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We do one big shop a month roughly then small ones in between, picking up one or two grocery bags' full. I always thought we saved by doing the big shopping trip. My husband doesn't think we do and wants to try just doing the small ones, a bag here and there with what we do actually need. Would that work?
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I think small trips work out far more expensive. You end up making more of them because you're never in that grocery shopping frame of mind that you are when you do a big shop and you don't get half of what you intended to. I keep my in between trips as small as possible.
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Yeah, "Big grocery shopping", will always end up saving you more in the long run. Another great tip is to look at the "UNIT PRICE" on every single item. You may notice some things are not always cheaper in bulk sizes.
The other day, I noticed name-brand Windex was on sale, and the unit price ended up being cheaper than the "Great Value" store brand.
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Yeah, "Big grocery shopping", will always end up saving you more in the long run. Another great tip is to look at the "UNIT PRICE" on every single item. You may notice some things are not always cheaper in bulk sizes.
The other day, I noticed name-brand Windex was on sale, and the unit price ended up being cheaper than the "Great Value" store brand.
Good tip. I look at the unit price for food items like sauces but hadn't done that for non-food products. I don't know why I do it for one and not the other LOL. That was a good buy then! Windex is usually quite a bit higher.
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Yeah, "Big grocery shopping", will always end up saving you more in the long run. Another great tip is to look at the "UNIT PRICE" on every single item. You may notice some things are not always cheaper in bulk sizes.
The other day, I noticed name-brand Windex was on sale, and the unit price ended up being cheaper than the "Great Value" store brand.
Good tip. I look at the unit price for food items like sauces but hadn't done that for non-food products. I don't know why I do it for one and not the other LOL. That was a good buy then! Windex is usually quite a bit higher.
Agreed. Always double check when they have those nifty "10 for 10 dollars" sales. Most of the time, you don't actually have to buy ten items!
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Agreed. Always double check when they have those nifty "10 for 10 dollars" sales. Most of the time, you don't actually have to buy ten items!
Is that true? I thought you had to get the 10 to get the deal. How do you know if you don't have to? I feel a bit dumb now LOL.
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Agreed. Always double check when they have those nifty "10 for 10 dollars" sales. Most of the time, you don't actually have to buy ten items!
Is that true? I thought you had to get the 10 to get the deal. How do you know if you don't have to? I feel a bit dumb now LOL.
You could ask at the customer service desk or a staff member. I'm the opposite. I always assumed you didn't have to! No one's ever told me different in a store when I've bought less than the 10 and I shop in the big stores.
Small grocery shopping trips are the kiss of death to your bank balance.
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We do one big shop a month roughly then small ones in between, picking up one or two grocery bags' full. I always thought we saved by doing the big shopping trip. My husband doesn't think we do and wants to try just doing the small ones, a bag here and there with what we do actually need. Would that work?
Cheapncheerful, how far are you from the grocery store? You might save on the groceries but you'll have to count in the extra gas for extra trips. I'd hate to have to do small grocery shops repeatedly. There's the time it takes as well and having to plan around that. I'd rather do one main one and get it over with.
Great tip on the Unit Price. Thanks MikeM. :)
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Small grocery shopping trips are the kiss of death to your bank balance.
I have to agree with Savannah. I've tried both ways and the small shopping trips cost me plenty plus frayed tempers. You never have what you need to make a complete meal when you've not stocked up. Small trips were always more for rare "snack attacks" than meal planning. You'll spend more and have less.
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Yeah, "Big grocery shopping", will always end up saving you more in the long run. Another great tip is to look at the "UNIT PRICE" on every single item. You may notice some things are not always cheaper in bulk sizes.
The other day, I noticed name-brand Windex was on sale, and the unit price ended up being cheaper than the "Great Value" store brand.
Good tip. I look at the unit price for food items like sauces but hadn't done that for non-food products. I don't know why I do it for one and not the other LOL. That was a good buy then! Windex is usually quite a bit higher.
I look at the unit price on everything. You should always compare that like MikeM says. Specials will often be below own-brand prices, so don't automatically reach for the generic version. I've got so much in the habit of doing that I find I read the unit price before the actual price LOL.
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We do one big one and when something's forgotten, that's tough. We get it when we go back and no sooner. I wouldn't make several trips. At most I'll do a small trip once. That teaches you and the family to write what's needed when you notice supplies are low. The list is stuck to the freezer. You either have a good memory, put it on the list or miss out! ;)
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We do one big one and when something's forgotten, that's tough. We get it when we go back and no sooner. I wouldn't make several trips. At most I'll do a small trip once. That teaches you and the family to write what's needed when you notice supplies are low. The list is stuck to the freezer. You either have a good memory, put it on the list or miss out! ;)
LOL, that's a good policy. I honestly can't see how small trips will save you money. The main thing is to know what you have in the cupboards and the freezer before you set out. You won't buy unnecessary products as often.
