We all need food to survive. So it may sometimes seem difficult to discover how to save money on grocery shopping.
It’s not always easy to save money on something as essential as groceries. Most people are constantly looking for how to save money on grocery shopping. Here is a list of tips on how to save money at the supermarket without resorting to a diet of ramen noodles, bread and peanut butter.
Avoid Convenience Foods
Convenience foods cost more because they’re convenient. But most of the time, you’re paying for convenience you don’t truly need. Unless you’re an attorney, accountant or another professional who bills hundreds of dollars by the hour, it’s not going to be financially worth it to pay more for a frozen dinner to save 20 minutes of cooking.
Yes, you’ll have to spend more time cooking and less time doing something else you’d rather do. But you’re going to be giving up something you have plenty of (time) in exchange for something you wish you had more of (money).
Avoid Brand Name Products
Most of the time, you can’t tell the difference between a brand name and generic product. This is particularly the case for foods. And when you can tell the difference, it’s quite common to prefer the taste of the generic version over the brand name.
In the rare situation where the generic food tastes worse than the name brand, before buying the brand name version, ask yourself if it’s worth the extra cost. If it is, you can forego the generic version. But you’ll probably be happy to learn that it’s often not worth the extra cost for name brand foods, even with the better taste.
Look at the Weekly Circular
Most grocery stores have circulars released every week that show what items are on sale, often at prices that are drastically lower than normal. This is the best time to not just stock up your pantry or freezer but to plan your weekly menu for the week. For example, if you’re trying to decide between chicken or beef for a few dinners, choose the meat that happens to be on sale that week.
Learn How to Cook
So far, two of the tips we’ve provided revolve around cooking. If you want to avoid convenience foods and take full advantage of weekly sales at the grocery store, you’ll need to learn how to cook. This skill will pay for itself many times over and can even impress your family and friends.
Learning how to cook isn’t just about having a recipe memorized and knowing how to make certain dishes. It also includes having skills to make a particular dish more quickly and efficiently, saving you time. Then there’s the fact that it provides experience and skills that will help you create your own recipes and add variety to your already existing culinary repertoire. If you really get into cooking, it’s only a matter of time before you create your own dish. Or maybe you’ll just modify an existing one that you enjoy even more than the food from your favorite restaurant.
Join a Warehouse Club
Food is like most other items in life. You save money by buying in bulk. The best place to buy in bulk for most people is at a warehouse club. If you have space in your freezer and pantry, stocking up on essentials from warehouse stores is a great money saver. To maximize savings, only bulk buy foods that are storable for a long time and only buy things you know you can finish before the food goes bad.
Have a Garden
Growing your own food is one of the most satisfying things you can do. With the money savings being a bonus. Not only will you save money on produce. But it might also even be possible to sell your excess produce to others, further helping grow your bank account. At the very least, it should help pay for your garden. And then, your garden food is not only cheaper than produce from the grocery store, but essentially free.
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