Dip in the economy has made many to reconsider their grocery budgets to save some bucks. What you must understand is that cutting on your food bill doesn’t suggest that you have to compromise on the nutritional needs for your family. Be the smart consumer and follow the given tips to know how you can save on your groceries while ensuring healthy eating for your family just as perfectly:
1. Avail Cash Back
Credit cards often have bonus points or cash back schemes associated with various purchases, including groceries. If you are lucky to own such reward cards, be sure to get those instant savings on checkout. But you must be mindful of paying your monthly credit card bills on time, else built up debt can nullify all your attempts to save due to the interest accrued on it.
2. Make Your Grocery List and Stick to It
Having a handy list of grocery items you need saves you time and helps you avoid overbuying. Stick to your list and move past anything that you may want but don’t need. Manufacturers are shrewd in making attractive packaging as well as healthy claims of their products but you can still live without them if you do not have them on your list.
In case you really feel like getting your hands on that extra item, write it down in your list to buy it the next time. There is a good possibility that the lure to buy it may vanish after you are out of the supermarket. Another important thing is to not go grocery shopping when you are hungry. This often causes you to surrender to the call of your belly and spend unnecessarily on extra items you can definitely do without.
3. Use Coupons
Sunday newspapers always have some good money saving coupons. Or, you can always check popular websites, like Coupons.com and SmartSource.com, to print coupons. Sure, coupons are a great way to save some bucks but make sure you do not end up buying items only because you have a coupon to save some money on it. Stick to what you need! It is a wise move to arrange your coupons in the order of their expiration to ensure that you make the most of what coupons you have
4. Buy in Bulk
Invest in a chest freezer to cook and freeze large batches for later use. Buying in bulk reduces your per unit price of the item considerably and is also a more convenient option to get the food on the table. Make sure you calculate per unit pricing when buying in bulk. Try to stay away from processed and frozen foods as much as you can, and buy seasonal vegetables and fruits instead
5. Try Store Brands
Get rid of your biased opinion of the superiority of products in name-brands. Store brands are often more cheaper and usually equally good when compared with their name-brand counterparts. According to Phil Lempert, a supermarket guru, store brands are usually cheaper because they spend less on packaging of products and advertising of store, passing on their savings to consumers. In some cases, savings can be as huge as 50 percent.
You can compare ingredient list of your name-brand and store-brand product to take the best pick. You need not be afraid to try anything new as supermarkets normally have 100 percent satisfaction guarantee. So, you can always return something you don’t like. Who knows…you may like store brand better and even save some bucks?