Think outside the box when you do your grocery shopping to maximize your savings. Normally when we think about grocery shopping one or two major stores come to mind. Often there are other alternatives for grocery shopping that can be just as rewarding as shopping at your regular grocery store. The key is to find those other sources for grocery shopping but only purchase those items that are a bargain. I have access to five major grocery stores and two major drug stores where I purchase our groceries and my shopping varies at those stores based on what is on sale for a particular week.
Shop the loss leaders: loss leaders are those items that are priced at rock bottom prices and are used to lure you into the store in hopes that while you are there you will purchase other items. I have one grocery store that is so overpriced that I can only purchase their loss leaders and a few other items with a coupon to be able to shop there. When I initially started shopping the loss leaders at this overpriced store I felt guilty since their expectation is that I would also purchase other items that would make up for their loss leader items. I no longer feel guilty since I’m not looking out for the stores bottom line but mine and I faithfully shop their loss leaders to stock my pantry if the price is right.
Purchase items on sale with coupons: I know this is common sense but before I started really using coupons I would actually purchase items at regular price. Sometimes I had a coupon for the item and sometimes I didn’t. I only shopped at one store (up until about 3 years ago) and since an item only goes on sale occasionally I would usually make my purchases when things that I needed were not on sale. To maximize savings wait until your item goes on sale whether it is at your regular store or at another store that you shop at infrequently and use a coupon to really increase savings.
Use a shopping list and create a menu based on items that are on sale: A shopping list will help you stay on track with your budget. Splurging every once in a while is fine, but those items really add up fast. We have perpetual items in our pantry, freezer, and refrigerator that allow us to put a meal together out of a few basic things that we always keep stocked. As we use our groceries we add them back to our shopping list if we run out of a something. One of the easiest ways to plan a menu and stay on budget is to create your menu based on items that are on sale that week. Plan your menus based on the season since produce that is in season is usually going to be more economical than something that isn’t in season.
Tags: Budgeting, Coupons, Grocery Shopping