5 Tips For Lowering Your Weekly Grocery Bills.
Going to the supermarket to purchase our weekly groceries seems to be getting more and more expensive these days. The cost of food is rising steadily, and many people are finding it hard to make ends meet. Luckily there are a number of ways you can reduce your weekly grocery bill. If you need a little help in saving money the next time you do your weekly shop, read on. Here are 5 tips for lowering your weekly grocery bills.
Even going ‘almost’ vegetarian is a great way to save money!
1. Look for sales.
Train your eyes to look for those big red “sale” stickers and signs, and save tons of money on your weekly food costs. Keeping an eye out for sales, and then pouncing on the opportunity when it presents itself, is a great habit to get into. It’s also a great idea to buy in bulk when a certain item is particularly cheap, and then keep it in stock throughout the year. At the very least, make sure you buy enough to last you until the next sale on that particular item. In general, most items go on sale every 3 – 4 weeks, so do some rough calculations the next time Corn Flakes are on sale, and make sure you have enough until the big red sticker shows itself again.
2. Buy in bulk.
Even when a particular item isn’t on sale, it usually makes more financial sense to buy in bulk and then portion it out once at home. For example, instead of buying that 2 piece pack of chicken for $10, buy the 6 piece “family pack” for $25 instead. It will work out much cheaper per piece that way. So pay attention to the unit price of the item, and not just its total cost. Your weekly food bill will go down as a result.
3. Plan your meals.
Not having a clear idea of the food you require each week for your meals is a recipe for disaster (excuse the pun!). Supermarket shelves are stocked and laid out in a way to encourage impulsive purchases, and you’ll find yourself buying more than you actually need if you don’t plan your meals. That’s not good for your weekly budget. Also, only use cash to buy your food, and stay away from using credit cards. Credit card debt (and the interest rate payments they entail) can hurt your weekly budget, so opt for cash instead. (If you do have a debt, speak to debt experts like Fox Symes for assistance.)
4. Use coupons.
After shopping for those items on sale, make sure you keep your receipts. You’ll often find tons of extra deals you can take advantage of on the back of them, and they can all add up to saving you even more money. Additionally, do a quick Google search for “food coupon codes”. You’ll find tons of great deals just waiting for you to print out and use.
5. Eat less meat and poultry.
When you tally up how much you spend on your grocery bills each week, what you’ll usually find is that much of your money goes towards purchasing fresh meat and chicken. Thus, if you want to reduce the amount you spend each time at the supermarket, consider cutting down on your meat. This doesn’t mean you have to go completely vegetarian. It simply means reducing the amount of meats and poultry you and your family consume each week. Sure, there are specific health benefits to reducing the amount of meats you consume too (such as reducing your likelihood for heart disease). So cutting back on meat can be both good for your wallet, and your heart.
There are many ways you can reduce the amount of money you spend each week feeding yourself and your family. Take note of the above 5 tips the next time you’re at the supermarket, and hopefully you’ll be pleasantly surprised at how little you spend each week.
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