The Save Money Blog

Posts Tagged ‘grocery-bill’

On the note from my last blog post, I found these tips to help you lower your grocery bill. You are spending money on groceries at least once a week so why not try to do your best to save.

• List goods that should always be found in the kitchen. Examples of which are coffee, milk, sugar, soy sauce, vinegar, salt, onion, garlic. These goods are necessary, so they are always being bought.

• Plan your weekly meals ahead of time. This would avoid you overspending on goods invaluable or missing some ingredients that are needed. This would not just clear your worries but it would also save your time.

• Don’t buy branded goods; instead choose a product that has the same quality of those expensive goods. You’ll get the same benefit without spending more.

• Buy goods that have dual purpose. A good example of which is mayonnaise. You can use it as a sandwich spread or make macaroni salad instead. In a way, you could enjoy eating both without spending too much.

• Buy less expensive cuts of meat. List recipes that the cuts won’t matter. At least, you won’t be sacrificing the taste of the food and at the same time you’ll have the chance to buy a larger quantity.

• Pay in cash. You might be tempted to buy unnecessary goods. This would avoid you from going over your card limit.

• Try to be inventive and creative at the same time. Leftovers could be precooked in a way that it would look appealing again to your appetite.

• Bring some snacks whenever you travel. This could be a good reliever for your hunger along the way and chances of being tempted to stop in a mini store; if not be impossible, at least be lessen.

• Keep a list of prices of goods you always buy. At least, with those products you’re sure of how much you’ll be spending and you could do just a small amount on goods you wish to buy.

• Shop only once or twice a month. In that way, less time will be spent on going to a grocery store and at the same time, chances of overspending will be minimized.

Last week at a party I was asking my friends wifes where they picked up a particular snack dip. They told me the store and I mentioned that I shopped at another place. They were shocked that I went there because it was so much more expensive than most other grocery stores. I had no idea that there was such a big difference as they pointed out. You would think that because they have to compete with each other that the prices wouldn't be too far off.

It would be pointless of me to point out which ones are cheaper but here is a way to find out. Try looking at your local news website and see if they have done a story on it. I would bet that they have at some point. Local news companies are always comparing shopping places.

Remember to clip your coupons. You might even find that one grocery store is offering better coupons on a regular basis over the others.

It's Sunday and in our household it means two things. Laundry day and grocery day. Since starting this blog every resource I have read suggests writing up a shopping list and stick to it in order to save money. You can't go into a grocery store with no list or plan and expect to come out of there with saving money. You have to know what you want to buy ahead of time so you can maybe look for coupons or look through the ads in the paper to find your best deal and prices.

We keep a pad of paper in the same spot all week and when we run out of something we write it down. That way we see it all week and keep our eyes peeled to see what is on sale or where. Do we need to go to Costco or can we get in elsewhere? It's all about getting the best deal.

If it's not on the list then it's not getting bought. So when I am complaining about having no junk food I am reminded that it wasn't on the list.

We started to try something new around the house over the last few weeks and I can already see that it is paying off in saving us money. Instead of buy premade foods at the grocery store or at a take out place we have started to buy the ingredients and make our own.

Take for example the cost of a take out pizza from a pizzeria or even a frozen one from the grocer. Now compare that with buy a can of sauce, some cheese, dough and a few toppings. Some of which you probably have in the fridge anyways. You can cut your cost way down and even control what you are putting on it giving yourself a healthier meal.

Pizza is just the tip of the iceburg think about popcorn machines and the cost to pop you own compared to buy microwave corn. Cooking your burgers instead of going out, making your own wine and just about everything else you can buy out you can probably make cheaper by buying your own ingredients.

There was a great article of interest today on CNN's website. It dealt with how family's are coping with soaring food and grocery prices and showed how one family is dealing with inflation.

One mother interviewed decided to save money by making her own laundry detergent. " Pond, 26, a stay-at-home mom with an almost 8-month old daughter, does four loads of laundry every other day. "Detergent is very expensive, so I make my own," she said. She grates natural soap, boils it, adds Borax, baking soda and essential oils, and lets it cool overnight."

They also suggested some methods previously mentioned in articles on this blog such as growing your own vegetables, cooking at home and hoarding sales items. All which can add up to big time grocery savings.

Read the rest of the article at the Source for more innovative ways to cut down on your food bill. 

Isn't it depressing after you spend over $100 at a grocery store and you get home and have nothing to eat. We are constantly doing that. I recently came upon an interesting article which suggested ways to cut down on your annual grocery bill. I myself have not tried them yet but am willing to do anything to try and cut down on my food costs.

The article suggested to "Stockpile" when items are on sale. It stated that items going on sale usually do so every 10-12 weeks. Makes sense, if the shelf life on your canned goods etc are going to last then why not pick up three or four cans of the item and store it away. If peanut butter is on sale and you know you are going to go through it, why not pick up a couple jars while it's cheaper. Read the rest of this entry »