For many renters, finding money in their budgets to pay rent and utilities and still eat can be difficult. You’ve already bit the bullet by cutting down on eating out. You can do more, though. Trimming down your grocery costs can be easy if you give it a little thought. In fact, with a little advanced planning, big savings in your food budget could be only an aisle away.
Here are 10 not-rocket-science tips to get you heading in the right direction:
- Use Lists. Going without a list can cause overspending on frivolous items. Check your cabinets before you leave and keep yourself on task while in the store.
- Eat First. A cart fills up twice as fast with unnecessary items with a hungry person pushing it. Keep your focus on what you need and off what sounds good for dinner.
- Use Coupons. Get store savings cards and use coupons, and you’ll save a few dollars or more on each trip. Over time, that cash will add up and leave you with substantial savings. You can even check sites like smartsource.com.
- Avoid Junk Food. While junk food is delicious, it is expensive and has no real nutritional value. This means you will be spending double just to get the nutrients you need. Stick to the healthy snacks.
- Set a Budget. For each trip, set a budget and stick to it. Just by following your budget you can save, and you really don’t need those Oreos anyway.
- Stock Up. When there is a good sale going on, stock up until the next one. Just be sure they are items you need and not frivolous extras.
- Shop Generic. The name of the product doesn’t make the food inside taste any better or worse. Stick to generic brands, and you can save almost half the cost on some items.
- Avoid One-item Trips. Making extra trips for one or two items is a bad idea, because usually more than just those items make it into the cart. Plus, you’re using extra gas for each extra visit.
- Eat Leftovers. Don’t throw away extra food. Save it for another meal or two later in the week. You can even plan ahead and make a little extra for lunch tomorrow.
- Plan Ahead. Plan meals for the week and buy the ingredients all at once. This will not only save you trips and money, but also headaches. You could even cook all the meals over the weekend and save yourself some time on weeknights.
Groceries don’t have to break the bank. Just shop smart and stick to your list, and you will be saving money in no time. What other money-saving tips do you have?
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