People! Grocery
shopping is expensive. If you don’t diversify where you shop and tailor your
purchases to targeted locations, you will pay top dollar for most of what you
need. Here are some tips to help you save big and shop smart.
Have a meal
plan. Always.
Shop with a
list. Always.
Base most
of your meals on rice or beans to cut down meat consumption (and be a good
greenie!).
Bring lunch
from home (invest in proper containers to amp it up).
Bring your
own bags to the grocery store. Many stores offer a small discount per bag.
Buddy shop!
Watch for deals on things your friends need and have them do the same for you.
Buy enough
of a sale item to last three months - about how long sales take to cycle.
Buy
generic.
Cook from scratch –
ideally large amounts and freeze the surplus – making digit dialing much less
likely on busy nights.
Don’t buy coffee,
any drinks or snacks out. Bring healthy snacks and reusable drink bottles. Duh.
Eat less.
Embrace
leftovers.
Freeze, can
or dehydrate produce.
Grow your
own produce. Try vertical gardening if you are pressed for space.
Keep a
price book and track prices by unit cost (that’s seriously worth a gold star).
Limit
eating out.
Make your own
baby food.
Plan meals
according to what is on sale.
Shop for
produce at a local farm stand or designated fruit and veggies shop.
Stock your
pantry with staples. Stockpile when prices are low.
Take
advantage of rain checks.
Take
advantage of stores that double coupons.
Inspired? Tightwad hopes so.
1 comments:
Post a Comment