How To Survive The Grocery Shopping Blues
If you are the normal consumer, then you've probably experienced the Grocery Shopping Blues. Most supermarkets use this trick to their advantage to squeeze more money out of their customers and turn a tidy little profit for themselves. Grocery shopping should be a pleasant experience, but too often, consumers let it get the best of them and they end up getting frustrated. It doesn't help that they don't put themselves in a position to make things easier. To get the most out of your shopping experience and save money at the same time, consumers need to focus their attention on the most important aspect of shopping at the supermarket. That is, getting organized. If you can master this trait, you will be far ahead of the average consumer. By getting yourself organized, you allow yourself to shop without stress. A luxury most consumers have yet to conquer in this got-to-have-it-now society. You also give yourself the chance to buy what you need instead of buying what you want. Here are the 7 ways ways to organize your shopping that will help you save money, time, and stress. 1- Know what you are going to buy beforehand instead of wandering through store aisles looking for things to buy. This means knowing what you need by utilizing a price book, store circulars, and having knowledge of your home's food inventory. 2- Go online and and stock up on multiples of coupons from the free grocery coupon sites, coupon cutting services, and coupon trading forums and target only those coupons you normally use and those items that are on sale. 3- Set up your list and coupons according to the aisles in the stores. This way you don't have to return to aisles you've already shopped. 4- Spend as little time as possible in the store. Store surveys show that consumers spend $1.70/minute for the first 30 minutes in the store and $2.25/minute thereafter. 5- Stock up on loss leaders. Buy as much as the store will allow you. If there are limits, (usually four) then make sure you use the same number of coupons to get the maximum savings out of the loss leaders. 6- Store and brand loyalty are out. Stick to what gives you the best value not the most popular item. 7- Never shop on an empty stomach. Hunger tends to attract impulse buying. As you can see, it's not hard to save both time, money, and patience at the grocery store if you are organized. While others are going crazy trying to find the best deals, you will have already done your homework, and decided where and what you will be buying. This is how you will beat the Grocery Shopping Blues. Barry Ferguson is known as "America's Saving Money Man".
He is the author of two books called "How To Stop Wasting
Money" and "The Saving Money Mindset", and has 15 years of
practical, real world experience saving huge amounts of
cash every time he shops!
How much do you want to save?
http://www.howtostopwastingmoney.com
Related News
|
 |
|
|
RELATED ARTICLES
Budgeting Made Easy
Well, dang! From what I've heard and read, it looks like we've reached an all-time world-class new record in the amount of personal debt on the books. Now it's probably not quite as bad as we've been led to believe, however many of us have managed to tromp further than we should have into the financial swamp. How well we'll be able to find our way back out to dry ground will depend on our knowing just where the heck we are in the first place. And that takes us right to the "B" word.
What is a Traditional IRA?
With a traditional Investment Retirement Account (IRA) you pay taxes when you take the money out at retirement in the future. Make sure that this account is really worth opening in your situation because what you put in the account today may be fully deductible, partially deductible or non deductible, depending upon your income and other retirement coverage. If you contributions are not fully deductible then this account is probably not for you.
Budgeting -- The Critical Flaw That Causes Most Budgets to Fail
Budgeting. It's a word we're all familiar with. Everyone knows what a budget is, right? Yet how many of us actually make and stick to a solid monthly budget? The truth is that most of us start out with the best of intentions, but an unexpected expense comes up and busts our budget. Then we give up and go back to juggling our finances and worrying about having too much month left at the end of the money. However, if you are striving to create a budget for the purpose of systematically paying off your debts, or to start a savings and investment program, then it's critical to develop a workable and realistic budget.
5 Ways to Absolutely Destroy Your Finances!
Ben Stein has a book called How to Ruin Your Finances. To be honest, I'm not sure an entire book is needed on the subject-there are some fairly quick and easy ways to accomplish the task. (Before continuing, let me be clear that I do not actually recommend such activities-This is a reductio absurdum argument, meant to spur an opposing realization.)
How to Attain Your Dreams on a Single Income
If you recently became a single parent and see your dreams being washed away because you feel all alone, you aren't alone. There are single parents that face future endeavors alone like dating again, living on one income, and buying the home they've always imagined. It is possible to do things on your own, be successful, and enjoy every bit of getting to where you want to be in life.
