Category Archives: Managing Money

How to Save More Money on Groceries

There are two ways to save more money on your groceries:  buy less or pay less.  The good news is, there are several ways to do both of these things.

Buying less may sound like you have to cut down on what you’re buying,  but this isn’t always true. Spending less always sounds like going into the supermarket with a bag full of coupons.  It’s true that these are both ways to cut down on your grocery shopping bills but with a little bit of thought you could probably cut down your spending many other ways as well.

1.  Save More Money on Groceries by Using Less.

- Reuse some items more than once like plastic bags and containers.

- Make some items last longer such as diluting fruit juices.

- Be smart with your purchases.  Think about all the things that you might be wasting because they’ve gone bad or expired before it gets used. Large quantity items that are perishable and some fruits and vegetables can cause this problem.

- Replace some disposable items with permanent ones.   For example: permanent coffee filters, plastic food containers instead of disposable bags, razors for shaving, even water filters. There must be tons of people throwing money away because they buy bottled water instead of using a water filter at home.

2.  Save More Money on Groceries by Paying Less.

- Buy the items on sale, buy cheaper brands, or buy in bulk. Often items that are reduced on clearance are perfectly suitable to consume it’s just that the store has to sell them quickly or face throwing them out.

- Avoid impulsive buying. Many people buy impulsively because the products are there on the shelf in front of them. You know what they say, “never go grocery shopping when you’re hungry or without a list.”

- Shop around different stores to find more bargains.  You might be surprised by how much you can save.  Also, you can inquire whether the store will match prices from other stores which will save on gas from running around.

- Beware of supermarket tricks. Watch for common practices such as raising the price of a popular brand for about two weeks and then ‘”price cutting” to just below the original price to make it look like it’s on special offer.

-  Consider the value of the sale. When supermarkets place items as special offers, such as “buy one and get one free” people believe it’s a great deal. It often is, but this may cause you to consume more than you normally do.  So to optimize your savings, use your normal amount and save the “one you got free” for the next time you would normally use it.

*The best “two for the price of one” offers are on items that you can only consume at a certain rate like bathroom and cleaning products, another other items such as toothpaste and soap powder.

- Be careful with your coupons. Sure coupons are a great way to save money on groceries, but if you’re buying things you normally wouldn’t buy or twice as much to get the special sale price then you may actually end up spending more. Often times the coupon offers are higher priced items than the store brands.

- Be careful of store brand or value products that are cheaper imitations of the real thing. Buying lower quality can be a money saver if you choose wisely, but if you end up using twice as much and the product lasts half as long, then you might as well enjoy the real thing.