Make Money by Shopping Less

Posted by LivingProvident on Sep 23rd, 2009 | no comments

Grocery Cart

The day I got control over my finances was the day I learned not to go shopping!  How can you get away with that you ask?  As you know, we all have to go shopping at some point to purchase the goods that we need.  I agree and for many years I went shopping weekly and spent more than I had planned almost every time on stuff  that I did not need or even really want, but it looked good at the moment and I had money in the bank so I bought.

Have you ever heard someone say “Don’t go grocery shopping on an empty stomach”.  Well it is true and if you go shopping multiple times per month it only becomes truer.   In addition, stores and shopping areas are well practiced in the art of enticing consumer purchases.  So, what is the best method to avoid purchasing temptation?  Just avoid shopping as frequently.

I came upon this knowledge by accident.  Each week I would load the kids into the car and head to the grocery store.  I had to take the time to pack them into the car, unpack them into the store and in the cart, walk through the store saying “don’t touch that”, “don’t walk over there”, “stay close”, “stop crying”!  Well needless to say I did not like it.  So instead of buying enough food to last one week I started purchasing enough to last two weeks.  It was nice only having to go shopping once every two weeks and soon I realized that there were a few extra bucks in the bank account that I usually did not have this time each month.  At first I did not realize why but as I continued my new routine it dawned on me why.

When I began only going shopping once every two weeks I needed to buy items in bulk and things that lasted longer.  I used Costco at first, but realized that the fee that they charged for the card outweighed any benefit that I gained by going there.  Here in Washington we have a wholesale store that is also opened to the public.  It is called Cash and Carry.  There is no charge to shop there as at Costco and they have everything (minus the clothing, books, movies, tools, etc… which were a lot of frivolous and wasteful items my money was spent on).  By purchasing in bulk I can get a few weeks and months supply of everything except a few little things for the kids such as milk, bread and eggs that I will still buy weekly… Except when I get really ambitious and bake my own bread or if it is late enough in the year that my freezer is getting depleted enough to put a couple of loaves of bread in.  Also, we really like to purchase boxed Vanilla Soy Milk.  It is yummy and lasts for a very long time.  Lastly, if I have the Powdered Egg mix in my food storage I can go a really long time without going to the store.

Finally, I decided to analyze the money I spent every week with the amount I spent every two weeks and I found that it was less.  Why?  Well I am looking at it statistically ( I separated the needs with the wants or junk food).  Generally when we are shopping we end up getting more than what is on our list in the form of cool stuff like “junk food”.  That kind of stuff has a cost in money and in time.  Usually junk food or cool stuff has really neat packaging but no durability.  We can eat it and it goes really fast.  For example, a bag of potato chips versus bag of rice.  The rice last way longer than the chips making the expense a more economical purchase for the family and therefore saving money.  By eliminating the junk food we have saved huge.

Don’t just take my word for it, try it for yourself.  Going to the store less saves you money in the long run.  Once I determined that this was the case I had to go even further and push out my visits to the store to even less frequently.  I figured if I could save some money shopping every two weeks that I could save even more if I only shopped once a month.  So I made it happen and wha-la, more money in the bank.

To do this I first had to get my food storage up to speed.  I began by purchasing all of the staples that we eat in bulk, items like rice, flour (we went with whole wheat), sugar, brown sugar, instant potatoes, gravy mixes, dried re-fried beans, dried carrots and onions, drink mixes, noodles, spaghetti, oatmeal and pancake mix.  I then use a seal-a-meal and sealed them in small air tight portions and stored them in dark buckets in a cool place.  Now they last a very long time.  I  purchased enough for a one year supply for our family of four.  There are other items as well, but I have found that it is better to purchase and store only those items that you know how to cook and that you know your family will like to eat.  By having these items in storage I am able to go for longer periods of time without having to go grocery shopping except for things like whole milk that I like to purchase for my young boys.  In the past I was spending about $200 per week at the grocery store or close to $800 per month.  Now I spend $300 one time per month and another $20 or so for the rest of the month.  Wow, that is a savings of about $480 per month.  That is money in the bank.

Think about all of the money you could save by simply planning ahead and going less often.  I still get some junk when I go to the store, it seems to be an impulse that even I cannot master.  My son’s and I have a weakness for cookies and ice-pops.  Luckily the junk we get lasts only about a week so for the remaining three weeks all the food that is in the house is good food that is good for me and I am not snacking so much between meals on easy food.  I consider easy food items that are microwavable or open a package and eat, these items are generally not as healthy and require little or zero preparation required.  So basically because I am shopping less it has made it easier to avoid the junk food.

Take the time to plan ahead and get your shopping mastered at once a month.  Save time and money for important things that you can do for and with your family, like savings, paying down debt or some extra gas money to head to the lake or camping and spend some well earned time with the family!  Good rule of thumb if the food you are eating is a no prep food, just unwrap and eat then it is probably not only bad for you but it is not saving you any money.

If I can figure out a better way to go shopping and avoid buying those yummy cookies I like to get I will let you know, until then shop less and save money.  Oh yeah, be sure to not shop hungry because you will be more likely to purchase junk food.

Advice:  Take it slow do not think you can master this in one month, it takes time.  I have been at this plan for about 2 years now and think I have it down to a pretty good art.

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