How To Save Money On Groceries

Posted by Forest in Recipes & Food, Saving Money & Finances

photo credit: dok1

So you want to know How To Save Money On Groceries? Well it’s not all that hard. Some things are just common sense and some things are just being in the know.

Hopefully the advice and tips within this article will set you on the right track and help you start saving today.

1. Coupons:

Coupons are awesome if used right, you don’t have to make any changes right away to your normal weekly/monthly shop. Just simply look for coupons in your local circular or just go straight online and grab what you need. Coupon Surfer offers an excellent selection and you can join simply by clicking on the banner below and filling in your details (banner is an affiliate link).

2. Write a list

Before heading out to the store sit down and write a list of exactly what you need. Try hard to stick to this fairly rigidly and you will likely stop yourself from buying lots of pointless extras like extra cookies or potato chips. This tip always helps me save a lot of cash on my groceries! I will buy lots of pointless stuff and forget essentials without a good list!

3. Buy Raw

Processed foods are often not cheaper than cooking the same thing from healthy fresh ingredients (in my experience anyway). Also you will have the added benefits that it’s much healthier and likely to fill you up more too.

4. Go Shopping on Foot

Get some exercise, take the kids along (as bag carriers) and visit the supermarket on foot. I always shop on foot and it saves on gas or public transport which can actually be an expense that adds up in these days of high gas prices. Even shopping at a slightly more expensive local mart may be cheaper than driving out to a hyper mart.

5. Buy In Season

Don’t just pick up fruit and veggies and throw them in your cart. Pay attention to their pricing. Certain crops fluctuate greatly throughout the year depending on what is in season. Strawberries in the winter just don’t taste right anyway!

6. Go on a Diet!

This i debatable but if you are over eating then you would save a ton of cash simply by cutting down. Replace your over eating with healthy habits like drinking water, doing some DIY or going for a walk.

7. What Do You Suggest?

These are just some quick ideas but there is much more that can be done. I would love to hear from you and find out how you save money on groceries.

3 Responses to “How To Save Money On Groceries”

Nanaverm

15. Jun, 2010

A couple of other ways:

Dumpster-dive out the back of the store, if it doesn’t have trash compactors. If it looks and smells good, it probably is.

If your town/city has a Food Bank, offer to haul off those donations which can’t be given out (like rusty, expired, or dented cans). Much of the contents are fine – when in doubt, empty the contents into a bowl and check out the condition of the can. If not corroded, the contents are all the same color, and the can wasn’t bulging, the food inside is probably good.

Look for meats marked down before their pull date. They can be tossed in the freezer if you can’t use them right away. Better yet, use the meat as flavoring if at all, and save the huge cost.

Post a notice on FreeCycle or offer to pick up vegies from over-produced gardens.

Really question the cost of processed food purchases like sauces, gravies, instant foods, salad dressings – You can make most at home far cheaper.

Just a few ideas. For more info. on dumpster diving, join Dumpster Diver’s Paradise, a Yahoo group, for how-to ideas and camaraderie.

Reply to this comment
- Forest
  
  16. Jun, 2010
  
  Hey Nanaverm,
  
  Thanks so much. I am in Cairo right now so would not dumpster dive here but I am considering it back in USA or UK when I get back (who knows when).
  
  I was thinking of an idea that the government provide special bins to business for putting stuff that could be considered ok…. If the bins are clearly marked with a warning that the person has to take at their own risk then no one can be at fault if someone gets ill from the food and business can keep good wasted food separate without fear of repercussions… I know some business’s are now putting useful food waste in plastic bags at the top of their dumpsters for people to take.
  
  Would you be interested in writing a guest post about Dumpster Diving for this blog?
  
  Reply to this comment

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Do You Know How To Save Money On Groceries? - 04. May, 2010
[...] while back I wrote a post about How To Save Money On Groceries and I looked at some of the ways to save, from coupons to walking to the supermarket and like I [...]

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