So, since my wife left for Afghanistan, I find that I’m basically in charge of taking care of the household while she’s away. Last night, I became very aware of this when I was at the Supermarket. The bill for a basket full of groceries was $52.76. Ouch!
So, I’ve been thinking about how to save money shopping and wanted to share some tips with you.
1) Shop with a list and stick to it. People who do this tend to spend less. If you did this every time you went shopping, the annual savings could be hundreds of dollars. I saved 4.19 on my last trip to the grocery store. It wasn’t a lot, but it can add up.
2) Comparison Shop. There are a couple of ways to do this. Before you go shopping you can either sit down with the supermarket circulars and compare between stores. Or, you can compare prices between brands when you get to the store.
Because I’m don’t have a car, I usually do my comparisons at the store. If you’re comparing at the store be sure to check the products that aren’t at eye level (these are often cheaper) and check across brands. For example in the breakfast cereal isle at Safeway here in DC, the cheaper and and healthier cereals are often hidden away in the corners. Be sure to consider any available specials also.
3) Don’t shop on an empty stomach. The main idea here is that if you’re hungry you’ll buy more than you would normally. I do this all the time and often get junky snack food as a result. Take it from me – if you go shopping on an empty stomach you could end up paying more.
4) Buy generics. Stuff like flour and salt don’t vary that much. It makes zero sense to pay name brand prices for these types of products. We get generic salt and cheepie pasta.
5) Use coupons. My wife Miel is good at this. She uses lots of coupons when we go to the grocery store. I still haven’t got the hang of coupons yet, but I know that it can shave a bit off your grocery bill.
Happy Saving!
Best,
James
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