How to save money on groceries easy without coupons!
I am a normal frugal shopper who used to spend way too much
while i was grocery shopping I live in New York City so I know what expensive
grocery shopping is and I've done it for years by accident
and I had to learn my way from figuring out okay why is
this so expensive, why am I spending so much and really examining my
my spending habits and working on it I've learned all these tips and I'm so
excited to share them with you if you enjoy it please click that like
button because the YouTube algorithm gets really happy when that happens
and we want to keep it happy so let's get into the 25 tips.
Now my number one tip is to read the price tag based on unit or
weight if it's by ounces or pounds you can often times compare
two very similar looking products where maybe one of them you're paying for
the big brand that has a bigger package but it's the exact same amount of
whatever unit that is and you can really compare and get
into the nitty-gritty of how much you can save if you realize that certain
brands are using more plastic and packaging which is not good in any way
but don't pay for that pay for more product don't pay for more
packaging so keep an eye on this really critical
number one step if you just watch this and you just watch until the first step
you will already save so much money! Number two before you
leave your home don't forget to check your pantry and your fridge
to see what you have so you're not over buying because you think oh do i have
that and then you buy something twice instead you can also
take a photo of your pantry and your fridge and then reference that to get a
general sense of what you have. Number three don't go hungry, eat before
you go grocery shopping. It is something that I've accidentally done and every
single time I forget to eat I get hungry - I get
hangry I end up in the exotic cheeses and
no one needs really crazy exotic more expensive cheeses that's just not
it's not in the budget i'm so sorry. Number four
go with a shopping list I jot it down in my phone so I never forget a slip of
paper the list will guide you away from
impulse buys but at the same time be willing to be flexible if there is
something that's totally marked down and maybe you can replace one of the meals
that you originally planned with whatever that new thing is
so you can get the best deal. Number five divide your budget by week
not by month I used to always think oh by
month and you keep estimating and then you completely forget where you are
in your budget but if you actually divide it okay if I want to spend this
much per month divide that by the four weeks and then
you say this week I can only spend this much
I find myself really much more self-controlled on how I
budget it and how I actually use this time at the grocery store.
Number six limit shopping trips if you only go once per
week you will actually see that you are spending less.
If you try to just say oh just go one more time,
two times this week whatever then you will clearly go out of your budget and
it'll be so easy to impulse buy and just buy so much more that you don't need
so if you can limit the amount of trips you take you will definitely see the
benefit in your wallet. Number seven be open to trying new
stores. Are you just going to that grocery store because it's
the closest have you even shopped at the other ones and tried other options
I completely admit it I've done this multiple times
the most convenient grocery store that was closest to wherever I lived
was the one that I often times went to and this happened where right near an
apartment was a like fancy health food store after way
too long I finally went to another grocery store that was a 10-minute walk
the other direction and it was so much better I saved way
more money so definitely shop around for all the
different options make sure that you're not just going to a grocery store
because of the convenience of the location try to
go a little bit out of your way if you think
you will be able to save a little bit more money. Number eight shop the
perimeter of the store first that's actually where they put a lot of
the essentials and they'll put something you need on the total opposite end of
the store so that you have to go past a number of
non-essential aisles and you think oh maybe i'll get whatever
and also beware of the candy in front of the
register i have fallen many a time to it but just be aware and
think okay what do i really need and then try to stick to that. Number
nine for the freshest products reach in the back go above eye level
below it, just feel free to reach all around to
find where the deals are because they are never going to be right in front of
you at eye level. Number 10 double check that eggs are not
cracked and that fruit is not bruised so that you get the best value for your
money. Eleven: double check the expiration date
also make sure you're aware the difference between the sell by date
and the expiration are used by date because the sell by date
is actually going to give you a couple extra days assuming that if they sell it
and you you buy it that day you'll have a few more days
to actually cook it and prepare it so keep that in mind if you see a sell by
date it's the same date don't freak out you have a couple more days
Twelve: Avoid chopping produce when it's not as good and more expensive here I'm
going to overlay a whole chart that will tell you the best times to buy what.
Thirteen: Avoid things that are pre-cut I used to love getting these very specific
pre-cut veggies or fruit whatever it might be I didn't realize
how much money i was accidentally wasting.
