Cutting Down On Shopping

Sometimes this seems easier said than done, however, I have learned to shop only for necessities and it not only saves me money at the checkout, but also the cost of gas for making extra "convenience" trips to the store.

I keep a magnetic note pad on my refrigerator now and write down the things that I need. I shop once per week and make a single trip to all the stores I need to go to in one trip. I shop only from the list and can guess about how much it is going to cost and only take enough money to cover the cost plus a few extra dollars just incase something is on sale that I will need soon. I leave the debit and credit cards at home to ward off putting extra items in the cart. I take advantage of buy one get one free items that I use as long as it isn't something that is going to sit in a cupboard for a while.

Discount stores like Big Lots and Aldi are also great for grocery shopping. Pasta, sauces, cereal, canned goods, and snacks are always much less than at the grocery store and most are name brands for those who dont like to buy off brands. When I learned that most off brands are actually made by name brand companies, I lost that phobia and now most of my grocery purchases are off brand items.