Shopping Tips
My wife recommended that I do some shopping tips on here as well, since eating on a budget is easier when you spend less on groceries. So I figure every 5th post will be shopping tips until such time as I can't think of any to drop in there.
Shopping tip #1: Never shop when hungry! Shopping when hungry leads to impulse buying which can throw your grocery budget way out of whack.
Shopping tip#2: Stock up when possible. If you have some item on your grocery list that isn't perishable that you use frequently. Stock up on it when it is on a good sale. For example, if you use canned vegetables a lot when you find them on sale 4/$1.00, buy as many as you can keep in your cupboard if you can fit it into your budget. I find that this is a good way to stop impule shopping as well, if I stretch my budget to stock up I am much less likely to buy a package of cookies or something of the sort.
Shopping tip #3: Meats - If you have the freezer space available, stock up when the good sales are running. Holidays are a good time for pricing on hams and turkeys, if you have the freezer space you can stock up on them at that time.
Also, many stores will run 'special of the day' or 'cents off stickers' on meat that is within a day or two of its sell-by date. I normally look for the cents off stickers on the meat types that are already on sale, I've gotten pork chops for $0.50/pound that way. Low-grade beef cuts for under $1.00 a pound and things like rib-eyes for about $3.00 per pound with the cents off stickers. When shopping the cents off stickers, look for the smaller packages, this leads to a lower per pound price since most places only have certain amounts for the stickers to be used. $0.50 off a half pound cut of beef equals $1.00 off per pound whereas the same $0.50 off on a pound package is only $0.50 off per pound. The 'special of the day' tends to drop $1.00 or $2.00 off per pound from the lower-end cuts and as much as $5.00 off per pound on the higher end cuts. In both cases, the meat should either be used quickly or frozen since it is close to its date. Make sure to not purchase meats on these specials when they are heavily discolored (my own preference but doing it my way I've yet to buy a cut that wasn't still good).
Enough tips for now, I'll try to note more down when I do my shopping next week and post some more them.
Tom...
Shopping tip #1: Never shop when hungry! Shopping when hungry leads to impulse buying which can throw your grocery budget way out of whack.
Shopping tip#2: Stock up when possible. If you have some item on your grocery list that isn't perishable that you use frequently. Stock up on it when it is on a good sale. For example, if you use canned vegetables a lot when you find them on sale 4/$1.00, buy as many as you can keep in your cupboard if you can fit it into your budget. I find that this is a good way to stop impule shopping as well, if I stretch my budget to stock up I am much less likely to buy a package of cookies or something of the sort.
Shopping tip #3: Meats - If you have the freezer space available, stock up when the good sales are running. Holidays are a good time for pricing on hams and turkeys, if you have the freezer space you can stock up on them at that time.
Also, many stores will run 'special of the day' or 'cents off stickers' on meat that is within a day or two of its sell-by date. I normally look for the cents off stickers on the meat types that are already on sale, I've gotten pork chops for $0.50/pound that way. Low-grade beef cuts for under $1.00 a pound and things like rib-eyes for about $3.00 per pound with the cents off stickers. When shopping the cents off stickers, look for the smaller packages, this leads to a lower per pound price since most places only have certain amounts for the stickers to be used. $0.50 off a half pound cut of beef equals $1.00 off per pound whereas the same $0.50 off on a pound package is only $0.50 off per pound. The 'special of the day' tends to drop $1.00 or $2.00 off per pound from the lower-end cuts and as much as $5.00 off per pound on the higher end cuts. In both cases, the meat should either be used quickly or frozen since it is close to its date. Make sure to not purchase meats on these specials when they are heavily discolored (my own preference but doing it my way I've yet to buy a cut that wasn't still good).
Enough tips for now, I'll try to note more down when I do my shopping next week and post some more them.
Tom...
posted by Tom at 11:49 AM
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