Budgeting for groceries has always been a challenge in many households. After settling bills such as insurance, housing, and transportation, many families find themselves adding the grocery bill into this list of huge bills. You can cut down your grocery bill even if you have a big family.
A lot of money can be saved by planning ahead before heading to the grocery store. Try out the four ways below every time that you are planning to go shopping. You will find yourself saving up more money than you had anticipated.
1. Sticking to a list
Making a list, taking it along with you and sticking to it is one of the best ways to cut spending on grocery items. A list is a great tool for inventory management. It will also prevent you from impulse buying. Items that you buy regularly, such as diapers, laundry agents and cereals should be included in the list and added whenever they run out to get a rough estimate of your overall usage.
A list can go along with a menu. Write a menu with foods that you plan to eat. Having the list of ingredients will help you shop for all the groceries in one trip. Aside from saving money, a list and a menu are great time savers.
2. Make use of discounts and coupons
Purchasing groceries at a produce store at a discount saves a lot of money. Produce stores offer different ranges of qualities which include organic produce and low-quality produce. Discount produce stores are the best places to purchase groceries. They sell low-quality produce at lower prices.
You can download a grocery store app and check for coupons and use them well. A coupon saves a lot of money when purchasing a product that is already on sale. Coupons such as those in the list of nutrisystem discounts for 2017 offer promo codes and discounts plus free shipping services saving you a lot of money. You can also get discounts and save money on
groceries through coles gift cards with this guide here.
3. Buy in bulk
Buy in bulk food items such as meat can save you money over time. Buy meat in large amounts if your family eats meat most of the time. Buying in bulk enables you to reduce the number of trips that you make to the grocery. It also saves you a lot of money because items bought in bulk are cheaper compared to buying in smaller quantities. Freeze the amount that you will not be preparing and store it.
Foods that you can buy in bulk include apples, onions, spices, cheese, peppers, strawberries, oats and canned goods. All these can be stored for a while. Apples can be stored for several months and spices last for years. ย Before buying anything in bulk you need to ask yourself one question, Do you have enough storage space?
4. Use cash
Always purchase groceries in cash. Carry enough money to cover what is on your list. Using cash instead of credit cards limits you to buying only what amounts to the cash that you have, preventing you from going beyond your budget.
Grocery store bills are difficult to manage, but with a little discipline and planning the right way, you can save a lot of money.