5 Habits to Break at the Grocery Store
By energy_linguist, December 7, 2010, Groceries
We’ve talked groceries. We’ve discussed tips for better budgeting and smarter grocery shopping. We’ve hashed out methods to cut costs.
But what about habits you should avoid?
Not to focus on the negative side of grocery budgeting, but changing simple habits can be the difference between budgeting smart and your money train falling off the tracks.
5 grocery habits you should consider tossing out the window:
- Shopping on an empty stomach. Heck, I’ll take it one step further and suggest eating a wholesome, healthy snack before heading out to the store. Sure there’s no guarantee that eating healthy will make the Ho Ho’s on the corner aisle unappealing, but it’s a step in the right direction. After all, the habits you start at the house easily follow you to the store.
- Using a credit or debit card. I’ve said it several times and stick by the plan. Carry cash and you’ll honor your weekly grocery budget. It’s also much harder to hide from budget bloat when cash is in hand. Try leaving the cards at home and forcing yourself to stay within the specified range.
- Always buying in bulk. It’s not smart shopping or budget friendly when you waste food. At the end of the day, buying certain items in bulk that won’t go bad easily, or can be frozen for later use, is the way to go. Certain grains, pasta, canned goods, etc. will last depending on brand and product. Certain veggies can be blanched, baked or quickly steamed and still be frozen for later use (kale being one of these).
- Keeping receipts and never tallying amounts. It’s pointless to save receipts if you’re not tracking expenses. Keep receipts yes, but also file away weekly budgets in an Excel document or similar to track monthly/yearly budgets. Circle back every few months, six months, etc. and objectively review. How much are you really saving?
- Using every coupon available. Just because it’s on sale, doesn’t mean you need to buy. Why bother with a grocery list if you’re going to blow past it buying items that you don’t actually need. Coupons are only cost cutting tools if used properly.
There are hundreds more tips on smart grocery shopping, but I’d love to hear about your contentious grocery habits and how/if you’ve worked past the budgetary challenges.
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Comments (1)
[...] If you have a household budget, you probably have noticed that there are some “fixed” expenses that you cannot do without. One expense in particular is food. It’s simple, the human body cannot go without food (or water), which makes grocery shopping pretty important. The problem, however, is going to the grocery store can get expensive, especially if you are going multiples times a week and/or month. So, in effort to save money, here are some ways to save on groceries on your next grocery store outing. [...]