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Articles, How-To's and Interviews -
Personal Finances
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Written by Deborah Taylor-Hough
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Groceries are one of the few flexible items in a family budget,
but it can sometimes be challenging to find creative ways to save
on regular family food costs. Following are some simple tips for
easy reductions in grocery expenses:
- Plan ahead whether you're cooking your meals ahead of time
to store in the freezer, or just planning your menu and shopping
lists in advance.
- Set your grocery budget and then make sure your menus and grocery
lists fit your budget.
- Plan your meals around items you already have on hand, and around
the sales flyers from your local grocery stores.
- Shop with cash. This is a surprisingly effective means of staying
on budget. Writing a check somehow seems less concrete than paying
cash.
- Keep a running total of how much you're spending at the store.
If you find that you're about to spend more than you had budgetted
for that trip, put items back and re-shop for better bargains.
- Keep a Price Diary. List all regularly purchased items (food,
toiletries, paper products, etc.) in a small notebook small enough
to slip into your purse or pocket when you go shopping. When you're
browsing through store advertisements or doing your actual shopping,
write down (in pencil!) the lowest price you see for each item
listed in your Price Diary (change the prices when you see lower
prices than you've already written in the notebook). This way
you'll know for sure if a sale price is low enough to make it
worth stocking up.
- A simple rule of thumb when you're shopping is: "look high,
look low." Stores often place the most expensive items at eye
level.
- Stores often place their advertised specials at the end of aisles.
The advertised special might be a good buy, but will often be
displayed with non-sale items to entice you into impulse purchases.
- Sometimes a store will offer what's known as Loss Leaders --
those items the store will sell so cheaply, they'll actually take
a loss on each sale. They're hoping to entice new customers into
the store who will then purchase other items in addition to the
sale item. You need to hold strong against impulse purchases in
these situations.
- Only use coupons for those items and brands that you would
normally purchase. Always check the expiration date on your coupons.
- Some stores offer double coupons -- check with your favorite
store and see if they do. Some stores will even accept competitor's
coupons.
- Hand your coupons to the cashier before they start to ring up
your order so you don't forget later.
- Stock up on frequently used items when they go on sale (canned
goods, toilet paper, shampoo, etc.).
- Natural food co-ops are becoming quite common. This can be
a great way to purchase organic fruits and vegetables, whole grains
and other usually expensive items at competitive prices.
- Only bulk buy those items you know you'll use before they go
bad. Stockpiling toilet paper is a good idea, but bananas might
be another story (unless you plan on baking with them or freezing
the pulp for use in recipes later).
- Watch for sales on ground meats. Divide the meat into one pound
batches and freeze in individual zip-top freezer bags.
- If you have extra freezer space, stock up on bakery and dessert
items from bakery outlet stores.
- One simple approach to meal planning is setting a price goal
for each meal. For example: Breakfast = $0.50 per person, Dinner
= $3 - $4 total.
- Don't shop when you're hungry. You're more liable to make impulse
buys when your stomach's rumbling.
- Check store entrances or bulletin boards for special flyers,
and don't forget to look in local newspapers for additional coupons
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
--Deborah Taylor-Hough (free-lance writer, wife and mother of three)
is the editor of the
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and
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email newsletters. She's also the author of the bestselling
book, Frozen
Assets: how to cook for a day and eat for a month, and A
Simple Choice: a practical guide for saving your time, money
and sanity. Be sure to visit Debi online at "A Frugal, Simple Life":
http://hometown.aol.com/dsimple/
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