Groceries are one of the largest categories in a person’s budget each month. Some people have their grocery budgets under control, but it seems like many people and families do not.
I have heard of families of four spending thousands of dollars each month on food, which just seems like a crazy amount of money to spend.
Whatever amount you spend, if you think you spend too much money each month of food below are my tips to lower your food spending and increase your grocery store savings:
Don’t shop when you’re hungry.
One mistake that I continually make is going grocery shopping when I’m hungry. Why is it that I always remember I have nothing to eat when I am starving? 🙂
Shopping when you are hungry almost always leads to a person buying more food than they actually need. You will pretty much be hungry for every single thing you see. Then you will get home and a lot of it will spoil because you will have bought too much food.
Carry a basket.
If I know that I don’t have a lot of things to buy and that nothing is extremely heavy, I will stick to a basket. This why I will really think about every single thing I buy before I put it in my basket. Anything extra won’t be able to fit and I most likely won’t want to lug it around the whole entire store.
Have a list.
I always make sure to shop with a grocery list. If I don’t have a list, I almost always buy food that I don’t end up eating.
I always make sure I meal plan and create a grocery list with the exact items I need.
Don’t forget about items on the bottom shelves.
Grocery stores tend to put their most expensive items or more profitable items on shelves that are right at eye level. However, if you look at the top shelves or the ones closer to the bottom you can usually find items that are a little bit more affordable.
Ignore the items in the checkout lane.
The checkout lane is usually filled with items that you do not need, but you will probably find some use for it. Maybe you want some candy, a trashy magazine or something else along those lines. Sometimes the checkout lane is even filled with children’s toys because they know that some children will throw a fit unless their parents will buy them what they want.
How much do you spend on groceries each month?
What grocery store savings tips do you have to share?
Image via Flickr by katsrcool
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