High grocery bills – How can you reduce them?

I love to cook. It’s a pleasure to prepare a meal that everyone can enjoy. It saves money to eat meals at home as the ingredients often cost less than if you were to purchase a ready cooked meal.  Those home cooked meals can also be used as lunch the next day so that’s another way to save!

The meals that you prepare at home is also often more nutritious as you have control over the quality of the ingredients used to prepare the meal.

So why do so many people end up buying fast food instead of preparing their own meals? Well although in some cases this reluctance might be because of convenience and time, the biggest complaint is the cost of buying the ingredients necessary to prepare the meals seems to be rising rapidly.

Grocery Shopping

Just a few years ago going to the grocery store with $5000.00 was guaranteed to fill your shopping cart.  Consumers still grumbled but at least they were able to purchase the basics and feel that they were getting their money’s worth.  Fast forward to 2018 and the trips to the grocery store have become much more pricey.

Of course it depends on where and how you shop.  Most savvy shoppers know that buying wholesale is much better than making trips every week to buy items in small qualities.

However after buying the bulk items at the wholesale, there are still additional items that need to be bought in smaller quantities. How can consumers save even while they shop?

Shopping Smarter

One way to shop smarter is to pay attention to the times when you shop.  It’s best to shop early as by the end of the day the items would not have been depleted as much and the best might already have been sold.

Of course going to an actual market would be the best option but sometimes actually making to the market might be unrealistic for the hard working professional but there are some pop up markets which can be very accessible.  Why not check for the location of a farmer’s market in your area?

Specials and promotions

There are also specials advertised in the Thursday edition of The Gleaner, this section highlights the items on special for that week at several local supermarkets. this information can help you to plan your next shopping trip.

Have you ever tried generic or store brand items?

Often the generic brands are cheaper and are just as good as their brand name counterparts.  The supermarket usually renames the product and lowers the price so it’s budget friendly.

A final tip is to be on the lookout for in store bargains which include ‘buy 1 and get 1 free’ or products that are paired with other products for one low price. As usual whatever sale or promotion is being offered check to ensure it’s really a bargain and the items are ones that you need and are of excellent quality.

So how do you save money on grocery bills? Let me hear from you!

Teri Ann Renee Paisley

Gleaner online writer

Tags: bargain, grocery bills, money, shopping