In the first part of this series we talked about generally saving money, how combining errands, knowing prices, and shopping smart will save you money. Today part two continues that but focusing on saving on groceries.
Tip #1 is to shop store brands. Most of the time they're the exact same thing, made in the same factory as national brands but much cheaper. You can save a lot of money by buying store brands or other "no name" brands. I'll caveat this by saying that I do find there's a few things that I'll buy the name brand just because I find they taste better. Be discerning on how many national brand items (that cost more) you allow into your shopping cart. I much prefer Cherrios to the store brand and Domino's brown sugar; I know people who swear by Kraft mac & cheese but frankly I like the store brand better. You'll have to figure out which national brands you're going to splurge on; it's really personal preference. Keep in mind that that you can save 50c or more by buying the store brand and that can add up to quite a bit of money.
Tip #2 is about club stores such as BJs, Costco, Sam's Club. I'll caveat this up front by saying that you have to pay a membership fee to join although sometimes, at least with Costco you can get a free day pass. You'll have to figure out if it's worth the cost of membership, will you save more in groceries to offset the cost to join? These are places where you'll really need to know your prices to know if you're going to be saving money.
A few things to consider when shopping at these kinds of stores
- do you have room to store the multi-pack of toilet paper along with the multi-pack of paper towels?
- will you be able to finish off the big jug of ketchup or all those chicken nuggets before they go bad?
- do you actually like broccoli enough that you won't get tired of it before the oversize bag goes bad and do you have space in your refrigerator for it?
Sometimes that oversize product is worth purchasing, even if it ends up being more expensive than buying it at the grocery store. If it's something you go through a lot of (for us it's cat food) it's worth one trip to buy the bigger package vs several trips to the grocery store to buy several packages to get the same amount because the gas savings will offset the slightly more expensive club purchase.
A note about prices. When I say "you have to know the price" what I mean is that you have to know the price per pound or per gallon or per ounce. That's the only way you'll be able to compare prices. If you know a gallon of the milk you buy at the grocery store is $2.69 you'll know whether or not you'll be saving money at BJs. If you know ground beef is $4.49/lb that'll help when you hit Costco. One thing you need to be careful about is if you know pasta, for example is usually on sale at the grocery store for less than a dollar a box, make sure you know how big the box is so you can compare when you shop elsewhere. I'll admit it's not easy to keep track of prices but at least having a general idea will help when you hit multiple grocery stores and are looking for the best deal.
