This is the third part of our “Save Money When Grocery Shopping on a Budget” series.
An important part of reducing your grocery bill is knowing what not to buy at the grocery store. Just because you can find nearly anything you might need at the supermarket doesn’t mean you should purchase everything there.
Here are some of the ways you can save money on your groceries by shopping elsewhere:
1. Consider online grocery shopping
You might assume that online grocery shopping has to be more expensive than pounding the linoleum yourself. However, that’s not necessarily the case. To start, shopping online eliminates the lure of impulse buys, which helps improve your grocery bottom line.
In addition, you may also be able to set up recurring deliveries of some groceries through online subscription programs such as Amazon’s Subscribe and Save. These programs often provide price discounts when you set up the recurring delivery, meaning you never run out of the items you need, and you pay less for them to boot.
2. Buy your toiletries at drugstores or big box stores
It may be convenient to stock up on mouthwash and deodorant at the grocery store, but it’s certainly not economical. Not only will you often see higher prices on toiletries at grocery stores, but you can often find toiletry loss leaders and store-specific coupons at drug stores and big box stores like Target or Walmart. You are much less likely to see such incentives to buy toiletries at your supermarket.
3. Purchase pet supplies at a pet store
There are two reasons you don’t want to pick up Rex or Mittens’ food at the grocery store. To start, you’ll pay a markup on pet food and supplies you can get at the grocery store. In addition, the pet food available at the average supermarket is not going to be that healthy for your four-footed family member. Most of the pet foods that you can find in the supermarket list corn as the first ingredient, and fills out the rest of the ingredients with meat by-products. This is not what your pet’s digestive system wants or needs.
You’ll save money on your grocery bill, your pet food bill, your vet bill, and your carpet cleaning costs if you buy healthier pet foods from larger retail stores, pet stores, feed stores, or online with a company like Chewy.com
Know What to Buy Where
It may be convenient to bundle all of your shopping into a trip to the grocery store—but you can pay dearly for that convenience. That’s why it’s a good idea to recognize which purchases are cheaper when you buy them elsewhere. Your grocery budget and your overall budget will thank you.
Find out more tips on how to save on grocery shopping in the 4th installment of our “Save Money When Grocery Shopping on a Budget” series: Change Your Habits.
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