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The main thing is to know what you have in the cupboards and the freezer before you set out. You won't buy unnecessary products as often.
Very good tip, pennywise. You should also know how much you have of stuff too. Before I organized all my cans I used to shove them all wherever I could in no particular order. Now if I have two or more of the same thing I put them one behind the other. A quick headcount and you're ready to head out to the store.
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A fan of big shopping trips to save money.
I limit myself to one "big trip" to the supermarket per week. If we run out of something, we find alternatives to last us the rest of the week. For example, we ran out of bread on thursday, so I made a ham and cheese sandwich on a bagel instead of tradtional bread (Very tasty, by the way.) I've noticed the convenience foods go first... and its great to see the hubby and kids get creative and actually learn to cook.
Or defrost vegetables :P
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A fan of big shopping trips to save money.
I limit myself to one "big trip" to the supermarket per week. If we run out of something, we find alternatives to last us the rest of the week. For example, we ran out of bread on thursday, so I made a ham and cheese sandwich on a bagel instead of tradtional bread (Very tasty, by the way.) I've noticed the convenience foods go first... and its great to see the hubby and kids get creative and actually learn to cook.
Or defrost vegetables :P
Necessity is the mother of invention, Carly. I hate shopping, I really do and will always attempt to substitute something I'm short of like that rather than go to the store LOL.
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A fan of big shopping trips to save money.
I limit myself to one "big trip" to the supermarket per week. If we run out of something, we find alternatives to last us the rest of the week. For example, we ran out of bread on thursday, so I made a ham and cheese sandwich on a bagel instead of tradtional bread (Very tasty, by the way.) I've noticed the convenience foods go first... and its great to see the hubby and kids get creative and actually learn to cook.
Or defrost vegetables :P
Necessity is the mother of invention, Carly. I hate shopping, I really do and will always attempt to substitute something I'm short of like that rather than go to the store LOL.
I feel ya on hating shopping. The whole budget thing is definatley hard to stick with, and AFTER you spend all that time comparing prices and ingredients you gotta wait in line.
I swear, i feel like I should get paid for that :P
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A fan of big shopping trips to save money.
I limit myself to one "big trip" to the supermarket per week. If we run out of something, we find alternatives to last us the rest of the week. For example, we ran out of bread on thursday, so I made a ham and cheese sandwich on a bagel instead of tradtional bread (Very tasty, by the way.) I've noticed the convenience foods go first... and its great to see the hubby and kids get creative and actually learn to cook.
Or defrost vegetables :P
Necessity is the mother of invention, Carly. I hate shopping, I really do and will always attempt to substitute something I'm short of like that rather than go to the store LOL.
I feel ya on hating shopping. The whole budget thing is definatley hard to stick with, and AFTER you spend all that time comparing prices and ingredients you gotta wait in line.
I swear, i feel like I should get paid for that :P
I agree with you both there! When the day comes that you can take a pill instead of cooking a meal, I'll be the first one to place a family size order. And it better be online too so no queue either LOL.
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I have looked at this issue very closely in my home. What I found out was that because the big stores sell a lot more than groceries, I am always tempted. In the end, the extra purchases I end up making that were not on my list sometimes cost as much as the $35/week I was saving. Then the gas to get there and the difficulty of sneaking into the stash before I plan to...I end up spending the same either way.
I instead go to the closest, cheapest, major grocery chain and shop carefully there. I go to CVS for the stuff I used to get at Wally and coupon heavily. With the CVS extra bucks, I end up spending about the same as Wally when I figure in the gas. I can walk to CVS. (I saw a post somewhere that someone else was doing this and tried it out. It's much better for me!) I can also walk to another grocery store if I forget anything. That store is pricier, so I only use it for last minute items when I can't find a substitution at home.
Those marathon shopping trips once a month were wearing me out and not really saving me any money. This is more convenient. Now I am focusing on other ways to cut spending. There's a thread in here on making two meals out of one and it has got me thinking more about ways to do it. I have stretched three meals in the last week. Isn't that like spending 1/2 on your groceries? Sure feels like it. Woohoo! I'm also making a lot more from scratch, which is like getting free noodles and biscuts to go with dinner!
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I don't know, it might. We do the big grocery shopping too and no matter how careful I am, it's always into hundreds of dollars. It's getting out of hand. I blame myself because I'm not a list maker and come home with things I already had or don't get the things I really needed. Maybe shopping a little at a time would be better.