It’s no secret that we all have to eat. And when we don’t, we get hangry. Despite eating at home being cheaper than eating out, we can still spend a fortune at the grocery store and blow your budget with every trip. Here are some quick, and easy, things you can do to help you spend less:
Don’t Buy Name Brand
While there are some generic brands that taste the same, there are a lot that include all the same ingredients we love in our name brand products… but don’t come with the cost. Making the switch to generic products might take some time to figure out which ones are good alternatives, but once you do… it’ll be quick and easy to fill up your cart while saving money.
Don’t Shop When You’re Hungry (Unless You’re at Costco)
We’ve all been there – we’re hungry but we need food at home before we can make something to eat. So we are wondering around the store and everything starts to look. Things we probably wouldn’t even think of before had we not been hungry. Unless you’re shopping at Costco – then walk around first to get all the samples you want, then go back and get your cart and load it up with just things you’ve added to your shopping list.
Don’t Buy Food Out of Season
We all love our favorite fruits and vegetables, but there are times of the year when they come in an abundance. When that happens, we can find some really great deals on all the great foods that make our tummy happy. However, when we are out of the growing season, these same foods become a lot more expensive because there is a lot less of them to go around. To save money, don’t buy them if you absolutely need them.
Shop At Different Stores
I can’t argue that shopping at the same store is extremely convenient, but can also come at cost. Try shopping at different stores to see if they have lower prices for your all to common pantry stables. It’ll only take a couple of outings for groceries to discover which store has the best price every time you go.
Shop At Online
I love this. As I’m walking around my kitchen making my grocery list, I can easily add all those items to my online shopping cart and checkout. Gone are the days of wondering around the store, buying things I don’t need. I checkout and show up at the designated time to pick up my order.
Not only does this save me tons of money, but loads of time too because I didn’t have to go around the store picking up everything I put on my list.
Eat Leftovers or Freezer Meals
I know there are some people out there who don’t like eating leftovers for whatever weird reason that is… and I’d agree, there are some meals out there that are not worth saving. But there are a lot that are and it’s been a great thing for me. Not only do leftovers keep me out of the kitchen every single night, but also save me money because I can make enough food to stretch out over multiple days.
And, if the meals can be frozen, then you’ll be thanking yourself long after you even made it for having something ready to go when you need something to eat, and in a hurry.
