Getting the most out of your grocery dollars is a skill everyone can learn. In the beginning it adds a few minutes to your shopping adventure but as you learn the tricks you can save the time and a whole lot of money! Money that can be spent on things like ...Holiday shopping.
Below are a list of great money saving tips
- make your dining out dollars and your grocery store dollars part of the same budget. If you eat out 3 times a week at and average of $35 a meal that equates to $105 dollars you have to spend at the grocery store...careful shopping can turn that $105 dollars into a week's worth of meals for a family!
- Store brands are generally cheaper and for the most part just as good. Try the store brand on the items you use regularily. You will save money and if you find an item that the store brand fails you on, swap that one item back to the name brand version.
- Learn the regular price of items, this way you can quickly judge whether or not a sale is really a sale or just marketing.
- Use the shelf tags. There is a lot of information on these tags. The most valuable piece of information is the 'price per' information. It helps you compare apples to apples. In a line up of 6 varieties of pasta you can quickly see how much each one costs per 100grams. Instantly you know which is the most cost efficent. Now you need to compare the nutritional values to make sure you are getting the best nutrition for the money.
- A bargin is only a bargin if it is something you need. 39 cent tuna fish is only a great buy if your family eats tuna fish!
- When you happen upon the deal of the century only buy what you will comfortably use in 2 months. Grocery stores repeat their sale items every 6 to 8 weeks.
- Do your homework. Check store flyers for the best buys on the block. Take the flyers with you, most stores will honour, match or beat their competitors advertised prices.
- Watch the register. Know what items cost and watch that they ring at the advertised price.
- Scoop up quick sale items. Shop first thing in the morning (especially weekend mornings) overstock in the meat counter is reduced 2 - 3 days before the last sale date. You can get some excellent value here. Don't buy anything that looks 'off' or is on it's last sale date. store items in your freezer for up to 2 months.
- Buy in bulk and repack at home. The meat counter generally reduces the price of larger quantity meat packages by as much as 60 cents/kilogram. Keep freezer bags on hand at home and break these large quantities down into smaller portions.
- Do not include household cleaning, toiletries and pet supplies in your grocery budget. While you can purchase these items at the grocery store they are not groceries, eat up your grocery dollars and misrepresent the actual money your spend 'feeding' your family.
- Go with a full stomach and a plan. It is true that you are less likely to impulse buy if you are not hungry when you shop for groceries. Making a list ensures you get the items you need for the week, eliminating those mid week treks back to the store for forgotten items. 3 trips in one week back to the store at an average of $25 a trip is $75 dollars added to your grocery bill each week!
October Shopping Tip...
Did you know that the closer you get to the outside of fruits and vegetable the higher the nutrition you will find?
That's a strange but true fact that also applies to the grocery store...
...To get the best nutritional value (and coincidentally the best bang for your grocery buck) shop around the outer perimeter of the grocery store. The outside aisle is where you will find fresh produce, meats, fish, seafood, dairy, wholegrain breads and baked goods, frozen fruits and vegetables.
...shop around the outside first and load up on those nutritional core ingredients that you can build a meal around.
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