How to Save Money on Food?

Do you know that about half of the entire family budget of the average family remains in supermarkets, markets, and grocery stores? How to get out of the outlet with money in your wallet? How to learn how to save on products, without denying yourself a full and healthy diet? It would seem that this is too difficult, but there are simple and effective ways to save on food, thanks to which you save up to 30% of the family budget for the month.

Planning of expenditures

Ideally, you need to determine in advance how much you will spend on products in this month, week or on a particular day. So, you need to immediately allocate money for specific items when you receive a salary. For example, if you have allocated 5,000 rupees for food this month, it is highly desirable not to exceed this amount. Ideally, if from month to month these costs will be approximately the same.

List compilation

It is extremely important to cultivate a useful habit before every trip to the store, even if it’s just a walk around the bread, make a clear list of purchases. So, sit in a quiet environment and think about what exactly you want to buy. It is not necessary to specify specific names – it can be just a definition of “dairy” and a budget of 50-100 rupees.

Thus, you can easily avoid the temptation to spend on something superfluous, minimizing the risk of impulsive purchases. Compliance with this simple recommendation alone will allow you to save considerably more on food.

Where is cheaper

If you are not the first day you live in your city, then for sure you know the places where certain goods can be bought cheaper. It’s no secret that the prices for the same product can differ significantly in different stores or supermarkets. Perhaps it makes sense to buy meat products in a separate outlet, and dairy – in another, bread in another store, etc. And maybe there is a supermarket near you where you can find democratic prices for all these goods?

Wholesale bases

Almost every large city can easily find wholesale food stores. The fact is that here you can find the usual goods at 10-15% cheaper than in the budget store. However, many goods here can be bought not only at once in bulk, but also in retail. So it makes sense to remember about such places, especially if you plan to buy in large quantities.

Deceptive Brand

This recommendation on savings on products can be expressed as follows: do not buy expensive brands if you can buy other products of similar quality. Of course, to find such goods will take time. Perhaps, many products from new manufacturers you will have to try for the first time. But only in this way you will be able to determine the optimal price / quality ratio and not overpay extra money for an advertised firm.

Attention packaging

It is extremely reckless to buy any product only because of the bright and beautiful packaging. Unfortunately, not always the image of the goods in the picture corresponds to the content of such a package. Its attention should be paid not to bright pictures, but to the price and composition of the product. In addition, the more beautiful the wrapper, the more expensive it is.

Products by weight

Surely you have already noticed more than once that buying different products by weight is much more profitable than in packages from the manufacturer. First of all, we are talking about sugar, cereals, other bulk products, cookies, sweets, etc. Why should you overpay for unnecessary packaging, which will go for release?

Discounts and promotions

If you regularly visit supermarkets, then most likely you already know that there are constant discounts and promotions in such outlets. For example, this week there may be a 30% discount on goods from the “coffee”, the next – minus 20% for dairy products, etc. Usually, all these details are indicated in flyers and booklets from the store. Try to follow such proposals and, if possible, buy for future use those products that are used constantly. Naturally, preference is best given to goods with a long shelf life.

Also in many stores, you can get a special discount card that will allow you to save about 4-5% of all purchases. In this case, banks often issue their cards, when using which in specific stores you save 1-3% of the purchase. Use these suggestions.

Self-cooking

Many people during lunch breaks at work or school like to visit various fast food outlets, cafes, canteens or just buy fast food. This advice on how to save on products should pay special attention. If you make simple calculations and find out how much money you have, even for a regular dining room, the amount will not be the smallest.

Naturally, it is much more rational to prepare food at home, pack it and take it with you. So you will not only save a lot of money, but you will also eat healthier food.

Each fruit has its own time

Try to acquire different fruits and vegetables in the appropriate season, when this crop ripens. It was at this time that prices for such goods are the lowest. Do not forget that much of this can be frozen and stored for many months without loss of quality. Of course, in modern supermarkets, the same apples and oranges can be bought almost at any time of the year, but in this case, you will have to overpay for the goods, not to mention the possible treatment with its special preparations to extend shelf life.

Rational portions

If you have a habit of periodically getting rid of excess food, then from such a predilection it is worth trying as soon as possible to get rid of. Or rather, do not cook more than you or your guests are able to eat. If you really think about how to save on products, then carefully calculate how much food you need per day, and do not cook more than you need.

Order in the refrigerator

If your refrigerator is often full of all sorts of foods that are regularly in disarray, and you simply do not know what lies where then much of this food will disappear. Naturally, this situation should be avoided. The logical recommendation, in this case, will be to keep the refrigerator in order, carefully lay out all the products in it and make sure that nothing is wasted.

Your package

In all supermarkets today you can buy any package you need. It is inexpensive, but with frequent trips to the store, you will overpay significant sums for one pack only. Of course, it is much more reasonable to buy a good package or bag once and always take them with you when you go somewhere for shopping.

Strategic Approach

Try not to go for food too often. The fact is that the more often you go to the store, the more you succumb to the dangerous temptation to buy something extra and unplanned. It is much better to adhere to the principle “rarely, but aptly”.

Do not be hungry

The last, but no less important recommendation is the following – never go to the grocery store while being hungry. When you are in a store with a raging appetite, you really want to buy food on a “bigger and tastier” basis. As a result, you buy a lot of unplanned goods, which are also quite difficult to get enough.

And of course, you should not take a credit card for purchases and get into debt. It is more reasonable to pay cash or a standard bank card, to which you receive your salary.

Now you know how to properly save on food and what should be done for this. Try to apply these simple recommendations in practice in the near future. Good luck!