Groceries can be expensive—especially when you are shopping for a family. Food is necessary, but when we don’t plan ahead or we start throwing together meal ideas in the store, it can add up quickly. As we are living in this uncertain time, it’s not a bad idea to take a look at our budgets and see where we can trim a little. If you have found yourself leaving the grocery store with a cart full of stuff you didn’t need, or fell for a store’s “sale”, keep reading to check out 5 of our favorite tips for shopping smart and saving money.
COMPARE WEEKLY ADS
Before you head to the store, take a look at all your local store’s weekly ads. Some stores may have tempting sales like “Buy One Get One Free” advertised, but another store may still be selling it for a cheaper price. If you don’t receive a newspaper with advertisements there are several different free apps you can download that not only allow you to view each store’s weekly ad, but compare prices for different advertised items. This can make your research go much faster!
KNOW YOUR STUFF AND STOCK UP
It’s important to know when something is a good deal or not so you don’t waste any money at the grocery store. Some people keep a list on their phone that has main items and the best stock-up price for each one. For instance, if you see boneless chicken breasts drop under $1.99/LB, it may be a good time for you to grab a few extras for your freezer. If you are able to stock up a little when your most used items go on sale, you can save money when the prices inevitably shoot back up.
MAKE A LIST AND STICK TO IT
Once you have pored through the weekly ads, you can make your weekly meal plan based on items that are on sale. By making your list in advance, with a commitment to not make spontaneous purchases, you will be able to save quite a bit of money. When we sit down to write a list, we are much more conservative with what we want to get. Another way to save money is by using curbside or delivery options. Many of these programs have been expanded to meet demand, allowing you to choose each item carefully on your phone or computer, moving things to and from your cart to adjust your total. This will certainly eliminate the problem of shopping while hungry or being tempted by flashy sales on things you don’t use or need!
JOIN LOYALTY PROGRAMS
Almost every store has some variation of a loyalty program that either offers you additional savings or earns points that you can use on other things, like a discount on gas prices. This is an easy way to save money because once you join, all you have to do to save money and earn rewards is swipe your card at the store.
USE COUPONS AND CASHBACK PROGRAMS
Coupons are another way you can save money at the grocery store if you follow one important rule: do not buy items you do not need just because you have a coupon! Sometimes, you can save more money by sticking to a sale items, or an off-brand instead of using a coupon. Paper coupons are hard to keep up with, so if you don’t have the time to go clip coupons and organize them, check out your store’s digital coupons. You generally can load these to your loyalty card and use them when you check out. You can also use cashback programs like Ibotta to make a little extra money on your regular purchases.
We hope these tips help as you try to save money at the grocery store. Feel free to stop by our Facebook page and share your money-saving tips with our Zippy Shell community. If you have a local or long-distance move coming up, be sure to give us a call at 888-947-7974 for a free, no-obligation quote. We look forward to hearing from you!