Tips to Buying Groceries on a Budget

You don’t have to starve when times are tough, or go broke simply to stock the cupboard. Here are a few tricks I have adopted in my grocery shopping routine that help me save money.

If there is a special sales promotion for an item check your list to see if it can replace something on your list.

• The most expensive brands are usually placed at eye level.

When in a grocery store isle, look up and down for the cheaper alternatives to brand names. 

• Take advantage of the free samples, but do not indulge in buying the product.

Grocery stores would not offer samples if the product itself was not a big money maker.  If you go to the isle where the product is originally stocked you will find the same product under a different brand name and at a cheaper price.

• Don’t over buy.

If there is a special sales promotion for an item check your list to see if it can replace something on your list.  

• Two for cheaper isn’t the cheapest.

Remember the two-for-cheaper deals only appear to be so. If you read the fine print on the price label you can often get one item for cheaper as well.  It is a marketing ploy to get you to spend more money on buying additional items.  

• Complimentary items are usually highly priced.

When two items are paired together on a shelf, like strawberries and brand name whipped cream for example, the grocery store is hoping to play on your impulsiveness.

If you just need whipped cream with your strawberries, go back to the isle where it is originally stocked and grab a cheaper brand. 

• The packaged bread and fresh loaves are in different sections of the grocery store for a reason. 

Save money by only going to one of baked good sections to pick up bread, otherwise you might be tempted to grab a loaf from each section.

• Most grocery stores now have organic isles.

Supermarkets order in bulk so their organic food is often cheaper. Save money by skipping the expensive health food stores and purchase organic at your local supermarket.

• Buy in bulk.

Avoid purchasing the overpriced single serving snacks and grab the bulk bag. You will get much more for your money.