Financial consultants recommend spending about 10-15% of your take home on food, this includes shopping for food and eating out. While it’s easy to take a cart and fill it up with items that we don’t really need, at the end of the day you end up spending money meant for other things . If you haven’t been sticking to the rules, here are some ways on how to save on food shopping.
Stop making dinner a big fest
We are living in days where bills are high and we need to cut on cost, food is on the cost cutting list, you can enjoy dinner without having all varieties of food on the table. Having a well planned menu comes in handy, come up with a well balanced menu that your family enjoy without spending a whole week income on one meal.
Have a weekly meal plan
Planning ahead helps in staying on the budget , it stops you from impulse buying and can come in handy in making adjustments when the money you have is not enough
Check out for available deals and discounts
Be on the look out for shopping deals, whether you save 5% or 80% on food is a big deal, the money saved will go into being useful in a different way, join a site like perkwiz through Appstore or desktop and you will be able to save as well as get rewards.
Look out for discounts when eating out
It’s always exciting to eat out but that does not mean we have to spend all our savings or salary to entertain ourselves, I have been to save on restaurant food orders through perkwiz, imagine craving for MacD and have little money in your pocket? That’s where dicounts come in, you can get that which you crave at an incredible low cost. Isn’t that a deal? You can download it on your phone or computer.
Get calculating while shopping
Lo, I always do that when I go shopping,Its in my top way to save on food. Get out your calculator,,,everyone has a phone with a calc and calculate the cost as you shop, you will realize you begin asking yourself questions like, do I really need that sparkling water? You will find yourself saving an extra $5.
Round up the cost to the nearest higher cost
A fun way of budgeting is as you do your calculations round off the cost to the hier next number. E.g if a bread cost 1.7$ round off to 2$. Do this for all your shopping and you will know roughly how much you are spending. If you are over budget then reduce your items. The fun part about this is you will be happy at the checkout point when you come below the budget.
Be careful when buying in Bulk
You might get caught up and end up spending more on items while you buy in bulk, compare prices per unit especially when buying on bulk….it’s not always cheaper. with the measurements.When you decide to save on food budget you have to be watchful.
Also don’t buy too much, you may not need it all or may end up getting spoilt.
Look out your freezer or pantry before shopping
There could be some food that you can use and save money on groceries, frozen meat,vegetables or cereals in your pantry that has been there for a while, why buy more while you still have stock?
Pay in Cash
Best way to save on food while shopping is to pay in cash, when you have cash it limits you from spending extra, it’s as simple as that. Use cash, save money on grocery
Freeze your food.
If you have not been freezing your food, start doing it this Saturday. Spare a day, I do nit on Saturdays and I boil my cereals and other food that can be frozen. Packthem in the zip bags or containers and stock up . Freezing food helps in saving in a big way as you soon realize.
Create a shopping list
If you want to run away from impulse buying then make a list everytime you go shopping, you can also write up the estimated cost next to the item, that way you will be able to estimate the cash you shall spend and this will help you to save money on grocery.
Cook food that is enough to avoid left overs Sometimes we end up throwing away left over food since they go bad before we consume them, this is actually throwing away money. Cook food that is enough for the people around for the meal,incase of left overs refrigerate and possibly have it for breakfast or just ensure it’s eaten.
Save on food shopping, it’s not hard at all
Apply any or some of the new habits to help in lowering your monthly grocery bill, stick to your budget this way you will meet your money goals faster.
You will therefore have more money to pay off your debt,save for something like an asset,birthday party or even a home makeover.
Apply the tricks and you will be happy with how much you will saved!