Category: Budgeting

By John

In these times of financial uncertainty people are increasingly concerned with saving money, either to be able to afford something special, or to put their financial future on a more secure footing, or simply to make their day-to-day dollars stretch a little further.

Whether you are shopping for bananas or a sofa, there are ways to ensure that you get the best deal, or bargain. A combination of increasingly competitive retailers, increasingly savvy shoppers and the ubiquitous internet has spawned a whole new method of internet-based shopping. However, there are some bargains that you won’t find via your computer, so let’s look at those first.

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Old-Tech Shopping For Bargains

There are lots of professional and amateur traders or sellers who generally don’t advertise their wares online. You have to go and find them yourself, at estate sales, clearance sales, moving sales, yard sales, thrift shops and flea markets and more. Probably the best way to find out where such sales are taking place near you is to look in the local newspapers. You are sure to find some excellent bargains in all these places.

But be prepared to haggle!

One useful tip: it’s common practice for stall-holders or stores with clearance sales to put the pricier items or the ones they have difficulty in selling in a prominent position at the front. So go to the back and delve around for even better bargains.

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Away from these types of sales, if you are looking for a particular branded item, it may be worth calling the store direct to ask if they have any clearance or overstocking sales coming up. If you get a really good bargain you can always resell it yourself at a profit!

New-Tech Shopping For Bargains

If you don’t have a particular purchase in mind but are always on the lookout for a bargain, you should sign up for email newsletters giving details of available deals, and bookmark deal-of-the-day websites. Some websites will send you an alert if a deal comes up for types of product you have specified.

When you have decided on a particular item that you want to buy, you need to comparison-shop online. There are many websites that will help you – but remember that those websites derive their income from the retailers whose products they list, so you should visit several different websites to ensure balance. It’s also worth being patient, as prices of new items, especially gadgets, can drop quite quickly. Waiting for the off-season for some items will also produce better bargains. Another option is to look on eBay and similar sites for the cast-offs from early-adopters or those with buyer’s remorse – often almost brand-new goods for a bargain price.

Once you know what you want to buy, and have found the best price for it, you need to look for ways to reduce the price even further. If you purchase through websites with links to retailers they will often give a percentage cash back. Some credit card companies linked to retailers will do the same.

Then there are coupons. There are websites that will track them down for you, and coupon code aggregators that will help to tailor the coupon requirements for your particular purpose. Don’t forget to read the details on all coupons carefully, especially the validity period, expiry date, and any restrictions on usage. Clever use of coupons can turn even a bargain into a bargain.

All this can be done on-the-go as well, of course. There are smartphone apps that will do all the same research and comparison-shopping while you are on the ground. Snapping an item’s barcode with your phone camera speeds the process up.

All of this sounds like quite a hassle. But if you want a real bargain, you have to work for it!

Click here to compare bargains and save hundreds of dollars on credit cards, long distance, cell phones, Internet, mortgages, and much more.

By John

Just about everybody is keen to save money in these difficult times. There are the conventional strategies and methods…. Then there are the less-common ideas that people have come up with. Here is the list of our favorite tips that can help you save money in unusual or innovative ways.

At Home

*One person saves $18.50 buying a sponge from the bathroom department in place of a $20 squeegee from the auto shop for washing his car. *Another has given up all newspaper and magazine subscriptions and reads all the news online – via a free wi-fi hotspot. *A wife cuts her husband’s hair. Not sure if it works as well the other way round! *A space heater costing $20 can save 20 gallons of heating oil in a month. *Many people have started having a No-TV Day once a week. *Making sure that all closet doors are closed when the heating or cooling is on could save up to $50 a month. *A $40 investment in rechargeable batteries and the charger could save you up to $100 a year in batteries for remotes, torches and other gadgets. *Buying firewood in the spring can save $100 a cord come the snow. *A smart power strip costing around $30 can save you over $200 a year off your electricity bills. *A $55 water filter can save you over $350 a year in bottled drinking water.

