6 More Ways To Save On Grocery Items This December

Everyone is always open to saving money, especially during Christmas season. The question is what type of bargain are you going to get. It could be the difference between saving money or spending time to get that great deal. 

Your spending budget doesn't need to be a big concern if you keep these grocery budget shopping tips. 

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1 Choose your supermarket. 

Sometimes, it's all about the location of the supermarket where you shop. While the most convenient supermarket will be the one nearest to your home, it may not always be the best place to shop for your budget. You may have to travel farther to get to a bigger supermarket but the time and effort you make may be worth the money you save.

Remember that a big supermarket chain will almost always be more budget-friendly than shopping at a smaller grocery. It's all about economics: a bigger chain can buy more items to sell for less and keep its costs down. A smaller shop may not be able to keep its prices low because it can't buy and stock up as many items like a bigger supermarket chain. 

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2 Choose generic brands for some items like sugar.

Not all supermarkets will have the same prices for the same items. It's not economical to go to another supermarket for just one or two items. However, the supermarket does carry more than one brand of your ingredient. This gives you a chance to change your mind about your choice and perhaps choose a more budget-friendly option. 

Keep your favorite ingredients on the list if you don't want to compromise a certain taste that you want but there are ingredients that you should consider buying from a generic brand such as regular sugar.    

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3 Store food properly and practice FIFO. 

What might be the biggest budget-breaker might not be what you buy. It might be you not storing your food properly which causes your food to spoil quicker. 

Storage of food is just as important as learning to eat and consume food that would spoil first. Learn the FIFO policy or "first in, first out" rule. All this means is it's best to use ingredients and eat food that was stored first rather than one that is fresher. 

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4 Be smart when buying bulk items. 

You can certainly go all out when shopping at the big warehouse supermarkets and membership clubs. However, it's still smart to learn which items are best for you to purchase in bulk. Remember and note which ingredients you consume quickly and those which you do not, so you know which of these ingredients is smart to buy in bulk. 

It's a good idea to remember that storage for serving will be important, so have bottles, containers, or jars to transfer as needed.

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5 Don't be afraid to go for budget meats cuts. 

Just like packaged ingredients, you can shop around the meat section, too. Choosing to buy budget meat cuts is learning to cook better. The tough cuts are commonly the most flavorful cuts. However, because it's a tough cut, these are the best for recipes that need to be cooked for a long time to tenderize the meat. Having equipment that can hasten the tenderizing cooking process such as a pressure cooker or a slow cooker will save you time and effort. Both will result in more tender cuts than it first went in.  

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6 Make a list and stick to it.

This might be the hardest money-saving tip. However, you have to learn to cut grocery items that might actually be a "want" rather than a "need". There are items on your grocery list that you just want so curate your list. Make it a budget-friendly list as well as a practical one.   

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