Save Money by Buying More
Money: To this day, I can still remember my first large shopping bill after we were married. It cost around $ 200 and I cried on the way home. I have not received anything special, just the basics. We were poor newlywed students and food costs were a necessary evil that I could not get around.
Buying groceries was my responsibility in marriage and I was determined to live within our lean budget. I dived into the challenge and years later I found myself giving community lessons about "couponing" ("yes", I had to tell my sisters, "couponing is a word").
I no longer spend hours searching, printing, cutting and organizing discount coupons, but there are some valuable shopping principles that I have learned from those studies that I will never change. My favorite is to buy more to save more.
The simple idea behind the strategy is to buy more of something when it is for sale, so you don't have to pay the full price for it later when you need it. The application of this principle will look different in everyone's home. Take the time to consider the following questions to maximize your savings.
* How much space do you have for food storage?
This may seem like an obvious question, but this has put me at risk more than once when it comes to frozen foods. I am much more organized (and creative!) Become with my freezer space out of necessity. While this is clearly not the answer for everyone, we have invested in a freezer due to one of the best sales I have ever seen on cheese and meat. I convinced my husband that after a few extra sales such as those for the freezer, we would pay with the amount we saved.* How much of this item will we use?
No matter how good a sale is, it is never a good deal if the food is lost. Make sure you don't buy more than you can use. Consider the expiration date and your schedule and meal rotations. I always try to make meals where most of my ingredients are things that I have already stored, so that nothing is lost or forgotten, but that is a completely different principle.* How good is the sale?
This is something that will benefit you over time. The worst feeling is when you buy a favorite item because it is a great sale, but only discover the next item that the same item is sold at a considerably better price in an adjacent store. You will become familiar with prices in your area and begin to know what a good price is for different items. Also don't be afraid to ask people! I have discussed prices with my butcher in my supermarket several times. I don't know a supermarket where they pay their employee commissions for the sale, so they will honestly tell you if you have to wait for a better sale or when an upcoming discount can be expected. Be kind and friendly to employees - they have a wealth of knowledge!* How often is it for sale?
This question is one of my favorites because it is such a game changer. Sales go in rotation. Not only can you expect certain items to be discounted around certain times, you can also plan your food storage around it! For example, my supermarket has meat sales with a rotation of two weeks. This means that I only have to buy enough chicken to let my family live for two weeks before I know it can be bought again. It also gives me a reason to never have to buy chicken at the full price between those selling prices, because I can just get it from my freezer.Seasonal sales are another sales rotation that is very useful to watch out for and watch out for. For example, barbecue sauce is usually marked at its lowest around the fourth of July and food and health bars are normally at their lowest in January for good intentions for everyone. Often these items don't expire for more than a year, so if you have the space, buy enough to last your family.
Once your inventory stacks have reached a successful rotation, you will find that you are shopping completely differently. It is not unusual for me to come home from the store with 25 boxes of cereal, 10 bags of cheese and then only a handful of other basics such as bread, milk and bananas. I don't have to buy all the ingredients on my meal list that week, because I already stored them when they were for sale. This allows me to prepare the same tasty meals for a much lower price for my family. Buying more to save money is all about timing your larger purchases with their selling prices and ironically you will find that buying more can indeed help you spend less.
