With grocery prices on the rise it has never been more important for families to save money where they can. The prices of many basic staples have risen sharply in recent years, and that has left many people struggling to serve their families the nutritious meals they need.
Fortunately there are some relatively easy and painless steps families can take to trim their food budgets significantly without sacrificing either quality or nutrition. By changing the ways they plan and shop, smart consumers can save hundreds of dollars a month while still preparing tasty meals for those they love.
Build Your Recipes Around the Weekly Sales
One of the most effective cost savings strategies is to build the weekly recipes around what is on special at the store. This strategy allows shoppers to stock u p on products at a great price while significantly shrinking the cost of each meal.
Just about every grocery store features weekly specials, and stores frequently compete with one another to offer the lowest possible prices on the products shoppers buy most often.. In some cases stores use these weekly bargains as loss leaders – luring shoppers through the doors in hopes that they will purchase more expensive products with higher margins In other cases stores use these discounts to reward loyal shoppers who participate in the store’s loyalty card programs No matter what the reason for the sale, savvy shoppers can use these specials to create some great recipes.
Just consider one example to illustrate the point. Imagine the local grocery store is running a killer special on pasta, pasta sauce and fresh sausage. The smart shopper can use these great prices to build a week’s worth of delicious meals. The week may start with a great meal of fresh spaghetti and pasta sauce garnished with some delicious sausage. That leftover spaghetti can then be paired with a great sausage casserole or a delicious rice and pasta creation. Sausage sandwiches topped with a delicious homemade sauce can provide some great snacks, weekend meals or meals on the run. No matter what the combination those weekly store specials can be used to create some great meals for a very affordable price. Cooking extra meals and freezing them for later can make the savings stretch even further.
Consider Off-Price Grocery Stores
While store specials are a great way to build some delicious meals and save some serious dough, those specials don’t always come when they are needed. Many traditional grocery stores have started marking up their shelf prices to make their sales look better, and that means that the items not on sale can be quite costly. To combat these types of practices many smart shoppers are looking to off-price grocery stores and generic items to fill the gap.