Capping Grocery Expenses

Groceries can be pretty expensive. People spend a lot of money for food. If they are not careful, they can go overboard with that spending. Today, I want to go over a few ways that we cap our spending on our groceries. Any Dink can follow these tips. Let’s begin with the first one.

Budget

By now everyone should know what a budget is. You probably have one for different things that you spend on such as bills or entertainment. I want to ask you one simple question. Do you have one for your grocery expenses? If not, you should consider creating one soon. Many folks go grocery shopping every week. If you go weekly, a good amount to spend in the store would be $50. I’m sure that you can get enough food per week with fifty bucks.

What to eat

The next thing that you need to do is figure out what you want to eat. Are you on a diet? Do you like cooking? Do you shop at a particular store that only sells certain items? Those are just a few questions that you should eat. When I go grocery shopping, I try to get healthy food most of the time. Sometimes it’s easy for me to figure out what I want to eat for the week. Other times, it’s not easy because I may be fresh out of ideas.  Take about thirty minutes or an hour to think about what you want to eat.

Grocery list

After you’ve figured out what you want to eat, it’s time to create a grocery list. Your list should contain items for breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks. Having a grocery list will help to keep your spending at the 50 dollar budget. If you have a favorite brand of something, you will want to include that as well.  My grocery list isn’t usually too much. I typically shop at Trader Joe’s, Kroger and Walmart. My list for Trader Joe’s usually includes the following items: ground turkey, frozen mango’s, frozen blueberries, creamed honey, artichokes and crumbled feta cheese Those things would be under the 50 dollar budget.

Coupons

This is the secret weapon right here. You must bring some coupons to the store with you. They save money. I’ve been using coupons frequently for the last three months. I’ve noticed the savings. I’m sure that the same thing will happen to you too. There are several places where you can find coupons. The Sunday paper is always a good choice. You can also check on some of the food company’s websites. Don’t miss out on the savings.

Not shopping when hungry

This final tip is critical. I’ve made this mistake before and will never do it again. Don’t go shopping when you’re hungry. If you do that, there is a good chance you will go over your budget. When you’re hungry, you’re more likely to just start grabbing items whether they are on your list or not. Before you go shopping, make sure you eat something beforehand.

What have you done to cap your grocery expenses?

Jason Butler

Jason Butler is an Atlanta native, as well as businessman, blogger and teacher. Not only is Jason a prolific flipper, marketer, writer and side hustler his number of years in higher education and student support have given him expert knowledge in understanding the economics of the student loan industry.