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Some grocery shopping hints (some similar - some new)
* Establish that certain foods will be “treats”. We only bought sugar cereals for our children’s birthdays. Candy and soda were for holidays. Granola bars were for sporting events.
* Aim to cook, mix or make food yourself. Avoid “packaged” foods. Not only are they more expensive they contain more chemicals, sugars and salt
* Always eat before you shop. Hunger drives one to make foolish decisions.
* Make a list then be determined to stick to it. This will avoid impulse buying.
* Take advantage of generic brands – especially where it does not matter such as sugar, cinnamon, etc.
* Think in terms of two meals. Baking chicken? Bake a larger one, use leftovers for chicken soup (look in our recipes for home make chicken soup!) or chicken Caesar salad for lunch tomorrow. Packing your own lunch can save huge expenses. With a little planning the night before you won’t feel “cheated” by the sandwich syndrome.
* Stock up during very good sales. With a little thought you can get good at this. Some sales are marginal, others are great! Learn to buy extra when the sale is significant.
* Learn to check price per unit. At times sales make smaller quantity items cheaper!
* Learn to shop at alternative places. We have an Aldi where “staples” are dirt cheap. We get our produce from a produce store that sells in quantity. We checked out several produce stores. Some were higher than the grocery store. The one we patronize sells in quantity but at half the price of our grocery store! Even is we only used half of the produce (which you know we don’t!), the price per pound used was what we would have paid.
* Learn to shop in cycles based on price rather than what you will cook that week. Chickens on sale? Buy two or three weeks worth and freeze them. Next week cereal may be on sale. Instead of buying chicken you buy extra cereal. Buying what is on sale will cut your grocery bill considerably.
* If you use an item often consider buying it in bulk. My family eats oatmeal daily. My wife buys large containers of oatmeal at our club warehouse discount store.
* Keep a mental (or write these down if it helps) cost of items. Since we shop at five stores, Aldi, Produce Junction and three grocery stores, my wife keeps a mental cost of items. She knows where items will be cheapest. The flyers help her know what items are on sale – I buy at the one store near where I work. She buys at the store near her work. We go together to shop at Aldi, Produce Junction and the store by our home.
* Avoid expensive snacks. (Check out Easy and Inexpensive Snacks For After School)
* Use Coupons but be careful. Use of coupons can help if you are buying a brand that you use or will replace what you use at a lower cost. Watch out, we have found that coupons save money less often that we would like to believe, especially the first week they come out. Don’t be fooled, marketers being paid big bucks know your spending patterns. If you feel good having a coupon and won’t check prices – they know it!
* Go shopping with plan A and B. Want to grill this week. See what favorite grilling items are on sale or for a good price. Don’t be hard and fast on an exact item. A little flexibility can save you big!