Adapted from MU Office for Financial Success, Financial Tip of the Week blog post by Dr. Rebecca J. Travnichek, AFC®, Family Financial Education Specialist, Camden County University of Missouri Extension
You don’t have to be an extreme couponer to save money on your groceries. Here are nine things you can do to save your family about $200 a month.
- Make a list and stick to it! Plan meals in advance and make your grocery list before you go shopping. This will help you avoid impulse purchases. Research shows that unplanned purchases can add an extra 20 percent to your grocery bill. Monthly savings = $50
- Paper or plastic? In reference to cash or credit, not which type of bags to use. Cash is preferable (see tip #3), but if you are going to pay with credit, be sure to use a card that offers incentives like cash back, rewards and instant discounts. However, if you rack up interest charges by not paying it off each month, you lose any savings it provided you. Monthly savings = $15
- Cash incentive. Research has shown that consumers who pay with cash spend 12-18 percent less than those who pay with credit cards. So leave the cards at home and take only enough cash to cover what you have budgeted for that trip. Monthly savings = $40
For the complete list of ways to save, see the full version of this article at http://missourifamilies.org/
