Home
>
Personal Finance
>
Stretching Your Grocery Dollars

Stretching Your Grocery Dollars

Shopping for groceries is an inevitable fact of our ever busy lives. We may imagine that we are saving time by dashing in, roaming the aisles and throwing whatever looks good into the cart. Most often, what we end up with is repetitive, nutritionally unbalanced meals and ballooning grocery bills. Or worse, frequent fast-food stops and pizza calls. Brighten your meals and save time and money by planning ahead ? an added bonus you may even save a few calories.

Some money saving tips:

? Before you visit the grocery store each week, check out the Sunday circulars. Clip coupons while you watch television or get your children to lend a hand. Organization is the key to the coupon game, so invest in an accordion coupon file. Trust me, it's infinitely easier than rifling through small slips of paper or finding yourself without the coupon you need when you get to the store. You can find some very user friendly organizers for around $10.00 at sites such as www.galison.com.

? Look through the food section of your local newspaper. You'll get some great ideas about bargains to look for as well as what produce, seafood, etc. is in season. The circulars and the food section are two places to begin building a weekly menu, that isn't boring, on a budget. It's also a good idea to comb the Internet. There are a wealth of sites offering ideas for budget menus.

? Consider joining a shopping club such as Sam's or Costco. If you don't have the storage space, but would like to benefit from the savings and convenience of buying in bulk share the bounty with a friend. You can each take a turn shopping from a list once a month or so.

? Keep your receipts for a month or so and notice the high, low and average prices on the items you buy most. When the price hits its low, buy a few so that you can skip it when it slides into the high range.

? Experiment with 5 ingredient meals. There are a number of books, videos and web sites that help you make great meals with only a few ingredients even on weeknights.

? Check out sites like www.cutouthunger.org/get_coupons!.htm; www.refundsweepers.com; www.refundcents.com; and www.aplusfreestuff.com for information on rebates, refunds, freebies and other savings. If you do take advantage of rebates, complete forms meticulously and keep copies of receipts, UPC, proof of purchase documentation and contact information for the vendor.

? Include your local grocer's weekly circular in your savings plan. When store sales are coupled with the savings cards now offered by many grocer's you can save hundreds of dollars each year.

? Pay attention to promotionals. Some grocer's offer reward if you spend the target amount within a specified period. Rewards generally include a percentage off of your grocery bill at a later date or cash back.

? Curb impulse buying. Grocer's have developed their floor plans with your dollars in mind; the object, get as many as possible with proper product placement. Learn the layout of your store and make a beeline to your destination. Temptation is especially tough in the check out aisles. Fight the urge to succumb to these powerful marketing practices by making, and sticking to, a list.

? Try not to shop when you are starved. It makes sense that you are more vulnerable to impulse buying when you are hungry.

? Make a budget and take a calculator to the store.

? Compare prices. Store brands are not necessarily least expensive. Take just a moment to scan the shelves for best prices on the items you buy. When comparison shopping, make sure to take note of per unit costs.

? Look below eye level. Bargain priced items are often shelved below eye level and out of your immediate view.

Grocery shopping can take a big chunk out of your budget if you are not careful. With just a small investment of time you will realize savings that you can take to the credit union.

Nicole Soltau is the President and Founder of credit union - The Leading Credit Union Directory Search, Find, Join.

reliable home cleaners Glencoe ...

In The News:

Paralyzed woman Audrey Crews controls a computer with a brain chip from Elon Musk's Neuralink, demonstrating breakthrough brain-computer interface technology.

Stay up to date on the latest AI technology advancements and learn about the challenges and opportunities AI presents now and for the future.

Meta removed over 600,000 predatory accounts from Instagram and Facebook while launching enhanced safety protections for teenage users on both platforms.

Facebook crypto scams trick users with fake celebrity endorsements and legitimate-looking cryptocurrency exchange ads that install malware on victims' devices.

Create private chat rooms using the iPhone Notes app collaboration feature with instant messaging capabilities and full control over conversation privacy.

Lyft rolled out safety upgrades with a new Safety Hub, driver blocking capability and a favorite driver option to give riders more control over their experience.

New research shows Americans increasingly trust AI for wellness guidance over social media, with 63% finding artificial intelligence reliable for health.

Luxury fashion brand Dior experienced a January 2025 data breach affecting customer personal information, and notifications were sent months after the discovery.

The commercial Unitree H1 humanoid robot weighs 104 pounds with 365 pound-feet torque per joint and demonstrates dangerous potential when software glitches occur.

Americans average 10-plus hours online daily, according to recent survey, splitting time between streaming shows on TV and browsing websites on multiple devices.

Boost your smartphone privacy instantly with these security tweaks for iPhone and Android that limit ad tracking, hide notifications and prevent unauthorized access.

Platforms like Hoax Tech and JS Click Cloaker help cybercriminals bypass detection systems using machine learning to selectively display scam content to victims.

A new battery recycling technique transforms old lithium-ion batteries into high-performance components that retain 88% capacity after 500 cycles with minimal waste.

Google's Android operating system can warn users about earthquakes before the shaking even begins – and there are ways to do it on your iPhone, too.

Meta's new gesture control wristband might just be the most seamless way to control a computer yet. And no, it doesn't require surgery, a camera, or even a touchscreen. All it needs is your wrist.

Long-haul trucks are now being upgraded with a surprising twist, thanks to California-based startup Revoy. Their electric boost doesn't replace diesel but works alongside it to cut emissions and fuel costs without major disruption.

PayPal and Venmo just rolled out something big: AI-powered scam alerts for Friends and Family payments.

As data centers multiply across the United States, energy demand is increasing at a rapid pace. This has not escaped the notice of large investment firms from Wall Street.

The Unicode Consortium, the nonprofit organization that maintains the Unicode Standard to ensure emojis work across devices, has announced Unicode 17.0, which includes nine new emojis slated for release this fall, in September 2025.

OpenAI is one of the world's leading AI research labs. Founded in 2015, it's behind some of today's most talked-about tools, including GPT, DALL·E, and ChatGPT.

Ever catch your dog staring at the screen during movie night and wonder if they're actually watching? Turns out, they might be. A new scientific study from Auburn University found that many dogs really do engage with television, and not all pups react the same way.

Stop the scammers from making contact in the first place. They're getting your parents' contact information and much more personal data besides, from somewhere.

The Walker S2 robot from UBTech autonomously exchanges its batteries in just three minutes, allowing continuous operation in car factories operated by BYD, Nio and Zeekr.

The FX Super One electric MPV from Faraday Future offers flexible seating, zero-gravity recliners and an AI system that creates a personal connection between driver and vehicle.

Practical solutions for reducing unwanted charity mail, political texts and email spam by opting out of shared lists, replying "STOP" and using data removal services.

Stretching Your Grocery Dollars

Personal Finance