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Grocery Shopping? Lots of Money-Saving Potential!Jul 09 '02 Write an essay on this topic.
Popular Products in Building Supplies
The Bottom Line Wise grocery shopping adds flexibility to your budget.
It's been a year now since I first started writing reviews at Epinions, and it's also been a year since I received my last paycheck and officially became a Stay at Home Mom. In honor of both of those events, I thought I'd write a review in the "member advice" section. When I stopped working outside the home, our income was more than cut in half. My husband and I both agreed, however, that we wanted this to work out and would do whatever we could to "give it a go." In the past year, friends and acquaintances alike have asked me the same question: How are you able to make it on just one income? The answer is a complicated one, involving all sorts of little tricks and tips. For me, smart grocery shopping has been a huge way to contribute to easing our budgetary constraints. It takes time, effort, and persistence, but it definitely pays off in weekly savings. My Disclaimer Before I get too far into this "advice column," there's something important that you need to know about me. After a year, I'm still at home and not planning to go back to work, but I'm also not living a "filet mignon lifestyle." My family won't be appearing on Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous anytime soon, and our modest home (which we love!) won't be featured in a double-page spread in Better Homes and Gardens. All of that is OK with me, though. It doesn't bother me to live on a budget, because what I want first and foremost is to be here with my son. That choice isn't for everyone, and it isn't an issue of "right" or "wrong." It's just a matter of what feels right to you. And now, on with the tips! Make Sure You Have the "Store Card" More and more grocery stores have a special card that you must have in order to gain access to things like sale prices and double coupons. Some stores even have specials that are targeted just to card-holders! These specials, which include everything from coupons to offers for free items, are printed on a cash register receipt which you receive when your order is rung up. I've gotten several free items, such as full-size dishwasher detergent, cookie mixes, vegetable dips, and orange juice, just for shopping at a store and having their card. My local stores also offer special incentive periods during which they track your spending and present you with special percentage-off coupons (the amount of which is dependent on what you've spent) that can be used on any order. Fill out the application and get yourself one of these cards in order to take advantage of these special programs! Use Coupons This is absolutely crucial. Coupons are easy to come by and are a quick way to reduce the amount of money you're putting out each week. You can find them in the Sunday paper, on the internet (both coupon sites and manufacturer web sites), in magazines, and even lining the aisles in the grocery stores. I try to use as many coupons as I can, and if a particular food is a luxury, I won't buy it unless I have a coupon. Having trouble finding coupons for the products you use? There are many coupon sharing groups on the internet. We send each other the coupons we don't need, which allows all of us to build up our own stockpile and save more money. However, you don't even have to join a group like that to get multiple coupons. Do you have any friends or family who get the Sunday paper? Just ask them for the coupons they're not using, and you'll be on your way. Many stores will double or even triple the face value of your coupons, increasing their worth and even allowing you to get some items for free. Check your local grocery stores, as each store has its own coupon policies. I know many people who think that "collecting" all these little pieces of paper is too much work, but just think about it. If you could save $5 per week (which is, in honesty, a rather low estimate), you'd already be up to over $250 a year. Is that enough to pay a bill? To buy some birthday gifts? For me, it's more than worth it. Shop the Sales I'm really serious about saving money, so I prefer to buy things only when they are on sale. (And of course I love to add to the savings by using a coupon on that sale item!) Check store fliers carefully in order to find items that you purchase frequently, and remember to also check the aisles as you're shopping. Not all sale items are advertised, so taking a good look at the shelves as you shop can help you to save even more. Another sale-related buying tip is to let the current specials dictate your weekly menu. When a certain type of meat is on sale, I check for recipes I have that match up with it, rather than buying nonsale items that might have been key ingredients in other dishes. At first it might seem restrictive, but soon you'll have meat stocked in your freezer, allowing you the freedom to pick whatever you'd like to make that night. I do the same with produce. Buying it when it is in season/on special will quickly add up in savings. Again, a little quick math will show the results of this strategy. Estimate just $5 a week in savings through sales (again, a very low estimate), and you've saved another $250 per year. It all adds up quickly! Watch