It seems that every time you go grocery shopping it is a little more expensive than the last time. Prices seem to be consistently creeping upwards by a few more cents all the time. Weather damaging the crops, animals falling ill, gas prices increasing – these and many more factors are such that their impact will be resilient enough to be felt at the grocery store as well. Instead of dreading shopping use these tips to help save money and keep your grocery bill in check –
Coupons
Coupons are a great way of saving money on groceries. There are some Sunday papers that still offer coupons to cut out. In order to get more of them do a quick search on the Internet and you will come across websites which will feature coupons. Some will need to be printed while in case of others you would simply need to load the coupon to your favorite grocery store card. Now if the coupon is used for an item that is on sale it can result in added savings. Some grocery stores double and even triple the value of a coupon up to at least a dollar.
Price Book
This is one of the easiest things to do and can take the form of a notebook or even an excel sheet. Since there are certain items like canned goods which are purchased every time, they could be written down per page or column if using a spreadsheet. List the stores that you shop at on the left and then list the normal price that is usually paid. This type of system makes it easier for tracking popular items and then comparing the sale ads to see if the best price can actually be picked up at.
Meals
Write down the meals that you would like to cook for the time in between your shopping. This makes it easier to look through the ads and see if the needed ingredients are available on sale anywhere. Planning meals helps to make the money last even longer when shopping for grocery.
Cook from Scratch
No matter how many members are in a household it always seems to be easier to come home and serve a packaged meal. This is nice but it does cost almost double than if you made it yourself. It is understandable that after a long day at work you are worn out and exhausted but it is equally important to realize that a crock pot on the counter is the perfect way to make your meals. Just put everything in it before getting ready for work and upon your arrival at night it is already cooked and ready to serve.
List
As you thumb through the ads and gather your coupons make a list while proceeding downwards. This helps you stick to buying only what is needed and hence ensures maintaining of the budget. Sometimes when walking through the store there will be items on sale that might seem tempting. However, before grabbing these it would be wise to think if the offer is a good one and if the items are truly needed at home.
Tags: Budget, finance, financial planning, Grocery, money, personal finance, savings
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