It's convenient yes but for the most part you probably don't need it and it
will actually stay fresher if you get the item before it's cut and
everything like that you will save money it'll stay fresher
and even sometimes like an apple they'll add more preservatives so
that it doesn't oxidize or change color so you don't want the chemicals just
don't get the pre-cut stuff. Number 14 when possible buy in bulk if
you need to get two small units of something,
try and find one bigger unit of both but keep in mind
my rule number one which is that you gotta check how much it costs per ounce
because sometimes bulk is not always cheaper so just
keep making sure that you're checking what is the cost
per unit or per weight. Fifteen: When to go? Plan when you go strategically avoid the
first of the month when it's often busiest when food stamps refill and
people want to spend their most recent check.
Shop weekday mornings for middle of the week specials if you go grocery shopping
after work or weekends that is when it's busiest with less
inventory and less deals. Sixteen: Skip the name brands rumor has it
that these brands are oftentimes the exact same product as
the one next to it they come from the same factory possibly but they're just
slapping a different label on there so be mindful there are certain brands that
you might prefer that's totally fine maybe certain things taste a certain way
that you are really familiar with but be willing to try other brands
be willing to check what is the real cost per weight or per unit
and if another brand is so much more affordable
it's definitely worth it for certain things that you might not even notice
the difference between the two products with the brand
Seventeen: Read deal fine print if it says you have to buy five in order to get a
certain price oftentimes you can just buy one and not
over buy and get that same per unit price so just
double check. Eighteen: Meat markdowns: you might notice some
meat it has stickers that says "manager
special" other things might also have this
throughout the store i highly recommend taking advantage of these deals because
they're significantly discounted sometimes more
than half off they're not bad don't worry they can't
sell you something bad but it's something that i've taken advantage of
these deals many times and you will find that maybe it's expiring a little bit
sooner and that just means that you have to
cook it you know before that date. Nineteen: Eat less meat this is one
of the most expensive things at the grocery store so it really can
add up if you're including it in every single meal.
One thing that I use as an alternative is I'm recently obsessed with tofu in
the past few years I've been creatively cooking tofu with all sorts of different
seasonings and sauces and veggies and noodles I
love, love tofu so much so it is a great
source of protein and an alternative if you do want to save a
little bit more money. Twenty: Spices it's so easy to overpay for spices
oftentimes I actually used to do this and I used to pay for the taco
seasoning packets, which is one serving and when I finally
switched over to getting much bigger shakers of seasoning and
things like that, I saw a drastic you know change of how
much I'm saving because I was being more efficient about how I bought
my spices. Twenty one: Clearance section ask someone at the
grocery store where their clearance section is
if you know where to look you can find some really amazing deals.
Twenty Two: Avoid bottled water instead of buying heavy
bottled water which is not good for you the environment
the whole situation is not ideal you would totally save so much money
by actually just getting a reusable water bottle
maybe a filter for your water your tap water and you will see
so many savings here and you don't have to carry
heavy things and contribute to the plastic waste
it's just a win-win-win all across. Twenty three: Bring reusable grocery bags to reduce
waste and depending on where to also avoid paying for each grocery bag which
can totally add up. Twenty four: Don't use a huge shopping cart I
bring my reusable bags to the grocery store and it's really easy for me to
fill those up in while i'm shopping and then use them
at the register because I know that that will fit in my fridge
and I will not overbuy in a huge shopping cart research shows
that when the shopping cart size was doubled shoppers bought
40 percent more products than usual. Twenty five: Watch the register do this for two
reasons: one to see if there are any errors like if they
ring something up twice or if maybe it's it's ringing up at a higher price not a
sale price and then two to make sure that you are
staying within your budget if for example i see something that is
crazy price that I thought it was one price it's a
different price I'll say oh can we get rid of this $20 cheese! Thank you so
much for watching what grocery tips and hacks did I miss?
Please comment down below your favorites, also if you have any other suggestions
for more you know money related saving tips
things like that videos you'd like to see next I'm definitely
totally open to that please comment down below what videos you want to see next
and click that like button, subscribe button if you haven't already keep that
youtube algorithm happy we know it likes to be happy and then I
will see you in the next video, ciao for now! There are so many tips and
hacks in here that will hopefully get your grocery d-
bill down to like half percent... what the half percent what does that
even mean okay I would do that again shoot feel free to like get flexible and
like that makes no sense I don't know what
I'm doing lastly, watch the register do this for two
reason no two reason(S) also you might find that I
have forgotten what my line is already because i'm silly...