Saturday, May 25, 2013

Save on your Groceries WithOUT Coupons



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.

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