Food can take a lot of your money. It is expensive, disposable products and addictive. They are my favorite tips on how to save money on your next grocery bill.Look up and downGrocery shops put expensive items at eye level. Look at the highest and lowest shelf to find the cheapest prices. Example: I always get the 88 cents spaghetti sauce in a can and it is always on the bottom shelf. The $ 3 jar of sauce is at eye level. Use couponsSometimes you can get brand name items cheaper than the store brand price if you use coupons. You do not have to buy the Sunday newspaper to get coupons. Most of them are online for you to print. My favorite place to get coupons are from Mommy Saves Big Blog. Combine manufacturer and store coupons for the biggest savings. Do not buy something just because you have a coupon. Only use them for things you already going to use. Bring your MP3 Player Stores play slow music on purpose, so customers will go slower and spend more time in the shop, leading to spend more money. Bring an MP3 player or Walkman and listen to upbeat, fast-paced music, so you can move at your own pace. This will save you time and money. Skip free sample Sure seems free trial harmless, but how many times have you tried something and then bought the item because it was "so good!" I even sometimes bought goods under a second trip to the store, simply because I remember when good it was. Avoid the temptation and skip the test. Make a meal planIf you have problems buying things you do not need, try to make a weekly meal plan. Before you go shopping, create a menu of what meals you will be part of this week. Remember to include snacks and beverages. Consult your refrigerator and pantry, then make a list of what ingredients you need to buy and how much. When you're in the store, only buy what is on this list and nothing else. Make a purchase and DO NOT buy list Many of us make a list of groceries to buy, but how many of us make a list of what not to buy? Check your refrigerator and pantry and write down something you have plenty of. Add items you have purchased and have gone bad because you never ate. Also add limits to what they should buy. For example, if you will not go through a bag of oranges for a week, write down to only buy a few. Even if the price per pound is cheaper! Include other things like clothes, holiday candy, magazines and other impulse buys. When you're in the store, contact your do and do not buy list. Cook from scratchOne of the best ways to save money on groceries is to cook from scratch. Things that are easy to do on your include pancake mix, dinner rolls, hamburger buns, bread, taco seasoning, veggie dip, cake mixes, popcorn, salsa, soup, pizza and much more. Many convenience foods are simple to make. For example, do I make my own Hot Pockets by wrapping meat, veggies and cheese in homemade pizza crust. Find alternativesTo best use the sales to your advantage, find alternatives to what you buy. For example, if Pitas are for sale and is cheaper than bread you usually buy, consider using Pitas instead of bread for sandwiches that week. If zucchini are for sale, get it instead of broccoli. Try black bean tacos instead of beef tacos. Has brand chips are for sale rather than the kind you usually buy. Use your imagination and find alternatives in your life. Here is a real life example: At the grocery store this week, I went to the clearance section and got a double-pack of Kashi cereal (which I've never tried) for $ 3 It came with a coupon that I could use right away for a free half gallon soy milk. So I put back my regular cereal and organic milk, and got this line instead. So I got two boxes of cereal to half-off and free milk. I've never had that cereal before and I've never had soy milk. But it turned out that both tastes good and I've saved money. Buy day-old breadFind day-old bread part of your shop and take advantage of it! You can usually get things for 50-75% off. There are more than broke even. My store throws in cookies, cakes, rolls, bread, and Pitas.
Jose Holden