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Saving Money on Grocery Without Coupons – 21 Bad Habits You Must Break

Do you run a large family and you are looking for ways to save? If YES, here are 21 bad habits you must break to save money on grocery shopping without coupons.

We need money to live a comfortable life no matter the part of the world we live in. Money is a medium of exchange and it has been proven over and over again that money is never enough, hence the economic saying that human needs are insatiable.

Why Strive to Save Money on Groceries?

One of the major culprits when it comes to spending beyond your budget is grocery shopping. Research has shown that people get addicted to grocery shopping at some point or the other. People always want to exceed their budget whenever they go shopping if there isn’t strict discipline.

Your ability to save money on grocery will go a long way to make money available to you when you need it most – especially as it relates to solving emergency financial needs. The truth is that there are situations where you will need as little as $500 to invest in a good business opportunity with time frame and if you don’t have money set aside, you will not be able to take advantage of such business opportunity.

The reason why most people fail to save money on grocery is as a result of bad habits that they fail to curtail. The truth is that if you are able to work on your bad habits as it relates to saving money, even if you don’t have a major project in view to execute, you may save up a bundle over the years.

Having said that, here are 21 bad habits you must break to be able to save money on grocery.

Saving Money on Grocery Without Coupons – 21 Bad Habits You Must Break

  1. Not Drawing Up a Shopping Budget before Visiting a Grocery Store

One of the major reasons why people fail to save money on grocery when they go shopping is the inability to draw up a shopping budget before visiting grocery stores. This is one bad habit that may lead you into wasting money on groceries. If indeed you want to save money on groceries, then you should ensure that you always draw up a shopping budget before visiting a grocery store.

  1. Not Being Disciplined and Strict Enough to Stick to Your Budget

It is one thing to draw up a grocery budget; it is yet another to be disciplined and strict enough to stick to your budget. Not being disciplined and strict enough to stick to your budget is a bad habit that stops you from making savings.

The truth is that if you are disciplined and strict enough to stick to your budget when you go shopping, you will be amazed at the amount your will save in a month. Depending on the volume of groceries you purchase in a month, you can save up money to take care of your insurance policy covers.

  1. Not Comparing Prices before Purchasing Any Item

Another bad habit that is responsible for you not being able to save up money on grocery is not comparing prices of various grocery items before making a purchase. If indeed you want to save money on grocery, then you should learn to compare prices of groceries before making a purchase. For example, if you want to purchase toothpaste, it will be wise for you to compare the prices of different brands of toothpaste available in your location and then going for the one that is cheap and affordable.

  1. Purchasing Grocery in Single Items – Not Buying Groceries in Bulk

It has been proven over and over again that when you purchase items in bulk (that is in cartons or dozens) as the case may be, you end up saving a good amount when compared to purchasing single items. The fact that you would need the items throughout the month makes it wise for you to purchase it in bulk. With that you will be able to save money on grocery.

  1. Not Buying Groceries from Bulk Purchase Stores

It is no longer news that when you purchase stuffs from wholesale stores, you end up saving money. So also, if you want to save money on groceries, then you should learn to always purchase your groceries from wholesale stores around you. All you need to do if you are new in the community is to ask people around to show you wholesale stores or you check through directories for a guide.

  1. Not Buying Groceries from Stores Doing Clearance Sales

Another bad habit that you need to deal with if you want to save money on grocery is not buying groceries from stores doing clearance sales. If you live in the united states, and of course in other countries, there are seasons in the year when stores (grocery stores inclusive) engage in clearance sales. You tend to get things far cheaper than you would get them on a normal day. So, what you need to do in order to save money on grocery is to ensure that you look for stores that engage in clearance sales and purchase from them.

  1. Not Buying Groceries from Top Manufacturing Brands

In some cases, when you purchase your groceries from top manufacturing brands, you tend to save money. Although this might not be applicable to all top manufacturing brands, but some of them actually sell their products cheaper than their competitors in order to command a lion share of the available market in the industry.

  1. Not Buying Groceries from a Grocery Store That Gives Out Discount on a Regular Basis

If you live in the united states of America and in some other countries of the world, you may come to agree that some grocery stores give out discount on a regular basis. If you purchase your grocery from such stores, you are sure going to save a good amount of money that can be used for other stuffs. So, if indeed you want to save money on groceries, then you must deal with the habit of not purchasing your groceries from a grocery store that gives out discount on a regular basis.

  1. Not Reviewing Items before Making Purchase

One bad habit that may drain your hard-earned money when you go grocery shopping is your inability to review items before making a purchase. The truth is that if you take out time to review items before making a purchase, you are likely going to save up some bucks.

For example, if you want to purchase table salt and you have different brands of table salt in stores around you and table salt A is produced in such a way that you will only need one tea spoon for a pot of soup, while with table salt B and C et al you would need at least 2 tablespoons for a pot of soup. In such situation, it will pay you to buy table salt A because it will save you some bucks in the long run.