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Buying/Spending

*Several families don’t buy new clothes, they swap what they have amongst themselves – adults and kids. *A couple giving up soda and smoking save $500 a month. *If you use two coupons – the store’s and the manufacturer’s – on a Buy One Get One Free offer, you get two items almost free. *You can live off free samples for a surprising length of time. *Some gas stations give away a free paper if you buy a minimum amount of gas. If you fill up on a Sunday you get the paper – and all the coupon inserts, for free. * For a minimum purchase amount, some stores give a discount of 20 cents per gallon if you fill up with their gas. Combine this with a credit card which gives a 5% rebate on gas purchases and you can save nearly 30 cents per gallon. *You can kill impulse buying by making a list of your shopping requirements, looking up the prices on the store’s delivery website, and taking the exact right amount of money with you when you go to the store. *Some people have one No-Spending Week each month.

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Out And About

*There are websites on which you can buy gift certificates for local restaurants. You can pay between $2 and $10 for a $25 discount on a $35 meal. *A zoo membership can pay for itself within two visits. *Many hotels have racks of flyers for tourist attractions. The flyers often contain discount coupons. *When ordering meals, give the kids’ menus a miss. The adult portions are usually cheaper or better value and you can divide them up for the little ones.

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By John

Who isn’t looking to save money these days? Whether you’re saving in order to buy something special, or set up a more solid financial future for your family, or simply to make ends meet, you have probably worked out a strategy on how to save to meet your goal. But while waiting for the big saving items to kick in, how can you start saving money right now?

Here is our list of favorite money-saving tips that you can action straight away. Taken individually they may only save a dollar or two here and another couple there, but they can all add up to quite a tidy sum. And they’re easy!

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Save On Transport Costs

You can do a lot of the basic maintenance tasks on your car yourself, such as changing the oil and rotating the tires. Using websites and apps on smart phones to help you find the cheapest gas may save you as much as 20 cents per gallon. Driving conservatively and, of course, making less trips through better planning, carpooling and walking or biking more will save you gas and save you money.

Save When Buying Stuff

You can save a lot by buying in bulk – and if you go shopping with friends, they can help split  bulk purchases up into more manageable proportions. Keep receipts – you never know when you may be entitled to cash back if an item goes on sale within a specified number of days after you purchased the same item. Making more use of thrift shops and yard sales will save you money. So will buying refills instead of buying new all the time. Give yourself a thinking-break of a week or a month before buying a larger item to see if you really need it or simply just want it. Buying generic rather than name brands is a sure way to save money.

And, above all, don’t be afraid to haggle!

Save On Food And Groceries

Cutting out prepared and convenience foods and making more of your own meals yourself will save a large amount. Ditto with those lattes from the coffee shop. Making a shopping list and sticking to it will limit unnecessary impulse purchases. It goes without saying that you should make maximum effort to comparison-shop and maximum use of coupons and any available discounts and rebates when they work for you.

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Save On Entertainment

Cutting back on eating out is undoubtedly a major way to save money immediately. It doesn’t mean having to cut back on your social life – just entertain more at home. It’s a lot cheaper and, if the idea catches on, who knows, your friends will probably appreciate the savings too when their turn comes round to do the hosting. Making more use of the library for free books and DVDs and music will enable you to drop some expensive services and TV channels which will save you an appreciable amount of money each month.

Save On Trips

Hotels are more open to negotiation than they pretend – especially as it gets late in the day. Just try asking for a cheaper rate. If you can juggle the dates with the kids’ holidays, try to take vacations off-season, and fly at off-peak hours; both are money-savers. Talking of vacations and hotels – what about camping for a change?

Closer to home, you can cut out visits to the gym and expensive personal trainers and save a bundle by finding somewhere local to jog, and exercise in your own home. There are several excellent free smartphone apps which will help you plan and carry out circuit-training, and the yoga-type exercises.

Maybe some of these tips won’t work for you, but the majority are within your control and are some of the best suggestions we know to help you save money quickly.

