Surviving a Trip to the Grocery store

by N. Holden
(Cape Canaveral, FL USA)

When working on the family budget, I’m sure many families are like my own and find that they are spending a considerable amount of their pay check on groceries every week.

Believe it or not, this part of the budget can be very flexible for people who are looking to save a few bucks.

There are just a few tips that I swear by. It is important to me to share these tips with other families who are trying to survive a rough economy.

My first tip is to use coupons. To the people who are thinking “Duh” right now, let me explain. Collect all of the coupons you can get your hands on whether or not you think you will redeem them.

Buy a Sunday paper. Collect the coupons in the grocery store that come out of the automatic machines. Yes, you should use coupons when you shop for food, but that’s only one use for coupons.

The coupons that you have collected and will not be using can be sold on eBay. The eBay bidders don’t actually bid on the coupons, but they pay for the time it took you to collect them.

Be sure to say that in your eBay listing so it doesn’t get categorized as illegal. It doesn’t earn you more than a few bucks, but it’s better than no money at all.

Also, the few bucks you make from selling the coupons you don’t use will be enough to more than cover the price you paid for the Sunday paper.

My second piece of advice is to use cash at the grocery store. Do not even bring a debit card or credit card into the store with you. You and your spouse should decide how much you want to spend on food each week and put that money aside in an envelope.

That way, when you go to the store, you can’t overspend. If you under spend one week, you get to spend more the following week. This will help keep your family on track in the monthly budget.

Lastly, make a list of what you need to shop for and do not go to the grocery store hungry. With a list, you will not have to go down each and every isle of the grocery store.

This will help prevent you from buying items you don’t need. Also, if you shop hungry, you’re more likely to fill your cart with items that seem appetizing at the time, but you might not necessarily need.

I hope these tips help your family save money. They worked for mine!