The following is a guest post by Mark Kirkpatrick.
Money is tight for many people nowadays, whether you’re a starving college student, a struggling young family on a tight budget or seniors who are on fixed incomes. Making ends meet can be challenging and some of us are resorting to new methods of making our dollars stretch even further, especially with rising food costs.
Often we think of clipping coupons, but in the shadow of such practices as “extreme couponing,” many of us don’t have the time or room in their homes for this type of reality. There are some other methods that take much less time, don’t require nearly as much space and can still show significant savings at the grocery store. Here’s three tips on keeping our food budgets in check:
1. The Dollar Store Dilemma
When it comes to getting the biggest bang for our buck, many shoppers are hitting the “dollar stores,” where everything is marked at $1 or less. But buyer beware, some of these bargains can be deceptive and they’re some simple guidelines to consider. Take Halloween for example, you’ll likely find many bags of candy for trick-or-treaters at a buck a bag, but they can come with some hidden costs.
For one thing, often these discounted treats aren’t usually very large in either weight or mass and sometimes their selection doesn’t include many brand name favorites or choices. Most drug store chains and national grocery outlets will offer popular brand name candies on sale before this Autumn holiday arrives that are a better bargain in bigger quantities.
2. Meat Markdowns
Going to the butcher for special cuts of meat, often one of the biggest expenditures on some people’s grocery lists, can add up quickly. But this doesn’t mean that we can’t save significantly on beef, pork and poultry at the market.
Most retail grocers have discount bins, even in the meat department, and in this case, these discounts usually come from food that is at or near the “date code” expiration time. Generally you’ll see these marked down anywhere from 20% to 50% or more. Remember that you’ll need to eat or freeze these purchases immediately so they don’t “go bad.” Also, fish and seafood, again unless you’ll be consuming it on that particular day, should never be refrozen, so make your selections carefully.
3. Brand Name Nemesis
One way that grocery costs can deepen the dip in our wallet is through the purchase of brand name products, which are almost always more expensive than the generic or store brand varieties. But just like the dollar store dilemma, it depends on what you’re purchasing.
For example, you may have seen detergents like Cascade ® or Dawn ® advertising that their soap goes further than the bargain brands and in most cases, this is correct. And for families with small children who like Kraft ® Macaroni and Cheese, if you buy the inexpensive varieties, kids might clam up before consuming the cheaper alternatives. Here the consumer should be patient and just wait until their favorite brands goes on sale and stock up.
There’s many ways to save more money at the grocery store, like signing up for their “club membership” programs online or in store. With a little bit of additional thought and effort on our parts, consumers can cut costs on their food expenses with these few tricks up their sleeve.
How about you all? What are some ways that you save money at the grocery store? What tips would you give to others trying to save money on food?
Share your experiences by commenting below!
***Photo 1 courtesy: http://www.shutterstock.com/pic-293925191/stock-photo-dollar-stretching-stretched-image.html?src=csl_recent_image-1
***Photo 2 courtesy: http://www.shutterstock.com/pic-326166404/stock-photo-butcher-weighing-some-meat.html?src=csl_recent_image-1
