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My husband and I have prepared ourselves for the possibility that at some point we would not have as much money as we did for income. That time has come, well actually did come last year. But we have been shopping frugally for some time now. That’s got to be a plus for any family. We find the best buys in the best places. And yes, sometimes it costs a bit of gas. But if you weigh out what the gas cost is compared to the savings, well, it is good sometimes.
Our habit is to, once a month, go over 50 miles to a store that has a whole lot of savings. The problem now is…is it costing us more to go there. See, we buy for my Mom too and then deliver the groceries to her house which is 18 miles farther than our house. Do we get the savings we need? I don’t know anymore. It was when we started all this a few years ago but I am not certain of that now. Still, that store has things we cannot get around here. That’s a plus too but is it worth it?
That would be the question you have to ask yourself now that the gas prices are sky high and not likely to drop…ever. Oh, it will drop a bit sometime this fall, I’m sure. Possibly it will drop some for this winter. However, if history repeats itself, and it usually does, then we can expect higher and higher gas prices. So, how do we protect ourselves? We still buy smart. We still buy with the savings in mind. The list of supplies may change. It might have to. Ours did some years ago because we felt that we could not afford to buy the name brand items anymore. It was a good thing we did that. It was so worth it to learn how to shop cheaply then because it serves us well now. So, get ready to shop but shop efficiently and intelligently. Grab the energy pills and get out there because you’re going to need them by the time you get finished.
1) Stick to the store or generic brands as much as possible. Most of them are made by the same companies or “look alike” companies that want the brand to appear to come from a national brand. It sells better that way.
2) Despite the gas prices, go to more than one store and get the loss leaders if that’s part of your list. If not, leave it alone. Don’t buy just because it’s cheap. Are you ever going to use it? Don’t convince yourself that you will use it if you never have before. Buying on the spot just because you see something interesting is how the grocery bill goes up, up, up. Ask me how I know.
3) Now more than ever, do NOT go to the store hungry. It’s death to the bill at the register.
4) Make that list. Stick to it as much as you possibly can. Use the newspaper ads. Part of the list should include the sale items you need for the week or month. Don’t go to the store and “shop” without it.
5) When you go out, make your trip count. Go to all the places you want to shop in the one day. We go to two to three stores and usually the pharmacy. If we have a doctor’s appointment, it’s a shopping day too. Plan ahead. Don’t just go driving if you want your gas tank to stay nice and filled.
6) Do the best you can to find discount stores. They do not always have the best prices but they sometimes have some fantastic deals. Of course, that depends on today’s prices what anyone could now call a “fantastic deal”. But they are still out there.
The most important thing to remember is to plan and save. When you take several trips to buy small items, you use the precious gas that costs so much money right now. Combining it all into one trip saves a lot of gas dollars. Isn’t it about time to save that money and gas for other things?
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