How to Save Money on Food Without Using Coupons
Food prices are getting higher while incomes are getting lower. Trying to balance the two is becoming more difficult each time you go to the grocery store or supermarket to do your weekly food shopping. Cut costs and save money on food by making major changes to your shopping habits with the following tips.
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Instructions
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Keep small children at home when you go grocery shopping, and never shop after work when you are hungry and tired. Both will keep you from concentrating on your shopping list and locating food items that might be on sale. Keep in mind that your sole purpose for being in the supermarket is to save money on food, and that does not include hot drinks, snacks, condiments or junk food.
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Shop with your shopping list in your hand. Walk directly to the specific aisle and shelf of each of the food items you need. This will stop you from walking up and down each aisle and buying on impulse. As soon as each item on your shopping list is crossed off and is in your shopping cart, head for the checkout counter.
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Wait to buy meats and poultry until they are on sale and then stock up on them. Instead of buying prepackaged chopped meat, find an inexpensive piece of chuck and ask the butcher to grind it. There is no charge for this service. Cut down or stop buying expensive cuts of meat. Substitute pasta dishes, salads, and fish and egg dinners instead.
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Buy only the exact amount of food you need. If fresh corn is packaged four or more per package and you only want two, tell this to the produce clerk. He will take out the two and re-wrap it for you. It will cost you less money, and the corn will not end up rotting in your refrigerator.
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Make sure that what is marked as being on sale is really being sold at a lower than usual price. Items marked as "buy two" for a specific price does not mean you have to buy two for that price. Buy one and still get it at half the sale price. This is one of the many methods used by supermarkets and grocery stores to sell a larger quantity of overstocked foods.
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Avoid buying grated cheese when you can easily grate it yourself at home. Packaged cold cuts are also usually more expensive than buying them at the deli counter. Buy exactly the amount you want and ask to have it sliced to order at the deli department.
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Buy fresh fruits and vegetables that are not prepackaged. This will eliminate paying for rotten fruit that you do not notice until you bring them home and open the package. Buy them loose and place exactly the amount you need in the plastic bags found near the scales. Do not buy fruits already cut up and sold in a plastic container to avoid paying double for having someone else cut the watermelons or cantaloupes into bite-sized pieces that only takes a few minutes to do at home.
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Buy only foods that you need to eat. Stay away from all drinks, chips and dips. Do not buy anything already prepared that you can easily make at home. This includes puddings and jello. Buy milk and a can of chocolate syrup if your child only drinks chocolate milk. Make your own flavored drink by adding juice and ice cubes to a glass filled with water.
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Buy fresh eggs instead of expensive cuts of meat. Eggs are less expensive than meat and are a great source of protein. There is no rule that says you cannot have a healthy breakfast meal for dinner by serving french toast or corned beef hash, eggs and toast.
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Get together with a few neighbors and join one of the shopping clubs that sell by quantity. Chip in the cost of membership and start buying in quantity and without cutting out coupons. When you get home, split the food and pay your share of the cost. Shop only once a month, so buy enough food to last for this length of time. Stay out of any grocery store in between to avoid impulse buying.
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Tips & Warnings
Do not buy anything that is on sale unless you actually need it. Never buy with the assumption that you just might use it.
References
- Photo Credit flickr.com, stockxpert.com, sxc.hu