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By John

The cost of lighting is estimated to account for 25% of the bill for energy consumption in the average American home. You can make a big saving on this item – will do eventually, actually, as it is just a matter of time before you make the necessary move.

The old incandescent bulb has been around forever, is cheap, familiar and available everywhere – but is rapidly becoming a dinosaur. It was first upstaged by the compact fluorescent light (CFL), which brought many benefits yet has still to be embraced by many consumers. Rapid research and development has already produced a viable successor to the CFL – the light emitting diode (LED). There is little doubt that the LED will become the standard bulb of the future, however people are still uncertain at this stage, if they are planning to change at all, whether to upgrade to the middle-ranking CFL or to take the plunge and go straight for the LED option. It is the classic ‘spending-to-save’ dilemma.

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Out With The Old

The old incandescent bulb is still in use in the majority of homes. It is cheap to buy (and replace, which is something that needs to happen quite frequently), does its job well enough, as long as you don’t buy it from a low-quality foreign manufacturer, and is far more expensive to operate than its successors.

In With The New

The CFL costs more than twice as much as the incandescent bulb, but lasts ten times longer, and uses around a third of the energy for the equivalent amount of light. It releases around two-thirds less carbon dioxide. It comes in all shapes and sizes.

The CFL has drawbacks. It can be temperamental in extremes of temperature, takes time to warm up from a cold start, and rapid switching on-and-off shortens its life-span. Because it contains mercury it is hazardous if broken and troublesome to dispose of in an eco-friendly way.

In With The Newest

The LED costs ten times more than the CFL but lasts up to ten times as long, and uses less than a third of the energy. It releases half the amount of carbon dioxide. It comes in all shapes, sizes, colors and throw-patterns. It emits little heat, is impervious to temperature extremes, is unaffected by rapid on-off switching, and contains no mercury. Disposal is not a problem – in fact, components of the LED can be recycled.

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So When Will You Make The Move?

It’s just a question of doing the sums. Take the life-span of the longest-lasting bulb, the LED. Take the number of incandescent and CFL bulbs you need to purchase over the life-span of the LED (the initial purchase plus the number that will need to be replaced). Multiply that by the unit cost per bulb. Multiply that by the unit cost of electricity in your area against the energy consumption of each bulb. And the answer will probably show that if you replace, say, 25 incandescent bulbs with CFL ones, you should save several thousand dollars, and more if changing to LED. The average life of a typical LED is quoted as 50,000 hours or more so even if you have your lights on for 12 hours per day (we hope not!), that means that these savings can be achieved within about 3 years.

The initial expense of replacing incandescent bulbs with CFL or LED will obviously deter many people from making the change. However, making the change now will start the process of saving you money in the long run, and as the cost of LED bulbs comes down, will save you even more money on your lighting bill in the future.

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By John

Everything is going up these days – food, gas, energy, theatre tickets – you name it. Except, sadly, our incomes. Saving money to a greater or lesser degree is becoming a priority for most people. Here is the list of our favorite Tips For Saving Money.

Cash And Money Management

The first priority should be to pay off your debts, starting with the easiest and smallest ones first. Then you need to examine your credit card usage. Save money on ATM fees by going to your bank instead. Try to get a rate reduction on your credit card – then pay off the debt. Use cash whenever possible and just leave the credit card at home.

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Move to a bank with lower maintenance fees and better interest rates on checking and savings accounts.

Consider moving to a cheaper state or area, or to a smaller house. Rent out any spare space you have. Ferret out and use all the old stuff in your house, or sell it.

Be willing to buy more used stuff. Make best use of thrift shops, eBay and yard sales.

Time your buying. Do seasonal holiday shopping immediately after the holiday is over. Buy perishable foods like bread and salads in the evening when they will be discounted.

Don’t over-indulge your kids with expensive toys.

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Home

Save money by buying a used car that is reliable and fuel-efficient. Keep it well-maintained, do more of the basic maintenance yourself, and drive conservatively. Make less trips by planning ahead, and walk or bike or use the bus more.

