Dave Ramsey identifies groceries as the item on which you can easily overspend and it is another tip that can save you a lot of money. This new observation by the American financial guru is making people think about their grocery lists.
Ramsey’s tweet at the start of April read Food is one of the easiest budget categories to overspend on. If you can get that under control each month, your entire budget can change.
This is also backed by CNBC’s claims that Americans overspend 7,400 dollars every year and grocery shopping is the second item on the list of items that they overspend on.
Food is one of the easiest budget categories to overspend on. If you can get that under control each month, your entire budget can change.
— Dave Ramsey (@DaveRamsey) April 2, 2023
It is said that the food budget is surpassed at least 39% times by the customer. Inflation is one significant contributor to this problem. Lending Tree has found out that weekly grocery shopping has gone up by 17% on average due to a surge in cost.
While the cost would earlier come to 163 dollars today it comes to 190 dollars. Yes, you can without a doubt turn to credit cards for cashback, and get all sorts of money-saving apps, coupons, etc. or follow other such measures to reduce the money spent on groceries. We have five different ideas of ourselves to share with you.
Dave Ramsey identifies groceries as the item on which you can easily overspend and so these five steps can help you change that.
1. Make Freezer Your Friend
Flyers and various apps should tell you when your shopping place has discount offers on items. During this time find the necessary items and get them in a bit more quantity than needed.
Store the extra stuff in your freezer after wrapping them up properly. Most foods don’t go bad for months and so you are all set for the next few months.
2. Start Planning Meals
Now that you have food in bulk you might want to try and plan. You can plan the meal for a whole week or so and cook it up altogether. This way you can save money and also there is less wastage to deal with. Excess food can be frozen and stored for later.
3. Leftover Day
If there is stuff left over from a day then don’t throw it away. You can always mix and match stuff and have a day in the week when all the good leftover food can be turned into a new dish and eaten.
4. Shop Sensibly
Visit a store when they are less crowded and take your time when you shop for groceries. Compare prices, options, etc. Make sure that you are saving every possible penny by making a better decision.
Shopping during crowded times can make you hurry up and you can end up getting pricier stuff and it might not even be what you wanted.
Also Read: Save 75 Pounds on Bills in 60 Seconds with Money Saving Expert Martin Lewis
5. Don’t jump from store to store
Visiting different stores means spending more on gas and also spending more time traveling. Also, each store will have different offers that you may not need but end up falling for anyways. All in all the more the stores the more you spend and so keep your buying limited to one store.
Source: Dave Ramsey Tweet