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Jul14

Three Ways To Save Money On Groceries

Outside of the mortgage debt, the greatest expense that we have are our groceries. If you think about it, the amount we spend of food is astronomical. Aside from the food we cook at home, when we have a snack here or there it all adds up. The temptation we face on a daily basis every time we leave the house, from supermarkets to restaurants, cafes and takeaways asking for your business. Unless you have absolute will power, you will inevitably fall for the temptation and spend money, sometimes money that you don’t have.

This article will give strategies on saving money when purchasing everyday groceries.

1) Don’t Be Brand Dependent
One of the easiest ways to save money when purchasing groceries is to stop being brand dependent and start buying whatever brand you can get on a great sale with a coupon. I refuse to buy anything at full price and so should you. Also determine what quality standard you are willing to compromise for because not all brands are the same. However the trade-off is in the value that you place on the quality. Never just assume that the most expensive brand is the greatest quality. The reason that brands charge more is that they have higher marketing overheads and are basically trading on their brand name. So you need to determine which products work for you.
Purchasing from “no name” stores like Aldi will also help save cash on groceries. So if you have any pre-conceptions over certain stores, remove them. You need to start again with a clean slate and actually try buying from these stores to test it for yourself. Don’t be swayed by what your friends or others may think of you. That will again get you into trouble and cost you more money.

2) Use Coupons
If you haven’t already started using coupons with your grocery purchases then you have been living under a rock! There are coupons available all on the Internet that help you to save copious amounts of money on your groceries. There are major companies that deal out printable coupons like coupons.com and Redplum.com but often supermarket sites will often distribute their own coupons. Some of these will even turn out to be freebies, which again will save you money. Websites like FreeStuff4Free.com which specializes in free stuff and free samples also have sections for coupons that will help save you on a range of expenses.

3) Use Memberships to Save Money
Some discount outlets like Sam’s Warehouse or Costco may require an annual payment to take advantage of their discount prices. You should do your maths and determine whether or not it is to your benefit to take up membership. More often than not it will be and you should actually endure the short term economic pain for the longer term gain.

If you can afford it in your grocery budget, stock up when the price is low so that you don’t ever pay full price for your groceries again. Start your savings today!