10 Non-“Secrets” About Grocery Shopping
Ever since I became independent from my parents (when I lived in a dorm back in college), I’ve become some sort of “grocery shopping expert”. I’ve had several inspirations of course: (1) I used to go to a grocery near my school that was known for cheaper goods than the more-popular-but-more-expensive ones in the malls. I save on transpo cost and I save on groceries as well. (2) I also remember a Jesuit scholastic (now a priest) who would give us a grocery list that would already be numbered according to its aisle position in the groceries. Grocery shopping was literally a breeze because of that. (3) Right now, I keep track of my expenses in a handy file that is easy to open in my Mac. I learned that what you cannot measure, you really cannot manage; so I make sure that I’m able to measure my expenses, so I have a chance of managing it.
Here are more tips for Grocery Shopping from FRUGAL FOR LIFE:
One of the best tips (ever) was to take a calculator with me. There are two reasons, one, to keep myself on budget and two, for figuring out cost per… whatever. As I walk around the store and pick up items I enter them into my calculator and round up to the nearest dollar (or peso) when I do (I’d rather be over than under).
Secret #2 is to make sure that I jot down on a piece a paper (back of a junk mail envelope) a list of food that I need to buy. I also include junk food as well and exactly what I am going to buy so that I don’t get carried away. Did you know that shopping without a list can cost you up to 40% more with the impulse buys that are picked up?
Secret #3 is cutting back on red meat will also save me money at the check out. I have increased my chicken intake to save money.
Secret #4 that has been around for a long time is to cook from scratch. When you buy prepared items, you are not only paying for the ingredients but also for the time they took to prepare it. So make it yourself, start with small, easy recipes to build up your confidence and work it into your schedule.
Secret #5 involves freezing the extra, especially on a good bulk deal. Separate your food into easy to thaw serving sizes, this stops you from having to re-freeze anything or the need to use it all before it spoils. Freezing the extra is also commonly used for making vegetable stew. After a dinner, dump all your extra vegetables into a container in the freezer and you have a homemade vegetable stew ready for later without much hassle.
Secret #6 is becoming more common, buying generic is one of the simple ways to save money. Many times the store brand is made by the name brand companies and in some cases the store brand has a better quality than the name brand. Personally, I like the store brand tissues to blow my nose because they are softer and thicker.
Secret #7 is about eating less to save money on food. It is interesting to watch myself stretch the food when the cupboards are getting bare, but eat like a hog when they are full. Because of this, I need to retrain my brain to make the food last as long as possible so I am more consistent.
And by eating less, I am not only able to maintain a better weight, but also able to stretch the amount of time I go in between shopping trips — from 6 weeks to 8–9 weeks.
Secret #8 is about snacking and fillers, like fruits, vegetables and soups. These are cheaper to eat for meals and and in between meals, plus they’re better for your health. This year we have frozen home-made soup put away for the winter — beef stew and chicken noodle
Secret #9 is to grow a garden and save yourself the cost of buying it, more often than not you will have enough food for your family and extra to give (or sell) to others.
And don’t forget, Secret #10, that there are alternative locations to buy food that may be cheaper like farmer’s markets or ethnic grocery stores.
