With the prices of everything going up again these days - gas, food, paper products - I thought I'd share in a few posts some of the ways to save money at the grocery store and perhaps a few other money saving tips.
Tip #1 is less about groceries but more about saving gas money while you get your groceries. When you plan your week or day think about what you need to do outside the house and combine trips as much as you can. Don't run out to Target then go back home and go out later to the library and grocery store. Think ahead and try to get to all those places in one outing and plan your trip in a way that makes sense; for me that would mean going to Target first since it's farthest away, stop by the library then the grocery store. If you have multiple errands to run in several different directions see if you can combine them but on different days; one day head one direction to take care of those then later in the week head the other direction. Also try to stop on the way home from work if a store is on the way instead of going home then going back out.
Tip #2 is about knowing prices. I know some people keep notebooks with pricing of their most often bought items at a few different stores but that's not me. We are fortunate to live in an area with many grocery options - a variety of grocery stores plus Target, WalMart, Sam's, BJs, Costco, in some ways way too many options. Knowing which grocery options are generally less expensive is a good place to start. Next knowing the general pricing of things you buy most often is helpful when you're shopping someplace you don't usually go or say if you're going to Target for something and want to do some grocery shopping, too. I know I can get store brand pasta at my local grocery store for under $1, it tends to be more than that at Aldi & Lidl and national brands are even more at BJs. I know the price of milk and chicken and know the best places to get it, which leads to...
Tip #3, which is time vs money. Sometimes you have to balance saving money with how much extra time (and maybe gas) it will cost you. Is it worth an extra trip someplace to save a bit? Think about the time it will cost you and how much gas it will take and sometimes the savings isn't worth the extra trip.
