One of the things that takes some getting used to is living on a fixed income. And even if you have a healthy retirement, investments, and government benefits, when you stop working, your income comes out of that pile of money which is except for the government benefit, a diminishing bucket of funds. So, anything you can do to protect your money and economize means your money will last longer, be there for you when you have an emergency or be available for fun things which is what retirement is all about.
If you are
able to continue to prepare your own food, you are already well ahead of the
game because one big expense for any budget is the food budget. And if you are buying food for a spouse,
older children still at home or you are helping to raise the grandkids, you can
see a food budget that can get out of control.
So, it pays to come up with some tips for how to slash that food budget
but do so in a way that does not hurt the quality of food you eat or feed your
family.
Economy
begins at home so you can do a lot before you even go to the grocery store by
learning to use everything you buy. An
investment in some quality storage units so you can keep leftovers fresh or
keep fresh vegetables or fruits on hand will help you eat everything you buy
and cut down on waste. In fact, if you
like to garden, you can even take the organic waste such as coffee grounds and
apple cores and make your own compost which can go into your garden to grow
your own food next spring.
The key to
saving money at the grocery store is to be a smart shopper. Remember that grocery stores stock lots of items
that are made to appeal to people who want convenience over low prices. You can save a lot of money by avoiding fast
foods, frozen foods and buying the ingredients to make your own meals every
day.
Being a
smart shopper also means knowing when and where to shop and how to find the
good values in food and grocery supplies at the store. Some core principles of smart shopping are…
· If
you can buy in bulk – do it. Most items
are cheaper at the unit cost level if you buy larger quantities. If you can buy and store more food at once,
you can take advantage of those savings.
· Avoid
impulse purchases. Stores carefully
place items that are appealing so you will buy higher-priced items. Work from a list and stick to your list.
· Slice
your own cheese. Pre-sliced cheese comes
at a higher price. Buy a good cheese
knife and buy cheese in blocks and slice it yourself.
· Buy
fresh produce. Fresh foods are not only
better for you, and they are cheaper than frozen.
· Know
your town. Each grocery store has
certain categories they do best at outselling the others. Know what stores are good with produce, with
meat and with everyday savings and create your shopping lists accordingly.
· Know
your store. Each week, your store marks
down certain items in preparation for the weekend. Routinely they will slash the prices of fresh
meat to get rid of last week’s supply in preparation for the higher-priced
specials for this week. If you know when that stuff hits the shelves, you can
score big savings and freeze what you buy to use over the next few weeks.
· Know
your items. Learn your price points of
what is a good price for each item on your list. Try to buy under those price points so your
budget is controlled.
· Buy
store brands.
· Use
coupons.
· Leave
the grandkids home. Children will add
dozens of items to your shopping cart and slow you down. Leave them out of the picture and you won’t
have to buy their impulse items and the trip will go faster too.
By being a
smart shopper, you can stretch your food budget and see an impressive savings
on what you spend on groceries. And that
helps you stretch your retirement savings which means a longer more prosperous
retirement and one that is more worry free as well. And that is worth the extra effort.
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