Conquering the Food Budget

One of the things that take some getting used to as a senior citizen is living on a fixed income. And even if you have a healthy retirement, investments, a 401K plan and Social Security benefits, when you stop working, your income comes out of that nest egg which is a diminishing bucket of funds. So, anything you can do to protect your money and economize means your money will last longer, be there for you when you have an emergency or be available for fun things which is what retirement is all about.

If you are able to continue to prepare your own food, you are already well ahead of the game because one big expense for any budget is the food budget. And if you are buying food for a spouse, older children still at home or you are helping to raise the grandkids, you can see a food budget that can get out of control. So it pays to come up with some tips for how to slash that food budget but do so in a way that does not hurt the quality of food you eat or feed your family.

The economy begins at home so you can do a lot before you even go to the grocery store by learning to use everything you buy. An investment in some quality storage units so you can keep leftovers fresh or keep fresh vegetables or fruits on hand will help you eat everything you buy and cut down on waste. In fact, if you like to garden, you can even take organic waste such as coffee grounds and apple cores and make your own compost which can go into your garden to grow your own food next spring.

But the key to saving money at the grocery store is to be a smart shopper. Remember that grocery stores stock lots of items that are made to appeal to people who want convenience over low prices. So you can save a lot of money by avoiding fast foods, frozen foods or “TV dinners” and buying the ingredients to make your own meals every day.

Being a smart shopper also means knowing when and where to shop and how to find the good values in food and grocery supplies at the store. Some core principles of smart shopping are:

·       If you can buy in bulk – do it. Most items are cheaper at the unit cost level if you buy larger quantities. So, if you can buy and store more food at once, you can take advantage of those savings.

·       Avoid impulse purchases. Stores carefully place items that are appealing so you will buy higher-priced items. Work from a list and stick to your list.

·       Slice your own cheese. Pre-sliced cheese comes at a higher price. Buy a good cheese knife, buy cheese in blocks, and slice it yourself.

·       Buy fresh produce. Fresh foods are not only better for you, but they are also cheaper.

·       Know your town. Each grocery store has certain categories they do best at outselling the others. Know what stores are good with produce, with meat and with everyday savings and create your shopping lists accordingly.

·       Know your store. Each week, your store marks down certain items in preparation for the weekend. Routinely they will slash the prices of fresh meat to get rid of last week’s supply in preparation for the higher-priced specials for this week. If you know when that stuff hits the shelves, you can score big savings and freeze what you buy to use over the next few weeks.

·       Know your items. Learn your price points of what is a good price for each item on your list. Try to buy under those price points so your budget is controlled.

·       Buy store brands.

·       Use coupons.

·       Leave the grandkids home. Children will add dozens of items to your shopping cart and slow you down. Leave them out of the picture and you won’t have to buy their impulse items and the trip will go faster too.

By being a smart shopper, you can stretch your food budget and see impressive savings on what you spend on groceries. And that helps you stretch your retirement savings which mean a longer more prosperous retirement and one that is more worry-free as well. And that is worth the extra effort.