How To Spend Less On Groceries

By Lisa Xing
[Personal Finances]
Why is it important to go grocery shopping on a full stomach?  Lisa Xing gives you tips on how to spend less, but not sacrifice your appetite.
When it comes to budgeting, try to factor in what you personally place more emphasis on in terms of spending.  Ask yourself what you value the most.  Food is something that we can’t (or rather, shouldn’t) compromise on in our budgets, but some of us do.  Others spend luxuriously on groceries, yet don’t have much left for other things, which is also troubling.  So what is the best way to manage your grocery bill?  What kind of shopping behaviour should you avoid or adopt?

Budget And Prioritize

One of the best ways you can cut down on your grocery spending is to budget.  Create a sort of fiscal calendar for yourself and divide your income into sections like food, going out, shopping, rent and other essentials.  This way, you at least have an idea of what you can put your money towards and roughly how much.  Don’t let this constrain you though, as it should only serve as a guideline.  This may also vary from month to month, or even week to week.  Only you know yourself and your habits, so you should figure out which expenditures are priorities for you.  That doesn’t mean you should eat less so you have money to go out, but making a list of priorities can go a long way in making a budget realistic.

Fill Up

This may sound funny, but it’s important!  Eat a meal before you go grocery shopping.  Impulse purchases happen a lot more often when you’re shopping while hungry!  That’s when you crave fatty foods too.  When you’re full, you will be less compelled to buy non-essential things like chips, pop or cookies, and really focus on the substantial parts of your diet.  Also, going grocery shopping on a full stomach will help to curb over-buying of groceries.  When you’re hungry, it’s easy to buy more than you need in a week.  This will just rack up your bill and leave you with food going bad in your fridge come the end of the week.
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