Money Saving Tips
These days with costs constantly rising, it’s more important than ever to save your hard-earned dollars whenever possible. Below are some easy ways to save some dough that you may have overlooked:
GENERAL
Know your prices: In the past, a lot of folks went to just one or two stores to fill most of their basic needs. These days comparing store prices is a “must.”
Whether it’s comparing 2 or 3 grocery stores or even stores like Walmart vs. Amazon vs. Target vs. Kohls, you have to check them all – some have “flash sales” or “limited time sales” that add up to substantial savings.
Walmart has become very competitive with their pricing. They offer a reasonable monthly subscription fee that covers free grocery and merchandise deliveries. An added plus: their customer service for online shopping/delivery is positively stellar! Depending on your lifestyle, this may help you save time and money.
Retails Stores: Again, know your prices. Stores like Home Goods, T.J. Maxx and Walmart are great stores to get a lot of bang for your buck, plus they all offer a wide variety of goods (some even carry clothing).
FOOD
Grocery Stores: most stores have weekly specials on meat and seafood. Get into the habit of buying whatever is on sale. Example, if you love fish, but cod is on sale, not salmon, go for the cod and wait for the salmon to go on sale. Make your grocery list based on your store’s weekly “sale flyer.”
Grocery stores sometimes have deals on rotisserie chickens, pre-made sandwiches, soups etc. Check out their special meal deals. For one or two people, a rotisserie chicken can provide two meals – chicken casserole, tacos, noodle soup, etc.
Canned Goods: When you see a really good deal on canned goods that you use on a regular basis (i.e., beans, soups, etc.), that’s the time to stock up. When a grocery store has a buy one get one free, it doesn’t get much better than that. Just be sure to check the EXPIRATION DATE to make sure it has a long shelf life.
Substitute: Save on your grocery bill by substituting items. For example, let’s say you’re making Chicken Ala King over toasted sourdough bread. The store has English muffins on sale for a substantially cheaper price than the sourdough bread, go with the English muffins. Or those chocolate cookies you want aren’t on sale, but the peanut butter ones are – consider going with the peanut butter cookies – you get the drift. Stop-think-before you drop an item into your cart!
While fresh vegetables are great, they can be more costly than frozen. Check your prices. Frozen broccoli, spinach, mixed vegetables, etc., can not only save you $$, but are great to keep on hand for last minute soups or casseroles.
Home-Made Meal Stretchers: soups and casseroles can go a long way to stretching a family meal. Noodles, other various pastas and rice can be livened up with vegetables, sauces and meat or fish. See our site’s “Food” category for easy recipes that can help stretch your meals and save on your food budget.
RESTAURANTS
For folks that work from home or are retired, find out if your local restaurants have “lunch specials” at discounted prices, especially during the week. Most restaurants tend to have a lunch menu that’s more affordable than dinner. Going out to lunch instead of dinner can add up to substantial savings. Skip the soft drinks or cocktails that add $$ to your bill. Settle for a glass of water. Have coffee, soft drinks or cocktails when you get home.
HOTELS
It’s fine to check 3rd party pricing for hotel reservations, but some hotels are now asking you to call them DIRECT for the best price. Repeat customers can also sometimes get better rooms as well as rates, by going directly to the hotel.
RUNNING ERRANDS
Especially if you’re retired or work from home, it’s easy to constantly run here or there for groceries, banking, etc. Challenge yourself to become organized to accomplish most of your errands in just one or two trips a week. Planned errand running can not only save you time, but you’ll spend less money at the gas pump.
Tip: when going out to a store or restaurant, look around. What other stores/shops are nearby that have items you need: a hardware store, thrift store, clothing store, etc. You’re already there – take advantage of the surrounding stores to get what you need and save time and gas.
Being price savvy and organized can help you save money. It does take some discipline, but it’s totally doable! And with the money you save, go ahead – buy yourself something nice – especially if it’s ON SALE!