How to trim down on your grocery spending, you ask? Well I have always asked that myself. You see, I enjoy handling my finances and I will always try to find ways to save, and of course this includes learning how to do my groceries practically. So let me share with you what I have learned.
Doing Groceries 101
1. Compare the prices among different stores. All you need is either your mobile phone or pen and paper to record the prices. And yes, you need to do a lot of recording here. For it not to feel like a strenuous job, you can do one store at a time. Just get all the prices together from different grocery stores and then compare them. It may not sound all that inviting to go from shelves to shelves to canvass the prices but if you really want to become responsible for your finances then do this. Save by knowing where to buy your items at their lower prices.
2. Compare the prices among different brands. After finally choosing the grocery store of your life, the one that offers lower prices, you're now ready for the next step. Let's talk about one thing first though. Are you one of those consumers that have a mentality that when the product costs more, it probably has better quality? Well good for you if you're not, because I am guilty. Some of us were somehow convinced that more expensive items must be better than the cheaper ones, which is not always the case. This may be true to some products but look around you because this does not apply to all. I didn't realize that or even care that I was just buying the brand, until I became financially independent. So why not try to experiment and give the other cheaper brands a chance? You're probably using that more expensive brand now because that's what you've been exposed to ever since. Have that little excitement of exploring those you have not tried out there. Be the judge of the quality and who knows, you may find that they aren't so different from the branded ones.
3. Do the math. Did you always think that just because the item is larger, it probably costs cheaper than its smaller sizes? Unlucky you if you thought so just like I did. Be warned because this is not always correct. And if you're like me, who find it hard to do the mental computation, we need a calculator here. We all know that the grocery items come in different sizes and of courses the prices vary. Let's take the powdered milk for example. So I saw that 320 g costs P106, while the 800 g costs P275. If you wonder how to know which is one is cheaper then get you calculator out. It's easy, just follow this formula: price / unit = price per unit.
P106 / 320 g = P0.33125 per gram
P275 / 800 g = P0.34375 per gram
You see, you can save from buying the smaller size because it only costs 0.33 cents per gram, compared to 0.34 cents of the bigger one.Compute first before ever hoping that just because it was bigger, you're probably saving.
4. Bring your own bags. Most especially when you are buying a lot of grocery items, it is better that you have your own bag ready because the cashier may offer you a plastic bag if you don't have any, and if you agreed, they will charge you for it. I think last time, I was charged P2.00. I learned my lesson. Not happening to me again.
5. Check the printed receipt for any error. I swear, you have to do this. After the receipt was handed over to you, do your due diligence to "proofread" if it is accurate. Do not let your saving practices be put to waste just because of someone else's error. There are times when the cashier incorrectly double-registers an item and you don't want to pay for that!
There you go. Remember, the cents you are saving today, if put together multiplied by number of weeks, months or years can be astoundingly more than you think
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