Frugal Food Buying IdeasFind a store in your area that generally has the lowest prices along with a bakery outlet and a produce market. Shop with cash when you shop for groceries and do not take a lot of extra cash with you. Grocery stores are designed to make you want to buy more than what you went in for. If you do not have a lot of extra money you cannot buy the extras. Take a list with you and stick with it. Do not go grocery shopping while you are hungry, everything will look good. Grocery store studies have found that you will spend at least 17% more if you are hungry. If you cannot remember the prices of the items that you buy use a price book. This will help you spot a good deal when you see it. Stock up when you find a good bargain. Shop at warehouse clubs but make sure you are not buying unnecessary junk and that you are saving more than the membership costs. Buy in bulk only when you will realize significant savings and make sure that it is truly a good deal. Do not create a need just because you can get a large quantity cheap. Avoid shopping the first of the month and right before the holidays. Some stores adjust prices upward on the days they expect heavy traffic. Make fewer trips to the store. If you’re not there, you can’t spend any money. Use what you have before you buy more. Use coupons only if you were going to buy the item anyway and save the coupon until the item goes on sale if you can. Make sure that other brand items are not cheaper even though you have a coupon. Look for the farthest expiration dates into the future. You do not want to throw something away just because the date has expired. Take a look at the store brands rather than the national brands. Shop alone. The kids will talk you into buying more than you need. Look around for the marked down bins. Expensive brand names are purposely positioned at eye level, so look high and low for the cheaper brands. Avoid individual servings. Larger quantities are usually cheaper. Watch for predictable sale cycles and try to buy enough at each sale to get to the next one. It is usually less expensive to prepare for yourself rather than buying food pre-made. Take your lunch to work rather than eating out. Eating out occasionally isn’t too bad but you can save a lot of money packing your own. Purchase quantity when on sale, but not if you can't use the item(s) before expiration. Purchase perishable goods only in the quantity that you can consume before they go bad. Eat out less often. If you do this, it will seem more special when you do.
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