Save on Groceries
One of the basic necessities for every family or individual is your stock of groceries. And your budget for the groceries could make or break your budget for your weekly funds that should be allotted on other things. This is how flexible the budget for the groceries could be. This flexibility should be handled properly.
Here are some great but simple tips on how you can save on groceries shopping:
Are You Hungry?
Make sure you aren’t hungry before you go to the Grocery Store – Studies have shown that shoppers tend to buy more in the grocery stores when they are hungry. Come on own up, we’ve all been there. This is the reason why some grocery shops have their bakery along the entrance of the store.
The smell of the freshly baked breads and cakes could really make you hungry. And this could make you shop and spend more than what you intended.
The best way to handle this is to make sure your stomach is not empty, if no food can be taken; drink at least a glass or two of water. Shopping when you’re full will help you combat the temptations of the mouth-watering smells inside the grocery store.
Research
Try to look up and down on the shelves – Make sure that you search the higher and lower shelves. The more expensive brands are normally located on the shelves on your chest level. The cheaper or generic brands are either located below or higher than your average sight.
Shop Alone
Try to find time to go to the grocery store by yourself. When you ask for helpers, they tend to increase your bill.
Timing
Go to the store at the early time of the day – When you go to the grocery store early in the morning, you tend to finish with your list a little faster, thus avoiding the need to roam around and get attracted to unnecessary expenses.
Check Your Mood
Shop when you are in a good mood – When you shop and you feel tired, you tend to buy more sweets, chocolates and high-carbohydrates. And when you are mad, you tend to buy more junk food.
Don’t buy non-grocery items – grocery stores normally sell some non-grocery items like contact lens and painkillers. These products can sometimes cost more at the grocery stores.
Work it Out
Always bring your calculator – Make sure to shop with your calculator. In this way, you can easily compute how much you save when buying in-packs or individually wrapped items.
This has actually become somewhat of an obsession with me. Every time I wander down the toilet paper section I have to calculate the average price of a single loo roll based on the offers presented! I have started to do the same with porridge. As sad as it sounds it all adds up.
Double Check
Check your receipts after shopping – Mistakes can happen no matter how much you avoid them. Remember that every penny counts.
Check ‘best before’ dates on all items. The longer it can last the longer before you need to spend again.
Make sure to double-check the weights of the pre-packed goodies that you buy. Sometimes they lack a little pound or weigh less than what they normally should. Make it a point that you get all your hard-earned money’s worth.
Have you ever specifically go to your favourite grocery shop for a definite item on sale and then realised that it’s no longer available or sold out? Make sure that you make a rain check and ask for the next stocks to arrive. So that you’ll be early the next time the stocks reach the store.
Strategy
Check the ends and edges of the grocery store – More often than not, the healthy and fresher foods are located at the ends of the grocery shops. Fruits, vegetables, Dairy products and meats are examples of these.
Avoid walking through the main areas, since these regions are normally where the products are very expensive and cost more.
It’s important to focus on the price of the item. Make sure to check the other brands to be certain of getting the best deal. Also, buy only what you need. Sometimes, you get deceived when you get to buy things that are on sale even if you don’t need them. If this happens, you didn’t get the bargain no matter how cheap it seemed.
Finally, don’t be misled with the brilliant coloured packaging of the grocery shops. They normally pack certain items simply to attract. Focus on your list and buy things that you need.
