Saving money can be difficult. After all, most of live on relatively tight budgets already. However, there are few things we can do that will help increase our savings balances quite a bit.
With the approach used by our family uses, we save on our grocery bill by using coupons for groceries. If you are serious about saving; give them a try.
A great way to boost your savings are:
Don’t be brand loyal; use different brands. You don’t have to buy generic either. We almost exclusively buy brand names. Buying a particular brand on one or two items is OK. To save the most, get the best deal on the majority of the items bought.
Check expiration dates of print grocery coupons. Some sale items have dates soon to expire. It isn’t a good deal if the date goes out before it can be used.
Don’t buy something you don’t normally use just because you have a coupon. Using coupons wisely saves money. If you can’t or won’t use the item, it’s not a deal no matter what the price. Some coupons are for new food items. You won’t know the “normal or sale” price on these items because they are new.
Match your weekly menu to reflect what’s in season and what’s in your pantry. If you have to go back to the grocery to get one more item, you’ll more likely to buy at a higher price. If it’s out of season it will cost more.
You will also notice that almost all packaged products have hydrogenated or partially hydrogenated oil in them. This is the stuff that is used to give mice heart disease when scientists want to study that disease! Fortunately, due to consumer demand, some brands, like Doritos, have stopped using it in some of their products. It is still in well over half of all packaged products, though.
Grocery coupons aren’t the only way to save money buying food. Store brands are often substantially cheaper, and guess what? Often they are really the name brands in disguise. Read the label and you may see something like, “Packed for ABC Grocery Stores by Kraft Foods, Inc.” In any case, you can try the store brands, and if you can’t tell the difference, why pay more?
P.S. Learn how to be frugal and save money on car loans - free car loan calculator can help. If you know how to use it properly.