for Rebates Drug stores and grocery stores both seem to be getting into the "one check rebate" programs, where you can submit rebates for many different products all to the same address, in the same envelope. Some are also available online, saving even the cost of the stamp! Using the rebate programs advertised by our local grocery stores, we've gotten many things for free, including toothpaste, toothbrushes, deodorant, shaving gel, and shampoo. Depending upon how willing you are to try different brands, you can really make a dent in your spending by combining a coupon and rebate. Sometimes the store actually ends up paying you to take the item off the shelf! Stock Up! My favorite purchases are the ones that combine a sale with a coupon. If you have several coupons for an item and it's non-perishable, stock up while it's on sale! This makes more sense than buying one of an item when it's on sale and then buying it again the next week when it's not on sale. Your only restriction in stocking up will be your amount of storage space, but you'll even learn to get creative with that. We added shelving in our garage just to accommodate our "extra" groceries. Know a Good Price When You See It Just because it's on sale doesn't necessarily mean it's a great price. Start really paying attention to prices, and you'll see that there are certain times when an item is available at an unbelievable price. That's the time to stock up! I started out by keeping a notebook with a list of sale prices for products we used frequently. When an item was on sale, I'd compare its price to the one in my notebook. It wasn't long before I knew for sure when I was getting a really super deal. Make a List and Stick to It I have a shopping list, which I make at home while I have access to my fridge and cupboards. This helps me avoid buying non-sale items just because I'm not sure if we need them. It also lends a bit of discipline to the trip, helping me to stay focused on the things that I need, rather than getting sucked into impulse buys along the way. It is OK to stray from the list (remember those surprise sale items I mentioned above?), but you want to do so only for wise purchases. Have a Few Quick Dinners Up Your Sleeve I have a toddler, so cooking is usually the last thing I want to do when dinner rolls around. However, the cost of fast food or even packaged dinners at the grocery store is not an option for our family. I do stock up on some packaged dinners when they are on sale and I have a coupon for them, but I've also learned that the crock pot is my best friend in the kitchen! By throwing in some meat (which I got on sale), vegetables, and some marinade (which I got for next-to-nothing through matching coupons and sales) I have an easy hands-off meal that my family can enjoy. Tricks like this can help you to avoid the money pit that convenience foods can turn into. Try Store Brands I won't go so far as to say that the store brand and the major manufacturer's brand are always equal in taste and quality, but I will say that there are many items out there that are worth trying. It's a trial and error process, but in the long run the store brands are definitely cheaper (though sometimes I can beat their price when combining a coupon and sale). We buy store brand milk, margarine, sour cream, fruit preserves, and fruit juice on a regular basis, for example. We've learned, on the other hand, that we don't enjoy our store brand of graham crackers or canned tuna. Give the items a try, and you'll find that some will make their way into your regular rotation, while you'll stick to your regular brand on others. Find the Stores with the Best Prices If you are lucky enough to have several grocery stores located nearby, do an experiment to find out which one offers the best prices on a daily basis. I had three stores to choose from, so I made a list of some of our most frequently purchased products and compared prices at all three. To my surprise, the warehouse store that claimed it had the lowest prices was actually beaten out (by a large margin!) by a neighboring grocery store. That neighboring store has now become my main shopping destination, and I buy only sale items at the others. Just My Experience These tips have been helpful to me in the past year and have helped my family to stretch its budget. I'm sure that some of you have been doing all of this (and more!) and I welcome your further suggestions in the comments section. For some people, though, this will be new information. If that is the case, I hope it has been helpful to you and that it has given you at least one or two tips that will save you money, regardless of whether you are operating on one or two incomes. No matter what your working situation, it never hurts to have a few extra dollars! And One More Thing... I couldn't allow the occasion of my one year anniversary at Epinions to go by without thanking all of you who have read, rated, and commented on my reviews this past year. When I was a newbie, I had no idea what ratings, comments, WOT, hats, or income share were about. I just wanted to share an experience I had with a product! It was your helpfulness and encouragement that resulted in my improving my writing and (I hope) to my giving something back to the Epinions community. Thanks so much for everything!  |
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