Everyone is there. Battling the prices of everything day in and day out. With costs on the rise, it’s easy to lose track of your budget and wonder where all the money went! Here’s a few tips to help keep some of your hard earned cash in your wallet when it comes to groceries.
Clip Coupons – It sounds super cliche, but it’s honestly a very good way to save money. Manufacturer and store coupons can be double up! So if a store has a coupon for an item, but you also have a coupon for that item from the manufacturer, you can use them BOTH at the same time. Pennies for an item you really want.
Buy Store Brand – Most store brands are less costly than name brands – and generally have sales too!
Grow Your own Produce – Produce is becoming harder and harder to come by at decent prices. By growing your own produce you’re not only saving yourself money on having to buy them, but also keeping you and your family safer by not using chemicals. (Did you know?: You can regrow onions by simply sticking the white ends into a cup of water and placing them in a sunny window? This can be done for AGES and you just cut as needed. The same can be done with the unused ends of celery stalks. Cut off the end and place it in the ground – it will regrow!)
Freeze, Dry, and Can – A lot of bulk items are much cheaper and cost effective than buying smaller portions. The only problem is, most of the food will go bad before it can be consumed. Save yourself money by freezing, drying or canning goods and produce to last longer. Most dry goods can be placed in the freezer indefinitely, and you can can almost anything.
Write a list – Writing a list and buying only the items on the list will keep you from spending money on things you don’t need.
Don’t Shop Hungry – Going shopping hungry will cause you to buy what sounds good, what you want to eat. Instead, eat a meal before you leave, and keep that list handy. Only get what you need and you’ll keep your wallet less empty.
Shop Around – Don’t do all your shopping in one place. Go to several stores and compare prices on items and choose where to buy them by the cheapest price.
Abuse Ad and Price Matching – Most stores have either ad-matching or price-matching systems in place. Abuse it! Get store coupons from other stores and get those prices closer to home. Less gas, less money. Win win!
Use these tips, and soon you’ll start noticing the few extra bucks laying around. Happy shopping!