Food is one of the inevitable spendings that eat out a huge chunk of your budget. Yet, you can cut down your expenses drastically without giving up on the goods you love! Try using at least a few of these smart tricks and watch your check shrinking for at least 30%.
1. Opt for bags and bundles
You do know that buying in bulk is cheap. However you always felt reluctant about dragging a truckload of food back home, especially if there’s just the two of you to consume it. Well, middle-sized multi-packs are amazingly great deals too! For instance, a bundle of 4 Dannon Activia yogurts costs 2.58$, when a single cup is typically priced around 1$. Same works with buying loose grocery vs. bagged. Five pounds of potatoes are 36% cheaper when bought bagged. This trick works fantastic with foods, soap and pet food.
Money spent WITHOUT the trick: $22.50
Money spent WITH the trick: $14.40
Money saved: $8.10
2. Grow your own herbs
Stop buying bundles of herbs for 2$ per item and make your living space greener instead.You neither need advanced gardening skills, nor a lot of space to set up a small garden, say on your kitchen window or porch. By investing around 5$ once, you will always have fresh fragrant herbs in stock. Plus, no extras spoiled and wasted when you decide to make a few changes in your weekly menu.
Money spent WITHOUT the trick: $40 per month
Money spent WITH the trick: $5 for seeds and pots
Money saved: $35
3. Do your own slicing
Yeah, you love having everything beautifully sliced and vacuum packed for you in pretty packs. However, if you are on a mission to save as much money as you can, you’ll have to do all the peeling, slicing and dicing yourself. It’s pretty rewarding as, for instance, a cut and peeled pineapple costs 5.99$, whereas the uncut one can be bought for just 3.99$. Same applies to whole chicken vs packaged, block cheese vs sliced, and much more goodies.
Money spent WITHOUT the trick: $33.78 per month
Money spent WITH the trick: $18.58
Money saved: $15.20
4. Do some reconnaissance
Make a list of items you always buy (e.g. milk, bread, chicken, soap etc) and devote your day to analyzing the prices at a selection of stores in your area (Walmart, Target, supermarket, dollar store) to run a smart price comparison. Put all the data in a spreadsheet like this to go through it later and find out the cheapest place to stock up on the basics. Also, I would add a separate graph listing types of loyalty cards each store offers and which rewards you can get if sticking to a certain chain.
Money spent WITHOUT the trick: $25 per week on average.
Money spent WITH the trick: $21.25
Money saved: $3.75 per week and 15$ per month
5. Shop organic … at Walmart
Walmart decided to be in trend this year and introduced his own line of organic products – Wild Oats Marketplace. It includes a variety of foods from canned veggies to organic chicken broth, that are 18% to 40% cheaper than similar organic goods at specialized stores and some other big-box outlets. For example, Wild Oats organic pasta sauce costs 40% less than a similar sauce at Target.
Money spent WITHOUT the trick: $50 per month on average
Money spent WITH the trick: $32
Money saved: $18
6. Check out the discount rack
Certain products are placed in supermarket clearance sections not because they are bad, but for a number of other reasons like damaged packaging now looking not so flashy and attractive; being slightly off season – Christmas cookies are still delicious in March; or merely just because the manufacturer decided to discount them for some particular reason. Buying discounted stuff will save you at least 50% of the original price if not more. You should still double-check the expiration date though.
Money spent WITHOUT the trick: $38 for groceries and candies
Money spent WITH the trick: $19
Money saved: $19
7. Plan menus by the ads
Now most people first plan their weekly menu and afterwards start searching for relevant discounts and coupons. However, by doing the opposite: finding the hottest deals first and planning your meals around them would save you up to 50% of your weekly bill. Get a few shopping apps installed like Retail Me Not and SnipSnap to take pictures of printed coupons and flash them at the store. Plus, subscribe to newsletters at various stores to be the first to know when certain items go on sale.
Money spent WITHOUT the trick: $98 per week
Money spent WITH the trick: $60.76
Money saved: $37.24
8. Sign up for subscriptions
Now there’s a certain list of goods you inevitably stock up on each month – shampoo, bottled water, laundry detergent etc. Save time and a bunch of money by opting for monthly home-delivery subscription services. Amazon guarantees up to 15% discount on your entire order, plus free delivery at your doorstep at the day you’ve selected. Target recently launched a similar service offering free delivery and 5% extra discount added to your Target REDcard discount.
Money spent WITHOUT the trick: $120 per month
Money spent WITH the trick: $85.20
Money saved: $34.80
9. Buy for 10 weeks at a time
Did you know that sales typically run through cycles on an eight to twelve week rotation? Take advantage of this fact and stock up with discounted goods in advance. Say, you usually eat one pack of cereals per week. Get ten when they go on sale and put an extra fiver straight to your piggy bank.
Money spent WITHOUT the trick: $32.80
Money spent WITH the trick: $27.80
Money saved: $5
10. Learn the layout
According to a recent study by Marketing Science Institute the less aisles a shopper visits, the less impulsive purchases they make. While those who walk around the entire shop usually end up with 68% of unplanned purchases, more determined shoppers with a clear plan in mind, usually grab less than 50% of random things to their baskets. Besides, you should avoid pooling goods from middle shelves as loads of companies pay for being placed exactly at your (or your kid’s) eye level. Don’t be lazy to squat and check out the lowest shelves or stretch up to the top where you are likely to find way better deals at lower prices.
Money spent WITHOUT the trick: $32.80
Money spent WITH the trick: $27.80
Money saved: $5
Featured photo credit: Charlotte via flickr.com
