
Grocery shopping is something that we all do, but how many of us truly enjoy it or are ?smart? at doing it. Sure, we can drive to the grocery store and pick some food off the shelves for us and our families to eat, but what kind of deal are we getting?
As we started our family and lived much more closely to a budget we found that a key part to that was being wise when it came time to go to the grocery store. If you?re looking for some ways to shop smart for groceries, the below tips should help.
Try Your Hand at Couponing
We don?t do a whole lot when it comes to couponing, though we used to. The reason? It largely goes back to lack of time and not really buying most things there are coupons for. That said, when we did clip coupons we could easily save a good bit of money at the grocery store.
There are many who will spend hours looking for coupons as a means to cut down their grocery bill as much as possible. You certainly don?t need to go to that extreme, but it can be a good way to save money on groceries.
Make Friends With Aldi or Save-a-Lot
The grocery stores might be called something different where you are, but Aldi is the grocery store to go to in my area if you want the cheapest prices. I know in other area of the country that Save-A-Lot is another similar option. These stores only employee two or three workers that either run the cash register or stock the shelves (which means putting the box on the shelf for you to see).
Their operation is very basic, which enables them to save money on useless costs and then pass on the savings to the consumer. There have been numerous studies that compare Aldi to Walmart and other grocery chains. In almost every study I have seen, Aldi always wins ? they always have the cheapest prices. If you don?t like to mess around with coupons, then a store like Aldi can save you a good amount of money on groceries.
Buy in Bulk
If you have a big family and can go through a considerable amount of groceries in a month or two, then you might want to look at buying some things in bulk. Typically, when you buy more of something the per unit price goes down. So, instead of buying a single box of cereal for $3.50, you can buy a carton of 10 boxes for $25.00, which means you?re now only paying $2.50 per box.
The beauty of this technique is that there are many non-perishables that will stay fresh for quite some time, so as long as you have somewhere to store the food, you can save a fair amount of money by buying in bulk. We buy some items in bulk at Costco, but have to be careful in order to make sure it?s food we?ll be going through as otherwise we’d simply be wasting money.
Don?t Let Your Food Go to Waste
The downside to buying in bulk, or any shopping really, is the risk of food going to waste. I absolutely hate dealing with food waste as it?s pretty much like taking cash and putting it in the trash can.
Don?t believe me? I guarantee you that if you cut your food waste down you?ll see your grocery budget working that much better for you. There are many ways to help cut food waste from shopping with a list to freezing meals that can help you immensely in terms of killing that waste.
What tips do you have to shop smart for groceries? How much is your grocery budget per month? Do you coupon, and if so, how much time do you spend on it per week?
Photo Courtesy of: greggavedon. com