Grocery Shopping Savings Tips
Groceries eat up about 7 percent of household budgets, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The average adult eats between $35 and $76 worth of food each week, according to the USDA in 2010. These might not be considerable numbers, but when times are tough, the food budget is one of the first places you can look to save money. Grocery stores are designed to get money out of your wallet. A little planning and a solid strategy can pay big dividends in the grocery aisle.
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Don't Walk Down Wrong Aisle
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According to the University of Iowa's Extentsion, you should fill your cart with items from the perimeter of the store first. The stuff lined on shelves along walls are usually the basics -- the meats, the vegetables and fruits, and the milk, eggs and cheese. If you fill your cart with the basics first, you won't have room for the extras. Stay out of the aisles with empty calories all together. When you are in the aisle, look at the bottom rack and the top shelf. Companies pay the store to place their products at eye level, and then they charge you accordingly.
Make List, And Organize It
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If you shop at the same store every week, you know the basic layout of the store. Making a list that conforms to the layout of the store will prevent backtracking, and reduce the likelihood that you will pass an eye catching but totally unnecessary temptation.
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What to Buy
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You pay for convenience, and companies pass the cost of advertising their product to you. By food that you can cook. Pre-packaged and frozen foods can be more expensive than making your food yourself. Try the generic brands or the store brands, you may find that much of what you paid for in the brand name product was the cost of marketing to you.
Pay Attention And Check Reciepts
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When you select an item, make sure you know the price, and that you are actually selecting the item associated with the tag on the shelf. Pay attention at the checkout to make sure the price that is scanned is the right price, and that your produce is being punched in correctly. Check your receipt to make sure your coupons were correct.
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References
- Photo Credit shopping image by Leticia Wilson from Fotolia.com
