Are you frustrated by the huge percentage of your pay check going into groceries each month? Most people wish that they would be able to save more on their food bills but don’t know how to begin. The following tips can help you save money on your grocery bill.
Design a Meal Plan
Meal planning is a big task that is a stumbling block for most people that want to save on their food bills. Perhaps it can be difficult planning meals for an entire month, but if you even start by planning weekly meals you will be surprised by the amount of savings you will be able to make. Once you have a meal plan, you will be able to control what you purchase during your grocery store trips. In fact, you will be in a better position to scribble down a shopping list which you can refer to every week when going grocery shopping. What causes many people to over spend on grocery is spontaneous shopping which leads to them purchasing even items that they don’t need. But when you have a planned schedule for your weekly meals, you will subconsciously know the items that need restocking in your kitchen.
Plan Your Grocery Store Visits
It’s impossible to expect to save money on your grocery bill when you visit the grocery on a daily basis. If you have a habit of visiting the grocery store often times in the course of the week, you are more likely to indulge in impulse buying which will stretch your expenditure. If you were previously used to going to the grocery store several times in a week, or anytime you feel like you need an item in the kitchen, cut the visits to once in a week.
Think about it this way, would you normally randomly go out to purchase a new car? Probably not. So the same way you plan on going to purchase a new car or phone is the exact same way you should plan on going to the grocery store. The truth is if you have a habit of spending about $100 every time you go to the grocery store and say you go there four times in a week. It means on a weekly basis you spend $400 on grocery alone, which is $16,000 in a month. Ridiculous when put in figures, right? Calculate that number in a year. Then see a scenario where you only plan on going to the grocery once a week and spend $200 per visit. That means you will have cut down costs by half. That’s huge savings when calculated in a year.
Shop for good deals
Buying grocery using coupons is just one of the ways of getting good deals for your shopping. But most people only rely on this to save on grocery. If you are determined to save money on your grocery shopping you will also look out for discounted items or those that are over stocked and are on sale. Making a purchase in bulk will also ensure you stock your pantry for a long time say a week or two and you will see just how cheaper it is when you purchase in bulk.
Shopping in bulk is not just for the bagged or canned goods, you can also shop for products that can be frozen in bulk. As long as you have marked the expiry dates of the perishable products, you will be able to know which ones should be consumed first so that you don’t make losses by food going bad. Because what good is it buying discounted items that you don’t get to use anyway?
As you can see, saving on your food bills is easy. It only needs a bit of planning and dedication.