  1. Shopping Without a Shopping List

One other bad habit that is stopping people from saving whenever they go shopping for groceries is shopping without a shopping list. If you enter into any store without a pre-determined picture of items you want to buy, the possibility of spending more than what you are expected to spend is pretty high.

In such situation, every good item that you may not need at that point in time will be calling for your attention and if you are not careful, you will borrow to pay for some of the items you purchase. So, if you want to save money on grocery, then you should ensure that you eliminate the habit of shopping without a shopping list. Besides, drawing up a shopping list is not a difficult task to do.

  1. Engaging in Impulsive Buying

Impulsive buying is when you purchase something that you do not plan for simply because you see others purchasing it or because a salesman or saleswoman stops you and try to market their products to you. In essence, if you engage in impulsive buying on a regular basis, you will definitely find it difficult to save money on grocery.

  1. Purchasing What You Don’t Need

There are people that purchase what they do not actually need just because it is cheap or because someone close to them markets such stuff to them. If indeed you want to save money on grocery, then you should do away with the habit of purchasing stuffs that you do not truly need, even if it is cheap or it is being sold to you by someone you know. What is the essence of buying neatly packed garlic when in the actual sense you don’t like the smell of garlic?

  1. Not Taking Advantage of Sales Made By Grocery Manufacturers When They Go on Road Show or Sales Campaigns

As a means of generating sales and promoting their products, some companies engage in road show or sales campaigns. In most cases, such items are sold far below the market price. If you have grocery manufacturing companies in your city that engage in sales campaigns or road shows, it will be to your advantage to target such companies and purchase some of the items you have on your grocery list. This is only applicable if what they are marketing is what you truly need. Please don’t go back to the habit of purchasing what you don’t need simply because it is cheap and it is in your face.

  1. Not Taking Advantage of Door to Door Sales Carried Out by Grocery Manufacturers

Aside from road shows, most companies also recruit salesmen and saleswomen to engage in door to door sales as a means of generating sales and also promoting their products. In such situation, the prices of such items are always far cheaper than what is obtainable in the market.

If you have grocery manufacturing companies in your city that engage in door to door sales campaign, it will be to your advantage to target such companies and purchase some of the items you have on your grocery list. This is only applicable if what they are marketing is what you truly need. Please don’t go back to the habit of purchasing what you don’t need simply because it is cheap and it is in your face.

  1. Keeping Up with the Joneses

Another bad habit that has stopped people from saving on grocery is when they try to keep up with the Joneses. Keeping up with the Joneses simply means trying to live like your neighbors even though you know you are not on the same financial level with them. This is one easy way to waste your money because you would always purchase what you don’t need. If indeed you want to save money on grocery, then you must never try to keep up with the Joneses.

  1. Being Easily Carried Away When You Go Shopping

People that are easily carried away when they go shopping can hardly save up money because they will always see something appealing to buy from the store. So, if indeed you want to save money on grocery, then one of the bad habits that you need to eliminate is being easily carried away when you go shopping; you must be disciplined and focused whenever you go shopping for groceries.

  1. Competing with Your Neighbors or Friends

Another easy means of wasting money on grocery is competing with your neighbors. If you buy things because you see your neighbors purchase same or you shop in expensive grocery stores because your neighbors shop there, then it won’t be long before you go into serious debt if you don’t have the same financial capacity like them. So, if indeed you are serious about saving money on grocery, then you should never compete with your neighbors or friends. Live life according to your financial capacity.

  1. Being Wasteful

Another bad habit that may stop you from saving on grocery is being wasteful. Being wasteful has to do with purchasing what you don’t need or purchasing more than enough of what you need only to end up throwing them in the waste basket when they expire before usage. So, if indeed you want to save money on grocery, then you should eliminate the habit of wasteful spending when you go grocery shopping.

  1. Not Shopping Online

When you shop online, you are likely going to save money and time because you would have successfully eliminated the cost of transporting yourself to the market and time required to move from one shop to another. Online grocery shopping is a good way to save money on grocery. So, if indeed you want to save money on grocery, then you should look towards shopping online especially if free delivery is part of the incentive you are going to get when you shop on a particular online grocery store.

  1. Avoiding Farm Markets

When it comes to grocery shopping, farm market is one of the cheapest place you need to shop if indeed you want to save money on groceries. In farm markets, you will buy directly from the farmers and farmers are known to sell stuffs very cheap especially if the farmers do not have to transport their farm produce over a long distance before getting to the farm market. Transportation cost is one major contributor to increase in the prices of farm produce and once it is eliminated; the prices of farm produce comes down.

  1. Avoiding Food Hubs

Aside from farm markets, another place that you need to go to if you want to save cost when shopping for grocery is to go to food hubs. Just like farm markets, groceries sold at food hubs are usually cheaper than what you will get in grocery stores, supermarkets and other retail outlets. So, if indeed you want to save money on grocery, then you should ensure that you identify food hubs in your city, and also ensure that you do your grocery shopping there.