Reducing your grocery bill doesn’t mean starving yourself, giving up your favorite foods or eating smaller portions. In fact, by changing just a few habits when it comes to buying and storing food, consumers can still enjoy their favorite meals – only on a much smaller budget.

Shop at Discount and Salvage Grocery Stores

One guaranteed way to cut your grocery bill immediately is shopping at a discount chain. Discount grocery stores are different from a typical grocery store chain in several ways: They don’t carry many – or any – name brands; their selection is much more limited; they often don’t provide free bags; and some don’t accept credit cards. But these concessions are small compared with how much money you can save.

Another effective – and more fun – method to save money is to find a salvage grocery store in your area; they don’t advertise much, so check this list or search the yellow pages. Salvage grocery stores buy products from larger chains that want to get rid of them for various reasons. In some cases, the “best if used by” date is near (even though most products are fine well past these dates); in others, the store needed to clear shelf space for newer products. Salvage grocery stores often have a wide assortment of products – some name-brand, some not – that are constantly changing. Most important, all of the products are available at a steep discount – often 75 percent or more. If you’ve never shopped at a salvage grocery outlet before, try it once and compare what you spend with your typical bill at a chain supermarket.

Look for Marked-Down Items and Closeouts

Supermarkets regularly set aside items that have been discontinued or that they simply want to get rid of quickly. Look for these displays – often they are a mishmash of food and seasonal items, but you can find outstanding deals.

When buying meat, look for packages that are marked as “Manager’s Special” or with a sticker denoting a discount; this almost always means the “sell-by” date has arrived or is near, so you will have to use the meat quickly or store it in the freezer.

Eliminate Impulse Purchases by Making a List

Enticing consumers into impulse buys is important to supermarkets’ bottom line. This is why certain items are placed at eye level, the end of aisles and at the checkout lanes. Make a list before you leave for the grocery store and buy only the items that are on the list (with exceptions made for last-minute forgetfulness). Being prepared and eliminating impulse purchases are a surefire way to save money on groceries.

Monitor Food to Prevent Spoilage

Letting groceries spoil is no different than throwing money in the garbage disposal. Prevent food from going bad by monitoring the expiration date on the food that tends to have the shortest shelf life – milk, eggs, cheese, salad and bread. The less food that goes to waste, the less money you will have to spend to replace it.

Don’t Throw Out Food Unnecessarily

A common belief is that because a food item is stamped with a date, it must be used by that date. This is simply false; in some cases – such as with soda – the date stamp is a marketing gimmick to get consumers to think the product has expired so they will buy more. Know whether the date on a product is a “sell by” or “best if used by” date. “Sell by” refers to how long a store can display a product, while “best if used by” is a more general description of how long the manufacturer says the food will taste its best. Determine what the date means before you throw out food.

Source: http://personalbudgeting.suite101.com/article.cfm/tips-for-saving-money-on-groceries

Share on Facebook