Turn off/switch off running water and appliances when you’re not actually using them. Buy appliances for reliability and value, not necessarily the cheapest, and keep them clean. Seal your home against leakage of heating and cooling. Use programmable thermostats and turn the heating down by a degree or two, and the air-conditioning up by a degree or two, from the level you are used to. Replace your old incandescent light bulbs with CFL or LED ones. You could even take cold showers….

When shopping for the home, go for value rather than price. Sign up for free customer loyalty and rewards programs and use coupons as much as possible as long they apply to products you were going to buy anyway. Cut down on the fast foods, prepared meals and deliveries, and make more of your own meals instead. Be prepared to plan your menus around what is on sale at the time. Cook in big batches and freeze what you don’t eat immediately. Try your hand at growing your own vegetables if you have space for a garden.

Buy refills instead of new whenever possible. You can actually make many of your own detergents and cleaning products.

Entertainment

You can save a good deal of money by cutting out things that you don’t need or under-use (same thing, in effect): magazine subscriptions, gym and golf memberships. If you can’t drop them, at least try to get a cheaper rate.

Eating out less will save you – what – $60 or more for each meal? Why not invite your friends round to your house for a meal instead of eating out (they may also be trying to save money!).

You can make better use of the library for books, music and DVDs. This will help you to reduce the amount you spend on cable TV. Drop channels and services you don’t need or use, the same thing on your cell phone plan – it will all save money. Watch less TV and make more of your own entertainment – or read more books, or go to a park or museum.

Maybe not all of these tips will work for you, but they are certainly a good starting point for anyone seriously interested in saving money.

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By John

The average American household’s monthly cable bill is reckoned to be $75. With costs rising by at least 5% annually (outstripping inflation), it won’t be long before it reaches $100 per month. No wonder people who are already looking for ways to save money are increasingly wondering how to reduce their monthly cable bill. The trouble is, cable is mostly provided by a few big companies who to a large extent are able to dictate their own terms. They may say they are being squeezed by their partners but that is little comfort to us, the consumers.

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Most people have a triple play cable package, comprising telephone, high-speed internet and TV services. Of these, TV is usually by far the most expensive component. This is obviously the main area where you should be looking for a reduction, and there are 3 ways to approach it that we recommend.

Ask For A Better Deal

The cable provision business is highly competitive and companies have devised multiple different plans, schemes, packages and promos to attract new customers. Having attracted customers they are keen to hold onto them. They have dedicated loyalty or retention departments devoted to this, whose staff have a wide degree of discretion over what reductions they may agree to. So if you call your cable company to ask for a better deal, make sure you get the right department. Before calling, be clear in your own mind what you want from them and what you are prepared to accept. For instance, can you drop some of your extra channels to reduce the bill, or would you accept an extra channel or two for free? (If you do, make sure you know how long the arrangement will last for.) Discuss your billing in detail, as there may be line items on there that you were not aware of and can do without.

Depending on how this works out, you may need to get a little tougher in your negotiating. Bear in mind that the company is possibly keener to keep you as a customer than you are to remain one. Ultimately, of course, you unleash your ultimate weapon – threaten to drop the TV component altogether (assuming that you are happy with the internet and phone service and want to continue these). If that doesn’t produce the solution you are seeking, then drop it. You have alternative options.

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Shop Around

Ask your friends and family what they pay. Compare deals from other providers online – there are a few websites which will analyze your requirements and usage and find the best available deal for you. Detailed research like this will almost certainly throw up a better deal than the one you have and will result in a reduction of your monthly cable bill.

Still Not Happy?

Then it’s time to get out of cable TV altogether. You have a number of options:

• Streaming services. There are several available. This way you don’t pay for channels you don’t want, although you won’t get all the network shows you may be used to. It’s a monthly subscription and cheap to cancel, so you are not tied up to a long-term contract that is expensive to get out of. A streaming box costs around $100. You can combine this with one of these:
• HD TV Antenna, which costs around $20 and will pull in your local channels and other live broadcasts, for free.
• DVD by mail. This method will save you a lot of money in a month.
• Use your library. Cheap DVD rental, including new releases.

