How to Save Money on Groceries
You have probably noticed that a trip to the supermarket for groceries is costing more and more on each trip. Groceries eat into a significant chunk of our income every month and this is one of those expenses that you just have to accept. While we can’t live without groceries we can find ways to bring this expense down.
To make it easier on your wallet, follow these simple steps and save on your next grocery trip.
Make a grocery list
Walking in a grocery store without a clear idea of what you need is an invitation to a spending disaster. Write down the foods that you’d like to buy and the quantities. It’s also a good idea to write down the ingredients you already have so you don’t end up buying items you already have. When we walk into a grocery store, we think we are buying items we don’t have but the reality is we end up buying we already have.
Meal planning can help control you spending on groceries by planning what you are going to eat for the week and write that down. This will help you stay organized and prevent impulse purchases.
Using Coupons to Save Money
Coupons are a great way to save money on groceries. With a little preparation and some research, grocery shopping can be done quickly and without breaking the bank. If you want to save as much as possible, take a few minutes each week to find out which stores offer online coupons and sign up for their newsletters.
Most stores offer price match. If the price of a product is cheaper at the competing store, your store will price match saving you a little extra.
Can Buying in Bulk Save Money?
Buying in bulk can save money on groceries, if done right. Stores like Costco offer great prices on bulk items. A great example is toilet paper. You can buy toilet paper at a substantial discount when compared to other stores. It’s not just toilet paper, there are a lot of products that Costco sells in bulk which can provide significant savings. Buying large quantities of a specific food item such as pasta, rice, cereals or bread means you will pay less per item.
If you buy a lot at once, you can save money on your shopping trip. However, you must be careful not to overbuy. Bulk buying is a great option for families with children as they are certain to use the large quantities and can fully take advantage of bulk buying.
Earn Cashback
Why pay in cash when you can earn cash back by using your credit card? Groceries are expensive, squeezing every saving possible goes a long way. Earning cashback while grocery shopping can take the bite out of grocery bills.
President’s Choice (PC) is a great example of earning cashback through points (PC Points) that can be redeemed towards paying for groceries. By using a PC credit card you are earning points every time you make a purchase. Points value varies depending the location and nature of the purchase.
There are a lot of other cash back options to choose from. All major Canadian banks have some sort of cash back cards.
Other ways to save money on groceries
There are many ways to save money on groceries. Some easy ways are buying in bulk, shopping the sales, and choosing generic brands. Store brand items offer the same quality and taste as the name brands but for a fraction of the cost.
One thing most of us don’t think about is the layout of the grocery store. We all have a store that is our main grocery store and we go there every week or month. While you may not realize it is important to get familiar with your grocery store. This is because if you don’t know the layout you can start wandering through different aisles and end up buying things you don’t need.
Know the layout of your grocery store so you can walk in and go to the aisles that you need and walk right out without stumbling onto products that you don’t need.
Saving money on groceries doesn’t have to be complicated. All it takes is a little planning and some discipline.