The Benefits of Banking Online
How many drawers did you have to look through to find a bank statement the last time you needed one? Chances are you did not lay your hands on it as readily as you would have liked. If that is a familiar scenario in your home, help has arrived in the form of online banking. Even if you are among the most organized, online banking offers convenience you can't beat.
How to Draw a Personal Budget that Works
Many people spend their little income haphazardly without any planning and end up getting broke before month-end. They then borrow to make ends meet and end up with more problems that they fail to repay their debts promptly.
How You Feel Affects How You Shop & How Much You Spend
Have you ever stopped to think about how your "mood" affects the way you shop, not to mention the amount you spend? Think about it.
Improve Your Professional Image Using Address Labels
One of the simplest ways to improve your professional image is by using address labels. Self-adhesive business labels are THE way to go when it comes to a professional image. Why handwrite addresses when you can get preprinted ones cheaply and easily?
Five Secrets for Long-term Financial Success
Future financial success is not a guarantee that any one of us can rely upon, no matter how wealthy we are now or intend to become.
UK Parents Inactivity Harming Their Children?s Future University and Mortgage Savings
The British government at the beginning of this year officially launched its Child Trust Fund (CTF) initiative in an effort to encourage parents and children to develop the savings habit and to teach children the value of saving their own money.
Do You Know What Tomorrow Will Bring?
I've been sharing the following idea with people for a few years now, and realized recently that I had never written specifically about it. So here it is:
The Joys of Address Labels
Address labels are many things to many different people. If you are a huge fan of address labels, you aren't alone. If you are not a fan, you simply haven't yet realized the many benefits address labels carry. Address labels are quite simply a quick and efficient tool for creating a more convenient life.
If I Had a Structured Settlement, I Would Use It to Pay for Gas
Has anyone been to the gas pumps lately? Soon $3 a gallon will be the asking price and we'll either have to become cyclists or create some additional income. I plan to do both of course because you can balance thrift and greed pretty well as you ride your bike to work.
Learning the Basics of Handling Money
With prices increasing all the time, saving money can be harder and harder to do. Here are some solutions for saving a little so that you can still meet your needs and still find ways to trim off a little for the future.
University: A Course in Personal Finance
Recent findings from the Educational Policy Institute indicated that the UK is the third most expensive place in the world to go to university. Combine this with figures from the Prudential, showing that a third of university students have considered abandoning their studies due to the financial strain they have encountered, and it is not surprising that many prospective students are finding the need to seriously think through the merits of going to University.
Is There A Retirement Crisis?
When people speak about the increasing age expectancies, they generally do so with positive connotation. This author agrees-there's nothing wrong with living longer, especially if we can sustain our quality of life at each period throughout our lifespan. The problem, then, is not that we are living longer-it's that we are not planning for it.
A Fresh Start for Family Finances in 2005
While 40% to 50% of us make New Year's resolutions on January 1-a ritual that has existed since ancient times-approximately 60% to 80% of us have already broken them by the end of February, according to researchers.
Reduce College Debt with Scholarships
Six Scholarship judges were sitting around an oval
table. Forms were piled into 50 boxes. Each one
had the name of a state. I looked at the boxes and
wondered why some of them were overflowing and
others had just a few. This was the first round of
judging. By the time the contest was over almost
16,000 applications would be examined. Some of the
comments were really critical, "Why did this
person bother to send in an application? It's so
sloppy." "This person put the wrong address on
the envelope, even though the correct one is at
the top of the application." One had a cassette
tape inside. We played it and it was a country
song. The applicant was a good musician.
Budget Planning - Its Elementary My Dear Watson
Does it feel like you have to be Sherlock Holmes to solve the mystery behind balancing your personal budget? Are you living a mysterious thriller where your realization of "financial independence and security" is a vicious repeating cycle of debt? Don't be afraid?...Somehow you've ended up lost in the "plastic zone".
'
The "plastic zone" is a scary place. But you're not alone. There are millions of people today living the same mysterious life in the plastic zone. Remember green money? You know, that green paper with presidents proudly displayed on them. They have virtually disappeared from the "plastic zone." Is real Money a foreign object to you? Is the balance of your checking account mysteriously stuck at Zero? It's time to solve the mystery.
|