If you can’t negotiate a better deal with your cable company – and you are in quite a strong position – then go for an alternative. Either way you will achieve a significant reduction in your monthly cable bill.

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By Dr. Kavita

Budgeting money needs some special skills, but sadly not everyone has these skills to perfection. But as the old saying goes,” Necessity Is The Mother Of Invention” and when you are faced with acute money crunch, you automatically become an expert at creating some terrific strategies to budget money.

Here are some budgeting strategies that could work:

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Don’t always buy new

Buying new or first hand is no more the trend nowadays. With majority of households facing a cash crunch, thanks to our economic policies and the recessions, I guess every one now values the current inclination of sharing, re-using and using “pre-owned items”. This not only helps you save money but also will help the environment by cutting back on wastage and reducing the usage of fresh raw materials in creating new products.

Avoid expensive entertainment plans

Entertainment is one activity out of the numerous activities in your life where you can freely cut back on spending money, without going over the guilt trip. It won’t kill you if you cut back on entertainment all together. But if you feel that you cannot go to that extreme, and actually qualify to be entertained at least once in a month, then adjust to getting entertained at cheaper places and locales.

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There are so many amusement parks that offer entry free for children, and it really does not make a great difference between the paid and the free ones as far as kids are concerned (they only want to have fun). Adult entertainment can also be found cheap at second run movie theaters, where the ticket prices are down by almost 90%. So go and enjoy a second run flick over there.

Reduce your shopping trips

No matter how hard you want to argue with me on this point, but the more you visit the mall or the stores, more will be your tendency to spend and splurge. This holds good even if you think you will rush to the store to get just one item, because then you inevitably end up buying three more and taking many such unplanned trips to the store or mall each month is a definite recipe for budget failure.

Discipline yourself to do a mega shopping trip only once or twice in a month and before your trip, sit down and prepare a detailed list of all the necessities and provisions that you will need, taking care not to forget even a single item.

Collect coupons

Finally, there are the coupons that we all so dearly love. What would we do without them, right? Collecting coupons and getting discounts from them is a method to save money on your shopping that I usually recommend very highly to everyone.

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By Dr. Kavita

When people hear tips that describe how to save money on groceries, they just jump to their own conclusions that these tips sure would involve some cutting back on the essentials and it is well known fact that nobody likes to cut back when it comes to food and health.

But the tips that I am going to describe here, definitely do not involve any sort of cutting back on essential food items and neither do they suggest eating cheap food that could affect your health.

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Buy produce that is grown locally

It always makes lot of sense to buy produce that is grown locally. The first benefit is that it is quite cheaper when compared to exotic products that are imported from other countries or foodstuffs that come from outside the state.

The second benefit is that such food stuffs are usually more healthy, because they do not have to be packed, processed and preserved like the ones that are flown in from outside.

The third benefit is that the locally grown products are comparatively fresher than the ones that are transported from places outside, for the reason that they appear in the stores without much of a delay after they were collected from the farms.

Be selective when you buy organic foodstuffs

Organic food has become the rage since the last decade and there are many families in the US that are spending considerable amounts of money on buying organic food for their loved ones.  If you want to save money, but still are reluctant to take a risk on the health of your family members, you now have a wonderful solution.

The Environmental Working Group says that there are certain vegetables and fruits that have higher levels of pesticide content (when compared to the rest) like apples, celery, spinach, strawberries, bell pepper and peaches. Buying just these items from the organic counter and the rest of the veggies and fruits from the non-organic counter will cut your grocery bill by a considerable amount each month.

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Buy in bulk

Meat and meat products are on the top of the list of items that can be bought in bulk without fear of going bad within a reasonable time period. You just need to store them carefully in the freezer and use as needed. Other stuff that can be bought in bulk without worrying about their expiry dates are sauces, ketchups, noodles etc.

