The
average American family spends $6,700 a year on grocery store
food, housekeeping supplies, and personal-care items.
Super shoppers who use coupons and surf supermarkets to get the best deals can
save up to 50%, that takes time and effort though. What if I told you there was a way to save
20% of your grocery budget and
still shop the same store you've
always shopped, buy the exact
same products and brands that you currently buy
without clipping coupons?
Awesome, right? You will need to get over
one fear, Yep I'm going to use the word stockpiling. I'm
not talking Armageddon preparation or hoarding so stick with me for a minute. It is about
strategic shopping. Some stores will mark items up in order to put them on sale. Avoid this trap, by keeping a price list, a
simple notebook of prices on the items you buy regularly. This will help you to know when something is truly on sale.
The
second part of this strategy will change your budget. Instead of shopping weekly for what you need, you
only buy what is on sale. Loading your pantry and freezer with sale-priced foods. When you run out of something, instead of running to the store, you just grab a new jar from your
own pantry. Soon you will have a
discount convenience
store in your own basement!
Most items go on sale on average every 12 weeks. Only buy enough for your family to last until the
next sale. With that in mind, you are obviously limited by perishables. Don't let that stop you though. the savings in those other areas can still add up to a savings of $1,340 a year.
Here are a couple of
tricks to maximize the savings.
*Look at the stores flyers. Items on the front and back pages are likely to have the deepest discounts. Often even
loss leaders - which simply means the store sales the product so cheap they lose money, anticipating that you will buy other more expensive items while in the store.
*These same stockpiling savings applies to toilet paper, toothbrushes, batteries, shampoo, and other non-food items as well.
*I have a second freezer to store frozen foods including some fruits and vegetables that I purchased fresh.
*Use a calculator. Shop by
unit price, know which is the best price the 12-pack or the 24-pack of soda. Saving a nickel a can add up to a $70 a year savings.
*Eat
before you shop. You will be less likely to purchase impulse items that aren't even on sale.
How often have you
run into a store to pick up a
single item only to walk out with $50 worth of stuff? If you were able to grab that item from your pantry you just saved $50.
Try stockpiling for 3 months to see if it works for you. You can
always revert to buying groceries at full price. Most people though will find that they save
big money by knowing what's on sale and
only buy what's on sale.
This article is about how you can save
without coupons. But if you are
willing to
include couponing strategies with stockpiling, your savings will be
significantly bigger.
