Saving Money At The Supermarket
I hate to admit it, but I have never been one of those Moms who were adept at budgeting. I have 3 kids, a husband who works from home (and eats all meals at home too), 4 dogs, 3 cats and 2 turtles to feed, plus I host twice weekly playgroups (picture 5 or more hungry kids!), so you can understand that a huge chunk of our monthly expenditures goes on groceries. Don’t get me wrong. I’m a pretty conscientious shopper. I read labels, check prices and compare for the best value, but yes, I do buy some weekly treats for us all – like special organic snacks for the kids, fancy European soda for hubby and that new body lotion for me, but I do keep it to a minimum.
Well, when I saw this article on “The Challenge: Feed a Family on $100 a Week”, I was intrigued, and slightly nauseated that she actually pulled it off while I spend at least three times that (hey, she only had two kids- one of which was a 5-month old, who we know wont be saying “I’m hungry, Mom!!” all the time).
With the state of the world these days, I thought it was time I did try a little (okay, a lot) harder to cut down my hefty grocery bill and hopefully save some money. That, coupled with the fact that I have recently become a huge fan of Suze Orman and am now reading her book, Women and Money, which I find amazingly liberating (but that’s for a another post).
While I’m no budgeting guru, I’ve found a few, like frugal Mom Michelle Jones, who has been doing it successfully for 20 years, “with or without coupons”. I’m more inclined, though, to start off with some of these solid, basic tips from The Consumerist:
1. Make a list and stick to it. Lists focus your shopping and are the single best way to save money.
2. Compare unit pricing, not box size. As with good things, good prices sometimes come in small packages.
3. If you only need a handful of items, use a basket, not a cart. Empty space cries to be filled.
4. If it’s not on your list, don’t pick it up. According to Paco Underhill in Why We Buy: “Virtually all unplanned purchases…come as a result of the shopper seeing, touching, smelling, or tasting something that promises pleasure, if not total fulfillment.”
5. Shop at the edge of the store. That’s where the healthier, cheaper items hide.
6. Disavow brand loyalty and swear allegiance to the lowest price.
7. Consider generics. You usually get the same quality, without the unnecessary branding.
8. Learn to love coupons. With practice, you can buy almost $150 worth of stuff for $5.
9. Make one big shop, rather than several small ones. You’ll save on gas while inoculating against wasteful spending.
10. Buy from bulk bins. Why pay for packaging and marketing when you can reach right in and scoop out exactly what you need?
11. Check your receipt. Don’t let an errant scan ruin your hard work.
12. Shop alone. Science shows that we spend more when we’re with company.
13. Track your spending so you can see what’s eating your money. Committed receipt hawks can spot price cycles to help guide their shopping.
14. Eat a meal before shopping. Shopping on a full stomach tamps down impulse spending and keeps you focused on your list.
15. Shop without a car. Nothing limits spending like knowing you’ll have to carry your goods home.
May 7th, 2009 at 8:37 pm
Going to Retweet this!
May 11th, 2009 at 4:07 pm
agree.
i have 8 months old twin daughters, i am working at home.
my wife normally do the price check, collect coupons.
what we never do are:
1)make a list (generally ended up more than what in our list)
2)always use cart, as convenient
3)never shop alone
May 13th, 2009 at 9:48 pm
Excellent post and tips. It is easy to overlook the simple things that could keep more cash in our wallet!
May 14th, 2009 at 1:39 am
Trust me i try – but something always comes up or my better half always buys more….
May 18th, 2009 at 12:41 am
budgeting in the supermarket is always a constant. but sometimes i indulge by stocking up on more food than usual. it’s my form of reward once every four months.
May 18th, 2009 at 3:57 am
When going for the grocery, buy the important things that you will be needing. Make a list of things that you will need for a week. This will save you a lot.
May 18th, 2009 at 4:22 am
Check for things that you will need most in a week. See to it that the price will fit your budget to maximize your money.
May 19th, 2009 at 2:17 am
Excellent tips – I absolutely agree with #1, writing out a shopping list will definitely keep the non-essential purchases low.
Also, be wary of bulk purchases, it’s not unheard of for supermarkets to mark up large items so that it’s a similar price to the smaller ones, because people feel they’re buying in bulk and saving. Always do a bit of mental arithmetic to make sure you truly are getting a deal!
May 26th, 2009 at 12:53 am
[...] piggy back off a brilliant piece I found – Saving Money at the Supermarket which was in turn inspired by The Challenge: Feed a Family on $100 a Week! Of course, some of the [...]
July 23rd, 2009 at 12:33 am
During times like these, this post puts forth some excellent tips for our journeys to the supermarket. I like the reminder to check the receipt, that’s definitely something that skips my mind from time to time. Just a question for some though; in a day to day schedule of family responsibilities and sometimes meetings, how many of us have the time to shop for and prepare healthy, balanced, great tasting meals? If you don’t I found a great website that some of you should check out. It’s called “Chefs Diet”, and they deliver meals to your door made from fruits and vegetables picked at their peak of freshness, lean, tender meats, the freshest seafood and complementary carbs and dairy products. Anyone can sign up online to win a month of free Chefs Diet meals at http:// http://www.myChefsDiet.com. Hope this is useful for some of you!