Avoid packaged and processed food stuffs

No matter how many times we read or hear about the bad effects of packaged, processed and preserved food on health, we still are connected to such foodstuffs in a major way. I am sure that none of us can pass a single day of our lives without having at least one processed or preserved item popping up on our food table. Try staying away from these stuff as much as possible as they inflate both your grocery bills and your waistline!

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By Dr. Kavita

Saving money is one of the topmost priorities for the majority of the population. Well, why should not people save money? After all, saving is a good habit. But there is a general impression that saving money entails sacrificing certain things. And not everyone who wants to save money actually wants to do so at the cost of living life by cutting the edges.

Folks, who are accustomed to living life large, dislike the mention of foregoing their comforts and luxuries, all in the name of saving some money. But today’s post will try to find out practical ways to save money without having to forego any of the comforts and luxuries.

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Start with the basics

As always, we start with the basics and the basics of human life is intricately connected to food. Saving on food will make a considerable difference to our monthly budgets, because it often forms the major source of expenditure for most of us.

If you are out of your house for lunch every day (owing to your work or college), buying food from your favorite fast food joint or nearest deli is the commonest solution. Eating outside can not only ruin your health but also causes a huge dent in your monthly budget.

But nobody is asking you to give up lunch or tasty food either. Just carry your own home made lunch to work/school. Homemade food can be modified to suit both your taste buds and budget and contribute towards your health as well.

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Make the most of discount coupons

You can get online discount and deal coupons for almost everything nowadays. Make sure that you collect your coupons and use them to save money on all your purchases. But a word of caution is needed here.

Some folks just do not know to draw a line between a true discount and a wasteful hoarding.  Just because there is a coupon available for something, does not mean that you should buy it. Use your coupons only for stuff you truly need.

Buy in bulk

There are certain items that you need a lot throughout the month and with regular frequency every month. Buy such stuff at bulk sales to get the best savings. Just like the discount coupons it is easy to misuse this money saving tip. Buy only that stuff that will not be wasted if bought in bulk. A good rule of thumb is to avoid buying perishable items in bulk, no matter how frequently you think you will use it.

Look out for expiration dates because bulk deals are commonly given as a part of stock clearance discounts. You would be wasting money instead of saving any, if you found that the expiry date is before the anticipated use of the product.

You do not always have to sacrifice your comforts to save money; it only takes some intelligent planning.

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By Dr. Kavita

Grocery items form an important part of our monthly budgets. Reducing costs related to grocery items will have a huge impact on your monthly budget and that is exactly why today’s post is all about six effective ways to lower your grocery bill.

Make a list of essential items

The single most important factor that contributes toward a higher grocery bill is shopping without a list. Impulsive grocery shopping is dangerous and can inflate your bills very rapidly. And the fact is that you will more often than not end up with stuff that you either did not need in the first place or worst still, do not need at all.

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Compare brands

A single item like tomato sauce can be priced differently by different brands. It makes good budgeting sense to compare the prices across various brands when you are buying an essential item on your grocery list. If the quality is comparable, then the cheapest of all brands qualifies to be your choice.

Try store products instead of brands

If your local store has its own line of products, it will always save you a considerable amount of money if you buy those products instead of the branded one. I suggest that you start shopping at a local store that has a number of its own products.

Try cheaper alternatives

There are a number of food items that can be prepared at home for a cheaper price than buying them at a store. The only advantage in buying store products is that you get to save time. But if you have time, then you should definitely opt for the cheaper option and get them prepared at home. Some of the commonest examples are tomato sauces, pasta sauces, jams, French fries and so on.

Skip to cheaper foods

We are all aware of how certain foodstuffs seem to be quite expensive and often overshadow the other items in the grocery bill. For example fish and meat are more expensive than vegetables and fruits are more expensive than vegetables. Even if you cannot or do not want to skip expensive food stuffs entirely, you can buy the more expensive stuff less frequently throughout the month.

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Eat local foods

While there is no doubt about the exotic value of the imported food stuffs, they are more expensive when compared to the local produce. Try to use local food preparations as much as possible.

Following these six steps will help to lower your grocery bill by at least 35 %.

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