Friday, October 23, 2009

Debt Free Living - How to Win at The Grocery Game

It seems that everytime you go to the grocery store prices keep getting higher. In order to save money with today's food prices, we have to have a plan. Some people even have to charge their groceries just to survive! Here's some grocery strategies that will help you with debt free living and win the grocery game.

1. Use your list. When going into the grocery store, you have to have a game plan. Your game plan is your list. Did you know that food advertisers spend over 7 billion dollars a year to persuade you to buy their products? Studies show that over 66% of the population decide their weekly eating purchases while in the store. This same group also spends 2 times as much through impulse buying. When making your grocery list, be sure to look at the weekly specials and plan your weekly meals around them.

2. Be sure to pay attention to the price per unit. Sometimes items that seem like a good deal really aren't. Around twenty percent of the store specials aren't "special" at all and close to the normal store price. Try to get items that are at least 25% off or more.


3. Buy items that you need when they go on sale. Don't wait to buy things that you must have right now. If you wait until it's a true need, then you'll usally pay a higher price. If a frequently needed item goes on sale, buy a three month supply of them. Usually, the lowest price will return in 3 months again. Also, focus on stocking up on expensive items such as meat and cheese when they're on sale.

4. Only buy food items at the grocery store.
Don't buy things such as toothpaste or other items that arean't grocery related. Stores make a high profit on these items because they hope you'll pick them up "while you're there anyway."

5. Look for certain types of brands. Here area the 3 types of brands and what you need to know about them:

a. national brands - These are the most expensive to buy. Did you know that 50% of the cost of a cereal box pays for the expensive national ads?

b. store brands These are the same quality as the national brands. Surprisingly, they don't spend as much on advertsing and pass on the savings to you. These products are typically 20% less than the national brand.

c. economy brands These quality of these types of brands may not be as good as store brands. They typically cost around 20% to 40% less. But sometimes you get what you pay for. The can be lower quality than store brands.

6. Avoid Frozen Dinners. Prepared foods such as frozen dinners and hot deli foods are usually more expensive. Most people buy these items because of convenience. One way to make your life easier is to cook twice as much as you need and then freeze the rest. When you come home from work, just heat it up and you have an instant meal!

7. Substitute ingrediants. Sometimes recipes will require you to use a certain spice or ingrediant that you don't have. Instead of running out to the store and buying that item, substitute or skip that item. This will save you time, money, and gas going to the store.

Use these grocery strategies to help you with debt free living and win the grocery game. Put these ideas to work and you'll have enough money to buy groceries without charging it on your credit cards.

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