Reduce Family Expenses at the Grocery Store
There are two types of grocery shoppers: those who hate it and grab the closest product to their needs, and those who clip coupons and watch for deals to keep groceries as cheap as possible on their family expenses list. Whichever category you fall into, these tips will help reduce your family expenses for groceries this year.
- Consider online retailers
- Shop from a list
- Plan meals and menus for the week
- Shop by ounce, not by price
- Reward yourself with an expensive dinner
Places like Amazon’s Subscribe & Save give you discounts on their already low prices when you sign up to have paper towels, dog food, soap or various other products mailed to your house on a cycle. You can stop them at any time and shipping is free.
Check your cabinets and fridge before heading to the store and actually write down what you need. When you get to the store only buy off of your list and you will resist the urge to grab things you don’t really need.
…Then shop only for those ingredients. Buying things you may need in the future really isn’t going to help you today. Plus, this relieves the stress of deciding what’s for dinner.
When comparing products, the prices on the label may be for different sized containers. If you find the price per ounce (usually on the label on the shelf) you can compare one mustard to another on a level playing field. Store brands usually will be the cheapest, but certain items on sale will reduce your family expenses the most.
Remember, expensive at home is much, much cheaper than at a restaurant. The cost of a filet mignon dinner at home for two will be about half the price for one person at a steak house. You can probably even have seconds. This will allow you to splurge every once and while, but make sure you budget for it
There are tons of ways to save at the grocery store. With average family expenses for food being over $6,000 a year, anywhere you can save a dollar or two will reduce your overall family expenses for the year.
