Smarter Grocery Shopping Habits

Do you know how much of your income goes towards food? Have you ever tracked what you spend in order to find ways to save?

Like most things, little changes can make a big difference in the long run. You don’t have to completely change the way you shop, just pay attention to the little things that can really run your total up at the register.

Simple tricks such as:

Not purchasing single candy bars or drinks in the check out lane. Buy them in the general food area in packages to save a great deal of money on a per unit price.

Never purchase a magazine off the shelf. If you enjoy the magazine, purchase a subscription. You can usually find deals or coupons to reduce the price per unit. Several times I year I get flyers for BOGO on subscriptions. How’s that for saving money for me AND picking up a gift for someone on my holiday list!

Of course writing a grocery list and sticking to it may seem obvious, but it should be the first thing you do when setting up a savings plan for food.

Make sure you check the unit pricing on items. It isn’t always cheaper per ounce to purchase the larger box!

Create a price book or use an app to compare prices on the items you purchase most often. Do you know how much a gallon of milk cost at the local convenience store vs the grocery?

With just these simple changes you will see your food expenses start to drop. Another way, and probably the one that I use most often is an app called Favado.

Favado is a shopping list that you create on your phone. No more leaving the list at home! I love that I can add things on the fly with just a couple of clicks.

You can download Favado from the iTunes Store or from the Google Play Store for free. Set up is so simple. Once you get it running, you will be thrilled with all the features and wonder why you didn’t know about this app a long time ago!

 

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