One of the most basic ways to save money – especially in these tough economic times – is by saving money on groceries. Groceries are a basic necessity in any home and grocery shopping tips will pay off for everyone. As you may know the average grocery budget can easily cripple household funds for the rest of the week and make it difficult to have any money left over to spend on other needs. Perhaps your grocery budget isn’t as flexible as it ought to be. Proper budgeting of funds takes some effort.
The following are some helpful grocery shopping tips to help you save money.
1. Really powerful grocery shopping advice is to only go to the store when you are in a good mood. When people feel tired at the grocery store they are actually more likely to buy candy, chocolate, and products rich in carbohydrates. And when people go in mad, they tend to stock up on unhealthy snacks.
2. Always look for cheap, fresh seasoned foods to buy. The fewer dealers that are involved the cheaper the foods will be, so try to buy fresh, high quality food.
3. Remain focused on the prices of the items you intend to purchase. Check each and every brand to be certain that you are getting the best deal possible. And be sure to only buy what you actually need. Sometimes, the prices of sale items can be deceiving when you don’t really need them. When this happens, no matter how much of a bargain it seems, if you don’t need the item it’s not worth it. Saving money on groceries requires some discipline.
4. Never go shopping at the grocery store while you’re hungry. As you might imagine, research has shown that shoppers tend to purchase more than they need at the grocery store when shopping hungry. This is the exact reason that you will find the bakery section towards the entrance of many grocery shops. The aroma of various baked goods and bread products is enough to make anyone hungry. And in turn this could make you spend more than you should.
The best method to prevent this from happening is to put something in your stomach; if not food then maybe a good glass or two of water. Grocery shopping on a full stomach will enable you to fight any temptations and buy only what you came for.
5. Try to do your grocery shopping by yourself. Having one other person or multiple people along with you tends to result in your food bill increasing.
6. ‘How To Save Money On Groceries 101’ includes this powerful rule: avoid buying non-grocery items at a grocery store. Many grocery stores sell a variety of non-food items such as painkillers and contact lenses. They will however normally cost more when purchased at your grocery store instead of discount stores like WalMart or KMart.
7. If you’re grocery shopping on a budget, always bring a calculator with you. This will make it simple to keep track of how much you’re spending on both individual items and package deals.
8. Try to examine everything on the shelves from the highest to the lowest. Most often you will find that the most expensive brands are located about chest level on the shelves. The cheaper, equivalent generic brands are often found beneath or above the average eye level.
9. Keep up with stock. There may be times when you arrive at the grocery store for a particular item or sale only to find it’s unavailable. See if you can arrange a rain check for that item or inquire as to one the next shipment will arrive. This way you can arrive early when the item is next available in the store.
10. Try to shop early in the day. When going grocery shopping in the morning you’ll be likely to finish a bit faster and avoid wandering around picking up unnecessary items.
11. Don’t let brightly colored packing in grocery stores fool you. These items are packaged simply to attract a customer and not for it’s contents. Stay focused on your list buying only what you need.
12. Check the end of the store and the edges of shelving. Most often you can find the fresher and healthier foods that have been less processed located towards the ends of your grocery store. Dairy, vegetables, fruit products as well as meats are a shinning example of these.
When ever possible, avoid going through the main areas, because these areas often contain the more expensive items.
13. Make sure that you double check the weight of any pre-packed food items your purchase. Sometimes these items may way a bit less than they normally would. This is an effort to make sure that you are getting your money’s worth.
14. Examine your receipts. Always carefully check the receipts after you’ve finished grocery shopping, no matter how you try to avoid it mistake can be made. Remember, each and every penny counts.
These 14 grocery shopping tips are just a few of the ways to save money at the grocery store. With this recession/depression, any ways to save money are truly welcome and all it takes is a bit of knowledge and a small amount of planning to do just that.
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