Turning grocery bills into nothingness

We’ve hammered this into your brains many times: It’s cheaper to buy groceries and cook than it is to dine out. Just switching to eating in will save you tons of money but how can you save even more?

Here are some ancient Zen proverbs that will guide you in your quest to shrink your grocery bill:

He who uses canvas bags will light up a thousand suns: The ancients must have predicted the impeding ban on plastic bags. Already in Toronto and in different grocery stores across Canada, we’ve seen a 5-cent charge per bag we bring home. Instead of letting those nickels add up, bring your own bags. Easy.

The wise panda always makes shopping lists: Make a shopping list so that you buy what you need, not what you want. Bring a pen with you to cross out each item as you find it.

Fear not the coupon: Don’t ignore flyers you get in the mail from grocery stores. They possess valuable coupons and in-store deals that will knock dollars off of your grocery bill. Yesterday I mentioned this site. Every week, it outlines all of the product deals by store so that you can avoid digging. Keep the product specials in mind when making your grocery list but don’t include items you don’t really need just because they’re on sale.

A calm river does not shop when it’s hungry: I am a hungry shopper but you shouldn’t be. I will go to a grocery store with my mouth watering and my stomach rumbling and end up with seven kinds of chips and an 8 pack of chocolate bars. Do what I say, and not what I do and you’ll end up in good shape, and not with an unnecessary amount of junk food.

Chicken nuggets have no name: It’s not always beneficial to buy a name brand. Usually the cheaper alternative to certain products will be a dollar or two less than the known label. Switch a couple of your grocery items to lesser-known brands to test the waters. If you feel the product is on par with what you had been buying, why spend the extra cash?

Grow local vegetables, the road to no recession: Frequent a farmers market. although they may be out of your way, markets are filled with reasonably priced produce that is fresh and local. Local businesses will thank you, and so will your wallet.

A large meal is a cheapskate’s gold: Making bigger meals leaves you with more leftovers, and this may not be a bad thing. Instead of constantly buying frozen meals, freeze ones you’ve already made to be eaten at a later date. You can make your meals last longer without wasting the food you’ve bought.

A giraffe keeps tabs on her egg carton: Write your next grocery list as you need certain items. Updating a piece of paper on the fridge will ensure you buy everything you need without frequenting convenience stores. They may be convenient but they often jack up the prices of basic foods such as milk and eggs.

Follow these simple rules, young grasshoppers, and you will be enlightened master-savers in no time.

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This entry was posted on Tuesday, July 7th, 2009 at 1:00 pm and is filed under Arts, Eats, Living, Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

Tags: Budget, Eating, Food, Groceries, Recession, Romi Levine, Saving, Screw You Recession, Zen