Idea #1: Go When You’re In A Hurry.
Think about how you normally grocery shop. Do you just go when you find out your pantry is empty and hit up the traditional things you need? Do you have a recipe in your hand and grab the ingredients? Or do you do what I’m guilty of doing and go up and down every aisle, grabbing what looks good at the time?
If you do, stop. If you go in a hurry, or when you know you have somewhere you need to be that day, you are much less likely to wander around, pushing the cart, spending way too much time and money next to the Nabisco section. Impulse purchases are not your friend when it comes to any kind of shopping.
Idea #2: Use Only Cash.
This is one of those great debates. Should you use cash or your card when it comes to buying gas and groceries? A card is lighter and can make you feel safer without carrying all that green around with you.
The problem is that you cannot see the money leaving your possession at that point. It’s just a number on a screen. There is a psychological thing, at least for me, that hates it when my physical money is being handed over. I look at the things in my cart, wondering if I needed that second tub of ice cream.
Also, another bonus is that you cannot spend over what you have in your wallet. So if you set a grocery shopping budget, go to the ATM and take out only that amount. You can’t go over… so most likely, you will stay a couple bucks under. No surprises, and extra cash.
If you want to take this one step further, you can make an entirely cash-only budget. Have you noticed the pattern that since more and more things have become easier to buy on the plastic, the average credit card debt has gone up? On another random thought, I’ve even had some people seem very confused when I’ve offered cash instead of a card. Some cashiers have had to think about inputting cash. It’s definitely not the default any more.
PS – This is a How-To on saving money on groceries. Check out numbers 2 and 3… look familiar?
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