Grocery Shopping and
Your Household Budget
Every household has to go grocery shopping at some time.
Groceries are a necessity but they don't have to break the bank.
We all know how expensive food is getting. Without a
household budget it would be very easy to over spend on the
monthly food bill. You do have a household budget, correct?
If not, do not pas "Go" and do not save $200. Yes, that was
a reference to a long time family board game.
But seriously, you need a
household budget if you want to successfully manage your money.
It's also a great way to teach good money management to your children.
That $200 mentioned above is no laughing matter. When you
go grocery shopping you can spend a lot of money on very little
food. There's only so much room in your food budget.
Wise shopping choices will save you plenty of cash and provide a
concrete way to show your children how to life frugally.
Research Food Prices
Spend some time getting to know the prices for the most common items
that you purchase. It is amazing how much prices can vary
between stores. You may find that doing your grocery shopping
at 2-3 different stores will save you a lot on your food budget.
Yes, it can be a hassle so plan stops when you are near different
stores.
Don't Throw Away Weekly Ads
Most households receive grocery store ads 2-3 times per week in
their mail or in the daily newspaper. They usually end up
in the recycle bin. Once you have identified the best prices
for specific items make use of the weekly price reductions instead
throwing them out. What a great opportunity to teach your
kids how to easily save money on food.
Use Online Coupons
If your food budget is tight you have to get creative. Many
stores have made grocery shopping a bit easier by providing online
coupons that are automatically attached to your store discount card.
All you have to do is add the coupons you want and then purchase
those items with the grocery store club card. The discounts
come off your bill automatically!
Here are a few places to check for great online discounts:
Albertsons has a Preferred Card that will give you great
savings
Safeway has a Club Card that offers online coupons
Kroger stores offer many online coupons for their discount
programs
Try The Store Brands
Sometimes there really is a noticeable difference between name brand
foods and store brand foods. Most often the only difference
is the price! Get in the habit of buying store brands whenever
possible and you'll get to teach your children about the fallacies
of product marketing. Grocery shopping can provide lots of
life lessons if you look for them.
Let Costco Save You Money
If you are able to shop at Costco or one of the other big shopping
clubs then take advantage of their savings. Yes, you do have
to buy 50 pounds of rice at a time but it won't be on your shopping
list again for quite a while. If you shop wisely at these
clubs you can save a great deal of money. Share the cost with
family or friends and you'll both save.
Cook and Freeze
One reason grocery shopping is so expensive is because folks tend
to do it too frequently. The more often you are in a store
the more money you will spend on things you never needed in the
first place. Get in the habit of making your shopping trips
less frequently. Buy more food at one time and then cook a
variety of meals and freeze them for later consumption. You
will save money, save time, and always have food in the house.
Use your shopping trips as a tool to teach good money management.
Saving money on your food budget while provide extra money for other
areas of your household budget.
There are lots of ways to save money while
grocery shopping. Don't forget the
golden rule of shopping:
Never Shop While You Are Hungry!!!
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