can often accuse the grocery bill.
I love going to the grocery store and looking at my receipt to see how much I saved. The best Ive personally done is 70% and Ive only been able to do that once. I really try to save between 30% and 40% when I visit the grocery store, if possible.
Clipping coupons and buying generic brands is thought to be good advice, but it is important to know how stores entice you to spend more than what you originally earmarked for the grocery store. Some of these strategies are so subtle that you may have never even considered them before. Look at the following information an see if you can learn to combat the store’s selling strategies and win back control of your grocery budget.
In addition to the tips below I also shop at a grocery store that gives me gasoline discounts. Each time I spend $50 in groceries, the store gives me 3 cents per gallon off on my gasoline. My car usually will take 13 gallons. At 3 cents per gallon off, its another 39 cents Im saving when I shop. I know that doesnt seem like a lot, but if I fill my car 26 times per year (every other week), in a year Ive saved $10.14. That ten dollars comes to me just for shopping at a store that has great prices to begin with.
Smells and Samples: Grocery Stores usually smell delicious. The Bakery, Deli, or Fruit section are often strategically placed near the door. For the grocery store, it is important for consumers to be hungry when they shop.
Here are several of my tips for saving money at the grocery store:
- Buy day old meat. If you freeze the meat it will hold for several months. Sometimes I can save 50% on the cost of the meat by buying day old meat. This applies to poultry also.
- Buy bread at outlet stores if available. Again, I save 50% by buying the day old bread. I keep bread in my refrigerator, so it will last many days. If you dont have an outlet store, compare the price of store bought bread with the price of day old bakery bread.
- Watch the store sales. I try very hard to not run out of items so that I only buy items when on sale. For example, we make spaghetti at least once a month. I use Prego sauce as a base. I buy it when its on sale, knowing Ill use it in the next month.
- Use coupons. If I see a coupon for a product I use, I cut the coupon. If your store offers double coupons, shop on the days your coupons will be doubled. If you can buy an item on sale and use a coupon, youll save even more. Consider trying a different brand, if there is a coupon and it will cut your overall grocery bill.
- Grocery stores tend to put the higher priced items at eye level. Check the top and bottom shelves to see if a different brand or different size might be a better price.
- Compare brands. Dont be afraid to try store brand products. One of the major manufacturers is making the store brand product. I actually save quite a bit of money on mayonnaise by buying the store brand. We bought a small jar of the store brand and liked it. Now its all we use.
- Shop with a list. Try not to impulse buy. Stick to your list. I try to only impulse buy if I find something on sale that was not in the circular and its an item we use.
- Plan your shopping. We have one store in town that always sells eggs for a dollar a dozen. I seldom find them at the grocery store for that price. I make a plan to buy eggs while in the part of town where this store is. I plan ahead so I dont run out of eggs prior to going to this one store.
- Buy in bulk if the price is right. We use real butter in my home. I buy 6 pounds at a time. I put it in the freezer and it keeps for months. I get the best price buying butter in bulk this way.
- Always check price per unit, or price per ounce. Larger does not always mean a better price. Laundry detergent is a great example. Ive been able to buy 3 smaller containers for less than the cost of one larger container.
Smells from these sections get the consumers thinking about food and consumers always spend more when they are hungry. Free Samples in the grocery store? Delicious.
If it is not a product you would normally purchase, the store just increased the amount of money you were going to spend in the store.
An easy way to solve the hunger problem is don’t shop when you are hungry. Don’t shop right before an upcoming meals, shop after lunch, instead of before dinner. Eat first, or go shopping when are not hungry. Shopping when you are full makes it much easier to resist temptation.
Overall Store Layout: Staple food items are located in the rear of almost every store.
Consumers have to wander the aisles to locate items like bread and milk. Stores understand that putting staple items together would make shopping easier, but they also know that the longer they can keep you in the store, the more items you will buy.
Stores also understand impulse buying, or the purchasing of items that you don’t really need on impulse alone. Stores are specifically designed to encourage impulse buying. Sale products are always featured on aisle end caps that even the most frugal customer will have to walk by.
There is obviously no way around the fact that you will have to traverse the entire store to get to your staple food items, but you can avoid impulse items by making a list of the grocery items you really need, and committing to sticking to the list before you enter the store. Get in a habit of making one trip to the store per week, instead of several smaller trips.
This cuts down the time you are in the store, thus saving money for the bottom line of your grocery budget. The less time in the store, the less money you will spend… [read more]
Once you begin seeing the savings, youll begin to look forward to shopping just to see how much you can save!
Source: www.scrapping-made-simple.com
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