Do you shop for whatever items looks appetizing? Can’t understand where your money is going? Is your food spending going out of control? Do you have budget for household? Here are some top tips that can help you immensely to save money on groceries:
- Track your expenses
Before you shop for grocery items, it is important to track your expenses. This way you can easily determine your grocery shopping budget. - Prepare your meal in advance
In order to determine what you will exactly need and how much from a grocery store, it is important to plan your meal for a week or a month in advance. - Don’t leave home without a grocery list
Making a grocery list is an easiest way to see what all you need and estimate how much it should cost. Having a list in hand will restrict you from overspending and taking unnecessary items from the store. - Leave kids at home
If you want to save money on groceries you should always leave your kids at home. By doing that you can focus on what you need to buy without having any nagging or demand from the kids to buy extra things that you don’t need. - Don’t shop when you are hungry
Everything looks delicious if you go for shopping when you are hungry. It can easily hamper your grocery budget and can make things out of control for you. Fill your tummy full before leaving or keep some packed food to help curve your hunger. - Estimate your grocery cost
Use calculator on your mobile phone and round up every item you wish to buy. If you do this for everything in your cart, you will approximately know how much you are spending and if it fit your budget. - Raid your pantry
Look through your fridge and see what kind of food you can throw together with the ingredients that you already have. This way you will find that you already have items which you may not require for this week or a month. Plan your meals according to the items you already have. - Bulk up carefully
Buying in bulk is always amazing but only when it helps in saving money. Don’t buy things in bulk if they are not available at a good discounted price. Generally, items in bulk are available at cheaper prices. It is important to stop and compare the price per unit for the items you are buying. - Make a habit to freeze and store meals
By freezing meals you can able to save money. Check out freezer recipes online and freeze as much as you can. This not just helps in saving money but also helps in saving time. - Pay with cash
If you want to save money on grocery, stop using your credit cards for the payment. Just make sure to use only cash. This way you can stick to your budget and will not end up buying more items than you required. - Stay on your budget no matter what
This is the simplest way to save money on groceries. When you visit a grocery store, stick to your budget. This is how you can always stay on budget. Shopping with a plan is a key to stay on budget and save money. - Shop in season
It is super important to live by this when you want to save your money on grocery. Shop for fruits and vegetables when they are available in season time than buying them off-season at a higher price. So, make it a point to buy fruits and veggies that are in season. - Ignore expensive items on the store
Expensive grocery items tend to be tempting but instead of falling for them, stick to your budget and buy for necessary items that are on your list. The more affordable brands could be lower in price on the shelves. So, consider buying them. - Try different grocery stores
Most of us probably shop from nearby grocery stores but you probably not getting better deals. To pick best deals you need to compare the prices and for that you need to try visiting different grocery stores. It may be frustrating at first, but it’s worth if you get to save extra money. - Pay attention on sale
Start paying attention to when your favorite items go on sale and see how much the price drops. Just make sure to keep a track of those sales that comes on festive time. - Bring your own bag
Most of the grocery stores offer good discount if you bring your own reusable bag. This is how you can save five to ten per cents per bag. No matter small or big, savings are savings. - Don’t buy more than you need
Buying some grocery items just because you are on sale is not a wise idea. Always stick to your grocery list and do not buy items that you don’t need. This is how you spend money that you are intended to. - Shop online
Shopping for grocery online is the another way to save money when it comes to saving money on grocery. You can find the exact items you need and pay for them. By this way you can also avoid impulsive shopping. Pay for what you need and order online. - Stop the wastage
Nothing is worse than discovering you don’t use the items that you bought. Be sure about what you will get, use it. Sometimes we buy vegetables and fruits in bulk that we can’t use on time and then we simply throw them away. So buy things in limited quantity and make sure to buy items that you will definitely use. Just don’t let those items go waste. - Cut the cost of coffee
Even coffee made at home can be pricey. So if you have expensive taste in beans and roast, you need to substitute it with less expensive coffee brand if you want to save money on groceries. - Read grocery ads before you shop
Grocery stores from time to time keep offering popular products on sale to persuade customers. Stores advertise a lot about their sale through personal emails, inserts in newspaper, TV or radio commercials and even online. - Shop once a week or month
You can save money on groceries by making sure that you shop only once a week or month. It is likely possible that you will tend to spend more if you shop at the store every day or several times in a week. - Shop on a free day
Do not leave home for grocery shopping when you are already tired from a busy day. Grocery shopping requires a lot of energy as you need to compare prices, pick the right products, do the math and also need to see what’s in your budget. So, shop only when you have enough energy. - Shop in familiar stores when in hurry
There may be a time when you are expecting guests at home, so you may be a hurry to shop for grocery items. At that time you should consider shopping in familiar stores where you can easily find the products from the shelves, where you have good idea about products pricing, discounts and schemes. This would help you finish up your grocery shopping quickly. - Try not to buy snacks much
Snacks are anyhow unhealthy, so try to buy them. They are often less healthy and more expensive. Making a wise and healthy choice is the need of the hour. - Be creative
It is not necessary to be creative with expensive food items. There are many food items available that you can experience with at a lower price. Find inexpensive food items and enjoy making different dishes. - Find discounts on non-food grocery items
There are many stores that offer good deals on non-food grocery items like detergent or garbage bags. Find the right products at the right price and at the right time. - Think before you buy
There might be things in your list but still think carefully before you buy. Only buy what you currently need and can afford. There may be many good deals and discounts available, but go for the one that you need and can afford. - Watch out expiry dates
If you stock up, expiry dates are required to be carefully checked and must see if the food package can be preserved as long as you may need. - Organize your food drawers and cupboards
Make a habit to organize your food storage cupboards and drawers, so that you can easily find what you need and what you don’t need. If you don’t do that you will end up buying more of the same unnecessarily.
