There are, essentially, two ways to save money on your
groceries: you buy less, or you pay less! But of course there are many
different ways to achieve these two aims. We provide some suggestions
below to get you thinking about how you might be able to start saving
money on groceries in your family.
Buying less:
Buy less, by reusing the same things more than once - for example,
plastic bags and containers.
Buy less by making things last longer - for example,
try diluting fruit juices. This will help you save money and calories!
Buy smart - plan your shopping carefully so that you don't buy more than
you need and end up throwing away food which has expired or gone off.
Buy less - reduce disposable items such as paper
towels, coffee filters, plastic storage bags and even water filters.
Paying less:
Pay less by buying items on sale.
Pay less by buying cheaper brands.
Pay less by buying in bulk.
Pay less by choosing "reduced to clear" items - many
are perfectly suitable to consume.
Avoid impulse buying:
Plan your shopping in advance and you will not fall
prey to impulse buying. Never go grocery shopping without a list (and
make sure you stick to it!)
Never go grocery shopping when you are feeling
hungry.
Shop around:
If you shop around different stores to find the bargains you might be
surprised by how much you can save. Just make sure you don't exceed your
savings with increased gas (petrol) costs!
Get wise:
Learn all about supermarket tricks - the more you
know about how they are tempting you to part with your money, the easier
it will be to resist them.
Evaluate offers carefully:
Don’t make the common mistakes that many people make.
When supermarkets put things on special offer, such as ‘buy one and get
one free’ people think this is a great deal. It often is, but this may
make you simply consume more so you really won’t be saving much at all.
The best ‘two for the price of one’ offers are on things that you can
only consume at a certain rate like bathroom and cleaning products, such
as toothpaste and soap powder.
Use coupons wisely:
The same thing goes for coupons. Sure coupons are a great way to save
money on groceries but if you’re buying things you normally wouldn’t buy
or twice as much to get the special sale price then you may actually end
up spending more. Often the coupon offers are higher priced items than
the store brands.
Look carefully at store brands:
By the same token, be careful of store brand or value products that are
cheaper imitations of the real thing. Buying lower quality can be a
money saver if you choose wisely, but if you end up using twice as much
and the product lasts half as long, then you might as well enjoy the
real thing.
Many of us have heard of cookie swaps - but have you thought of these other
ideas, all great ways to save at Christmas? Swap and Save This Year For
Christmas
Garage sales (and car boot sales) are a great way to clear out your clutter
while raising some extra cash for the family. Kacy offers some great tips for
organizing the garage sale process in this article. How To Prepare For A Garage Sale
Fathers and
Holidays The list was long. This holiday season, I'd be buying presents,
coordinating family visits, updating lists and writing cards, doing
decorations outside the house and in,
volunteering, running a business, etc., etc.
There are times when it all seems like too much...
