Shopping is a pleasant pastime for most people. The heavy consumption of products brings is happiness to the executives of many companies and sometimes causing disaster to the people doing the spending.
If you want to save money, you need to be able to set limits on your consumption and money spending. If the end of the month meets you with unpaid bills or debts consider introducing some easy money saving tips for grocery shopping.
TIP #1: Plan your purchases
Make a list before going to the supermarket. Stick rigorously to your list and don’t let yourself buy things you don’t really need. Advertising is a hard pressure on consumers’ minds and will. You have to learn to differentiate your needs and wants.
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You can definitely manage without Pepsi, chips, and beer. Have some, occasionally, but don’t make it a pleasant tradition of visiting a supermarket. Allow yourself some exceptions to the rule.
If you come across a good bargain go for it. And just because it has the word ‘SALE’ written all over it, doesn’t make it a sale. It is not a tragedy if you violate this rule to buy 2 kilos of rice at a price of one. BUT you can act this way only under condition if there aren’t 5 kilos of rice stored in your house already.
Allow unplanned bargain or discounted purchases only if you know you’ll need these things soon.
TIP #2: Plan your purchases accurately
If you really need something go and buy it. Don’t wait until it becomes an emergency and you will buy whatever price is.
When you remember you have run out of milk or that you don’t have bread… What do you do? You go and buy, in the process, you end up spending more money than you had planned. You go to the supermarket to buy bread and milk but come out with a trolley full of groceries.
Here’s a simple solution! Plan exactly what you need and when you need to buy it. Apart from these shopping days try not to spend money at all. That will require a great deal of discipline but eventually, you will save money and time since you won’t be doing shopping as often.
TIP #3: Try not to spend money at all
There’s a saying in the business world that goes something like this, “People don’t like being sold to but they love to buy.” Truth is, shopping makes people happy. Well, at least when they are doing the shopping. Sometimes excessive shopping can have its regretful moment. So here is the trick. Try not to spend any money at all.
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If you can disciple yourself from impulsive shopping, chances are you will have more disposable money to save and invest for the things you really want – like a car, a house or the holiday you have been dreaming about. Disciplined money being increased savings.
TIP #4: Do things yourself
It can be tempting to have ‘the guy’ or ‘the lady’ you can call on to do the things you may dread doing around the house. I mean who wants to be doing chores when you can be relaxing and paying someone else to do it. While this is great for employment, do some of the household chores yourself
You can do some simple things at home yourself, like cooking, washing, ironing and home repairs. Yes, it takes time but if you can save money and do it yourself you might consider using this opportunity as well. Think of the things you enjoy doing and develop this skill to save little money. If you like cooking why not make breakfast at home instead of having it in a café.
TIP #5: Use free services
It is true that good services are not for free but you still can find some opportunities. Most salons or physicians offer free samples of goods and services. Just ask and maybe they can provide you a sample service for free.
If you buy a cell phone, check if the shop provides free cover or device applications. There are lots of programs online that allow the first month for testing for free. You can also listen to music and watch videos online without having to buy CDs.
These rules are easy and you will definitely cope with the task. It will require self-discipline so check that you follow these rules constantly. Analyze your life and try to find some other ways where you could make small savings. Remember money-saving behavior will help get out of debts and make your life easier.
If the above rules don’t work for you, there is always a ways to work around them, “Earn more than you spend.” You can do this by starting a part-time home business, generate an extra income from blogging or start an e-commerce store on shopify selling some hobby items of drop-shipping. With access to the internet, the world has no limits.
