Summary: Follow these easy to remember tips and you will end up saving a lot on groceries.
The amount of money you spend at the grocery store can be shocking, and we all hate the feeling of getting to the register and the total being way more than we had anticipated. To keep this from happening to you, here are six simple ways you can save money on your next grocery bill.
- Make a list.
If you go to the store knowing what you’re going to make for the week and what exactly you need to make it, you won’t over-buy or be influenced to buy things you don’t need by the store’s marketing techniques.
- Don’t grocery shop hungry.
I’m sure you’ve heard this advice many times, but that’s because it’s true. When you’re hungry at the grocery store, you’re more likely to make impulse purchases, which tend to be more expensive. No one impulse buys a head of lettuce.
- Don’t be fooled by coupons.
You think you’re saving money when you use coupons but, more likely than not, you’re buying something with that coupon that you wouldn’t have normally purchased. Coupons can often trick us into adding extra costs to our grocery bills, even if we’re “saving” on something we never needed. Only use coupons for things you already planned on purchasing.
- Check unit prices.
The unit price is the price per unit, e.g. lbs, oz, or grams. When it comes to buying a certain size of something you need (and will use all of), look at the unit price on the item. More often than not, buying a larger size of something, such as cereal or laundry detergent, will end up saving you money in the long run.
- Buy store brands.
We all love our name brands, but you’d be amazed at how much less the store brand can be, and for essentially the exact same item. How is this possible? Brands can charge more simply for the recognizable name on the packaging.
- Buy in bulk when there’s a deal.
You may end up having a larger bill this week, but you’ll end up saving yourself money over the long-term. When you see something you know you’ll use, such as buy one get the second half-off toilet paper, get two! It won’t go bad like produce would, and you know you would have needed to buy more in the future anyway.