Groceries are an essential cost that you can’t get rid of — but you can make it smaller. Read ahead to find out the simple tricks that you can use to cut grocery costs and put more savings into your bank account.
Make a Budget
Before you cut costs, you have to see where you stand financially. You need to go over your income and calculate your average monthly expenses. If it looks like your expenses are taking up too much of the budget, you can make changes to add some wiggle room. One of the easiest costs to shrink is your grocery spending.
If it looks like a little bit of cost-cutting still won’t improve much, you should seek help from licensed insolvency trustees to help you with your financial situation. A firm like David Sklar & Associates can assist you with debt relief solutions and guide you through lifestyle changes like budgeting and debt management.
Make a List
The best tools that you can use to reduce your grocery spending are a piece of paper and a pen. A shopping list will help you stick to your budget and avoid any impulse buys, like that box of cookies sitting in the discount bin.
Shop at the Right Time
The right time doesn’t necessarily mean when the grocery store isn’t full of shoppers. It’s true — there are certain days and hours where the aisles aren’t crowded and the lines aren’t long. The “right time” refers to how you feel when you go shopping.
If you’re stressed out or in a rush, don’t go. You’re going to focus on leaving as soon as possible, instead of focusing on your spending.
And if your stomach is grumbling, you should stay home. The main reason that you shouldn’t shop when you’re hungry is that you’re more likely to spend money — not just on food that you’re craving, but on other items, too. Your impulse control goes outthe window.
Save Food for Longer
Produce tends to have a short lifespan. One day, your box full of strawberries looks fresh. The next, those berries are borderline inedible.If you want to stop worrying about your produce every time that you open up the fridge, you should use these storage methods to make sure that they’re safe to eat for a long time:
- You can learn how to quick-pickle vegetables like cucumbers, red onions and green beans
- You can freeze fresh fruits like strawberries, cherries and peaches
- You can refrigerate ripened bananas to use for smoothies and baked goods
See What You Actually Eat
At the end of the week, take some time to look over how much you ate from your last grocery trip and how much you threw into the compost. This will give you a better idea of what you’re actually using and what you’re wasting.
Try these tips out for the next few months. Then, take a look at your bank account. You’ll be amazed to see that you could save a ton of money on your groceries without eating less. It’s easier than you think.