Thursday, August 25, 2016

Food for financial thought

   

Tricks To Keep Your Grocery Bill Balanced

One of the best ways to save money is keeping your grocery bill in check. High prices, the urge of impulse buying and the need to shop every week for essentials can easily combine to form a recipe for big overspending. Here are a few tricks that can help you dramatically lower your grocery bill and bring balance back to your finances.

Decide On A Budget And Stick To It

Overspending is often just a consequence of failing to budget. Decide on a sum of money that you allow yourself to spend every week at the grocery store and get that sum in cash. This way, you are more likely to stop spending when you reach your limit.

Know Your Store And Your Products

Every store has its own rules, sales days and prices. Familiarize yourself with these by visiting their websites and looking through the coupon booklets they send you in the mail. By doing this with a few of your favorite grocery stores, you will soon learn who has the best deals, what days are best for shopping and, best of all, what is considered a good price for a certain product. An excellent idea suggested by Finance Today, is to create a list of the items you use every day and are necessary to you. Take the list to the stores you most often shop at, and record the prices for these products. In doing this, you will begin to understand trends which will help you to buy wisely and save more.

Work Around Sales

You may not need another tube of toothpaste right now, but if a store offers an incredible sale on your favorite brand this week, buy it and store it until you need it. Saving money at the grocery store often goes hand in hand with building a stockpile, since the lowest prices do not necessarily coincide with when you require the item. As long as your stockpile does not take over your house, buying products on sale for later use is a great option.
Another way to save money is to plan your meals around sales. This is the best way to minimize your spending on more expensive items, such as meat and produce. If, for instance, pork is sold at half price this week, concentrate on pork recipes for the next couple days. Also, do not forget to stock up.

Keep An Eye On Seasonal Clearances

It is much cheaper to buy your chocolate, candy or cake mixes at a Christmas, Halloween or Valentine’s Day clearance. Make a habit of checking the clearance shelves after each major seasonal holiday. Seasonal clearances often offer much more than just sugary products. Even when the item is not necessarily seasonal, the packaging might be, as in the case of plastic foil, food storage containers, napkins, paper plates or candles. If the packaging does not matter to you, stock up on these items during seasonal clearances and save enormously.

Take Advantage Of Reward Programs

Many stores try to attract customers with their reward programs. These can go from offering you gas money when you buy certain products to giving you points that count towards the purchase of a turkey for Thanksgiving. You can also opt for a smartphone application that rewards you with cash whenever you make a certain purchase. The money you save this way will make for a nice bonus next time you enter the grocery store.

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