Grocery Shopping – 16 Easy Tips For A Cheaper Bill
Groceries are one of the biggest expenses in a household. Are you familiar with the ways to save money and get your groceries for a cheaper price? Are you shopping smart?
Saving money on groceries doesn’t mean you give up on things you need or want or that you settle for lower quality. not at all. In fact, I believe when you shop for food you should always get the best and enjoy.
But, you will be happy to hear that it’s easy to save A LOT on groceries simply by learning to do it right! So here they are – 16 great tips to follow on your next shopping trip (and the ones after).
It’s not your salary that makes you rich.
It’s your spending habits.
Charles A Jaffe
1. Look At What You Have
Before making a shopping list have a look at your pantry, fridge and kitchen drawers. Start the list when you are aware of the products you already have on hand so that you don’t come home with 8 yoghurts and then discover there are 5 older ones in the back of the fridge.
2. Always Make A Shopping List
A shopping list is one of the most important things when you go grocery shopping. The list will keep you focused on the items you actually came to buy and if you stick to it you won’t be tempted to buy things that catch your eye but you don’t really need.
3. Shop Less Frequently
There is no reason to get groceries every few days. In fact, even once a week is not a must. Once every two weeks might be a better option for most. If every time you visit the supermarket you comes out with more items than you planned, the less you go the less unnecessary items you’ll end up with.
4. Order Your Shopping Online
By not physically going to the store you’re much less likely to be tempted by sales, snacks and other products the store is trying to put in your way to convince you they’re necessary. Just grab your shopping list, sit down and buy your groceries online. besides saving money you’ll also be saving time.
5. Shop At Familiar Stores
If you are familiar with a specific shop, you know where everything is and that’s a big advantage – you can go straight to the right shelves that hold what you are looking for without looking at every shelf on the way. Another good thing about shopping at your familiar store is that it helps you save time – you can organize your shopping list according to the store’s layout and you’ll be in and out in no time.
6. Don’t Go During Crowded Hours
When we shop while there are many people shopping around us, we tend to buy more products. By avoiding the crowd you avoid spending money on items you didn’t plan to get. As a bonus, you also don’t bump into other people’s carts and don’t have to wait in line. Win win.
7. Know How To Compare
Don’t ever compare the price tags. Always compare the price per 100g, 100ml and so on to see which product is actually cheaper. Bigger packages are more economical than small ones? quite often they are but definitely not always, sometimes there is no difference (1$ for 20g, 2$ for 40g), and sometimes the bigger package is actually more expensive, especially when the weight and price are harder to calculate (37g for 0.78$, 82gr for 1.81$).
8. Try Different Brands
Going automatically with the big and known brands will add quite a lot to your bill. Don’t overlook store brands, small brands and less designed packages. Look at the details and you’ll often discover that they are made by a brand you actually do know, which means it’s the exact same product in a less fancy packaging.
9. Look Up And Down
Many stores put the most expensive products on the shelves you’re most likely to see – the ones which are in eye level for the average person. Always look at the high and low shelves to find the same products only for cheaper prices.
10. Stay Away From Instant And Premade
Grated cheese, cooked lentils, washed cabbage, diced tomatoes… any premade product usually costs much more than the basic product. Here is an example: A can of black beans costs about 0.5$ for 3.5 servings while a bag of dry black beans costs about 1.15$ for 13 servings. That means that by cooking the beans yourself you pay 0.08$ per serving instead of 0.14$ per serving if you choose to buy a can. That’s almost half the price.
11. Use Coupons
If you physically go to a shop, have a look in the newspaper and use the coupons for items you normally buy. If you order your groceries online, search Google for coupon codes before completing your purchase. Don’t be tempted by coupons though – use only the ones that give you discounts on items you are going to buy anyway.
12. Eat First
buying food while you are hungry is a big mistake. When you are hungry you are easily convinced to get more snacks and in general more food than you actually need or planned to get. So eat first, shop later.
13. Rest First
When you are tired you are less focused. And when you are shopping you want to be focused. Otherwise you’ll get distracted by everything around you, and in truth, at the shop everything around you is designed with one purpose – to distract you and convince you to buy more.
14. Check If The Deal Is For You
First of all, you don’t need an item just because it’s on sale – think if you need it at all. Then, think if the deal is useful for you – 4 for 1 is a great deal if you will actually use all 4, not if you’ll end up using 1 and throwing the other 3 away after they expired.
15. Check If The Deal Is Real
There is a special price for 2? make sure to check the price for one! A deal of 2 for 3.50 when a single product costs 1.70 is a deal for the store, not for you. (that might sound weird but I saw it not once and not twice!) A pack of 4 costs 10$ while each item costs 2.5$ isn’t a deal at all and 3 boxes of cookies for the price of 1 is great if the expiry date is long enough, not if they are expired in two days and the shop is trying to get rid of them. So always check the details.
16. Think Long Term
Whenever you see a good deal on products you get regularly – go for it! (but again, mind the expiry date) You like baking and happen to see flour on sale? get it, even if it’s not on the list. why? because you know for sure that it will be on the list next time and by buying it now you save a few bucks that you would otherwise spend later.
Are you shopping smart? If you could use only one tip, which one would it be? Share your thoughts in a comment below 👇
