Basic Saving Money Tips

Tips — By Dr. Mommy on May 25, 2009 at 9:08 am

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Now more than ever we are trying to pinch our pennies and below are some basic tips on saving money.

• One way to save money is by watching what you eat.   First, try eating at home more often instead of going out. Sounds easy enough, but you’d be surprised how often you eat out.  You save more money buying groceries than eating in a restaurant. If you aren’t married yet, this could impress whoever you are dating because they know you can do this on your own.

• Of course there’s no need to deprive yourself from having some fun. You can still go out in a restaurant but instead of ordering the usual, try to get something else in the menu that is slightly more affordable.  Training yourself to purchase items that are less expensive will become a habit and quite enjoyable, make it a challenge.

• Eating in instead of eating out is good so you have to visit the grocery frequently. Before you walk in, make sure you always have a shopping list and never deviate from it.  (Don’t forget to bring your coupons) As much as possible, buy everything you need once a week because going to the grocery two to four times a week will tempt you to buy things that were never on the list.

• If you are used to buying a certain brand, try buying its competitor. Chances are, it is cheaper and it could taste just as good or even better. Generic brands will taste just as good as the name brand and will save you money too.

• If you have a baby, one thing you will buy a lot during this stage is the baby diaper. Since they grow quite rapidly, don’t stock up on too much diapers of one size because you may not use everything. Only buy what you need so before you put it in your cart, always compare the unit price.

• You may be a regular customer in one supermarket and have been happy going in and out of there for years. For once, perhaps you should shop elsewhere and compare their prices. If the prices here are cheaper then you will probably shop there more often. Having a large family I love to find bargains so I will collect circulars, compare prices and go to the store that will save me the most.

• A lot of people eat out during lunch time when they are at work. If you have successfully prepared breakfast and dinner, you can surely prepare lunch which you can eat during your break.  The lunch doesn’t have to be anything elaborate, perhaps leftovers from the night before or a salad or veggies may do the trick.

• The same goes for coffee because a cup of Starbucks daily translates to more than a thousand dollars a year. You can have the same taste at home when you have a coffee machine that can churn it up after several minutes then all you have to do is put it in a mug and bring it to work. We love the flavored creamers and that will be our treat instead of the fancy and costly cappuccinos.

• A lot of establishments are feeling the recession and one way they try to stay alive is to come up with promos and hand out coupons. If you know where to look, you can cut out these coupons or print them from their website. With a few of these around, you can save from 5% to 25% on selected items. Not to mention clipping coupons from the Sunday paper.  Clipping coupons and taking them with you on your shopping trips will save your family $100’s per month.

Discipline, proper planning and smart shopping is essential when you are thinking ways of how to save money on food and basic goods. Is it going to be easy? No, but if you have the willingness to do it, you can save thousands of dollars.

Be sure to check out my latest product, Save 100’s by Running your Kitchen as a Business.

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