Image by herzogbr via Flickr
We all know the importance of eating well. However, there’s the common misconception that eating healthier has to be more expensive. While this is certainly true in some circumstances, there’s no reason you can’t eat a balanced diet and still save money at the grocery store. Here’s how you can save money in the checkout line.
- Buy in bulk. If you use a lot of olive oil, don’t buy the tiny bottle– go for the gigantic one. You can always pour it down into a smaller bottle for every day use. Here’s a shopper’s secret: most grocery stores will post the “price per ounce” cost of every product. Look at these prices when you go shopping: 90% of the time, the bigger bottle will be cheaper in the long run. Consider a membership to a place like Costco or Sam’s Club, but only buy what you actually like and won’t spoil quickly. You won’t be saving money if you buy 18 bars of ill-smelling soap or five pounds of strawberries that went bad before you could use them.
- Don’t be afraid of the manager’s special. You could wind up with a $.83 chicken breast or a $1.96 pack of short ribs. A manager’s special doesn’t mean that there’s something wrong with the meat; rather, it means that the store is estimating they won’t sell the product by its expiration date at its current price. If a meat product is set to expire on the same day you buy it, just cook it up that night.
