Think you need to spend a fortune feeding you and your family these days? Think again! There are many ways to keep those bills as inexpensive as possible.
Have you tried the following?
- Buy only the items that are ‘sale priced’ in the weekly flyer. Sooner or later, most items which you
crave will be highly discounted – Then you can ‘stock up’ on those desires.
- Avoid ‘Spur of the moment’ purchases – These will ‘eat’ into your budget – Plan your ‘buys’ before
you enter the store
- Compare the ‘regular’ and ‘sale’ prices of each grocery store near you -- You’ll notice which ones are
the best – for future purchases
- Most stores have a ‘bargain’ area for each major department (meat, fruit/vegetables, dry goods,
bakery) – Go there first, when you enter the store, for the best selection – times vary as to when
the ‘marked down’ goods are put out – visit the stores at varying times to ‘discover’ the best time to
arrive – or just ask one of the clerks in each department!
- Visit the ‘fast food’ section of the grocery store within the last hour before the store closes – BBQ
and assorted cooked foods are usually deeply discounted in order to have the remainder of the goods
sold – instead of having to throw perfectly good food into the waste bin
- Refuse to buy overpriced products – no matter how much you ‘want it’ – stores notice very quickly
that if a product doesn’t ‘move’ regularly, that they will need to substantially reduce the price –
otherwise they’ll be stuck with it occupying valuable shelf space – something they cannot afford
- Does your grocery store have a self-check price scanner – If it does, check various products that you
buy – If the scanned price is higher than the shelf price, purchase it – then go to the courtesy
desk afterwards and tell them that you were overcharged – In some states/provinces, they are
required to give you the product for free (refunding the money you paid and allowing you to keep
the item) – Or if the cash checkout scanner produces the same higher than shelf price results,
capitalize on it at the courtesy desk.
- If your grocery store says they’ll match the price of other competitors on the same product or it’s
free, check out the competitors (even the smaller ones) – Sometimes, the competition indeed has a
lower price – great news for you! – since you’ll get some freebies!
- Some chains advertise the ‘freshness’ of their products – if you find a product that is past its ‘due
date’ still on the shelf, they’ll give you a ‘free’ item of the same kind or a competitors similar product
of equal value – If you find any ‘outdated’ grocery stock, put it in your carriage and pay a visit to the
courtesy desk – for yet another freebie!
- At Christmas and New Years (and other long holidays where your grocery store closes for a day or
more), visit the meat, bakery, deli and fruit/vegetable sections a few hours before closing time (the
last day the store is open prior to the holiday) – you can usually find super deals on perishable items
at that time. Remember – Don’t be shy! Be a Smart Shopper!
Bonus: Immediately after major holidays,
visit your grocery stores seasonal items area – they dramatically reduce the prices of those goods – to
make way for the next in line ‘holiday’ products.
