Digital Content Manager Grocery shopping is an indispensable part of our day-to-day routine. It occupies a major portion of our monthly budget. So it is in our hands to wisely think of maximizing the savings on groceries instead of leaving a lot of bucks behind it without any purpose.
According to 2020 data from the Bureau of Labor of Statistics, the average US household spent an average of $4942 on groceries for that year or approximately $412/month.
Though we can view this as an overall analysis or benchmark, it is not possible to understand how much contribution every individual can make towards grocery shopping.
So in this article, I’ll show you some intelligent ways how to save money on your grocery shopping. Upon reading the article, you’ll understand how to live healthy on a budget.
1. Create a checklist
The first step to save money on grocery shopping is to know what you’re going to buy. When you go inside a mall, supermarket, or even while you shop online, there are chances for you to get tempted and order more. It’s a natural tendency though!
But to get rid of buying groceries that never add value to your lifestyle, you can create a checklist and write down your monthly requirements. Analyze what are your and your family members’ food needs and then start crafting a healthy and perfect grocery checklist.
2. Adopt best storage practices
If you want to preserve and extend the healthiness and refreshment of your groceries, then you’ll have to store them in a refrigerator. By arranging them properly, in such a way that they are neatly packed, it stays fresh for a long period of time. In this way, you can avoid groceries getting rotten soon.
Not all groceries can be kept in the refrigerator, right? You can buy such items by viewing their expiry dates. If you purchase items that have longer due dates then you can save a valuable portion of your money.
3. Buy fresh fruits and vegetables (in-season)
I think this to be a clear hack for saving your money in your grocery shopping. If you buy fresh fruits and vegetables that are trending (as well as healthy) during a particular season, then you can get them at a lower price. If you purchase fruits & veggies that are not popular during that season, then you’ll end up paying more for the shelf storage.
4. Use coupons or grab exciting deals
This is the most common way to save some money in your pockets. You can browse popular and genuine online coupon sites that provide cash-backs, coupons, promo codes to buy groceries. Even you can keep an eye on the store to purchase groceries on discounted sales.
5. Avoid pre-packaged foods
If you’re a working professional, then you might buy pre-packaged foods to save your cooking time. On one aspect, this seems to be a benefit but on the other, it is a serious health hazard. Pre-packaged foods contain added sugar which affects your metabolism. Since they are pre-processed they may have high calories which will greatly affect your diet and healthy routine.
Also don’t get carried away by their attractive labels like “low-fat”, “low-carb”, etc. Those are the trickiest ways companies use to lure you and your money.
6. Don’t invest more in new products
When you want to try a new brand, be it in any grocery category, do not invest more money in it. For example, a popular brand might release a new variant of its product. You can test their taste and other factors by just buying a packet of one or two. Even if you don’t like the taste, you’ll never have to worry about wasting money since you’ve invested only a little amount. Think of it as a natural process in the trial and error method.
7. How much do you spend?
Before buying any grocery item, think for a minute to know the sufficient quantity required. Just because there’s a huge sale in the store, it doesn’t mean that you’ll have to pile up items. Especially, food items need to be fresh and replenished over the course of time.
So it is better to analyze whether your grocery spending is worth it. Even if your spending is short-term but profitable, then you’re the winner. All you have to do is to smartly plan on purchasing only required items and not excessively stocking up in advance.
8. Compare prices
If you are living in a street that has many grocery stores nearby, then it is a good practice to compare prices to save more. You can identify which grocery store has items for lesser prices and also look for the feel, ambiance, and quality. You’ll have to visit every grocery store to make this meaningful research.
9. Opt for generic brands
To improve the art of selling, supermarkets tend to place high-priced grocery items in your foresight to get the first impression. In order to not waste much time, you might end up buying them. If you take a step closer and look at the bottom of the shelves, you can see generic brands at a reasonable price. You can opt for them, provided they meet your quality standards.
Final Thoughts
I hope that with these useful tips you can save a considerable amount of money on grocery shopping. Negotiating on grocery shopping will be slightly difficult, but when you apply these above-mentioned steps in real-time, you can gradually find a great difference in your monthly savings and reduction in expenses.
On a verge of saving money, do not compromise with quality. Because groceries are an integral part of your daily life and it’s completely responsible for giving you good health and nourishment.
Here’s a short recap of tips to save your money on grocery shopping:
- Create a checklist.
- Adopt the best storage practices.
- Buy fresh fruits and vegetables.
- Use coupons or grab exciting sales.
- Avoid pre-packaged foods.
- Don’t invest more in new products.
- How much do you spend? (Cutting down unnecessary costs)
- Compare prices.
- Opt for generic brands.
