When we are shopping for food, we tend to spend a lot of money. It can even seem like we are spending more and more every time we shop and we may wonder whether we will be able to manage all of our other commitments such as rent, insurance, loan repayments and transport as well as buying food. However, there are ways that we can cut down on the cost of our groceries. It may take a little time to do a bit of research but once we start getting into different habits, it can be easy to spend less.
Shop at a cheaper store
Different grocery store chains do vary in how much
they charge for their groceries. This means that if you change the store that
you shop at, then you could save money. It can be worth looking at the prices
of certain items in different stores and you will be able to see whether you can
switch to shopping elsewhere and save a lot of money. We tend to be loyal to a
particular store and so it can be hard to change. Of course, it may be that you
have little choice depending on which stores are near to where you live.
However, do look into your options as it could make a significant difference.
Compare prices
When you are in a store it is worth comparing
prices between things. It is quite easy to compare the difference between
different types of zucchinis, for example looking at the difference between
organic and non-organic, packaged and loose or baby and large ones. However, it
is worth also comparing the pre-prepared with whole ones, fresh with frozen and
things like this. It might mean going to different parts of the store, but it
can be interesting. Pre-prepared tends to be dearer, loose can be dearer than
packaged and frozen might be cheaper than fresh. It may vary between different
supermarkets and different products. Also look at alternatives, as you will
find things like seasonal fruit and vegetables will be cheaper or certain cuts
of meat will be cheaper than others. It is good to try to expand what you are
buying so that you can save money.
Buy less processed foods
The more processed the food, often, the more
expensive it is. This does not apply to everything, but it should be cheaper to
prepare your own food in many cases, then to buy it prepared for you. Check the
prices of cut carrots, compared with whole ones and prepared stir fry
vegetables compared with the single ones and consider whether you would be
happy to do a bit more preparation and save money. It can be very convenient to
buy processed and prepared foods and they can taste really good, but often they
are not that healthy for us. It is worth considering whether you would rather
change how you shop and save money but spend more time in the kitchen or
whether you are happy to spend that extra money for the convenience of not
spending so long in the kitchen.
Be careful with reduced items
Reduced items can be very tempting. We can look at
them and feel like we should be buying them because they will save us money. However,
this may not be the case. If you are buying them in addition to what you
normally buy, you will actually be spending more money. If you have to buy in
bulk to save money, the food may not get eaten in time and may be wasted.
Obviously, if the things you normally buy or need are reduced then you can do
well and save money but just be really careful about buying things that you do
not need and spending more money.
Take a list and stick to it
It sounds simple but if you take a list with you
and just buy what is on it, then this helps. Go through your fridge and larder
at home and note down what you are running out of and need to replace. Also
think about what meals you will be cooking between shops and consider what you
will need for those. It is best to either plan really well and make sure you
only buy what you need for those meals or when you are cooking, keep checking
what you have and make sure that you use everything up before it goes off.
These steps can be taken up all at once and you could save quite a chunk of money. Alternatively, you could try one at a time to make it easier to adjust. You may find that you already do some of them already, but it is worth checking them again to be sure they are working. For example, you might think you are shopping in the cheapest store and buying the cheapest things but prices change and it may be that they are no longer the cheapest. Comparing priced does get easier too and can soon become a habit that is easy to stick to.