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The unstable economic situation has led to the fact that an individual or family is forced to save on food. No matter how sad it may sound, but you need to reduce the budget for certain foods in order to fully exist. To understand what is at stake, pay attention to the main aspects of saving.
How to save on food: shopping
Make a list
Take the habit of displaying on a piece of paper everything you need to buy. From now on, the list is the main ally. Without it, you will throw in an excess basket and spend a much larger amount.
To make a list correctly, create a weekly diet. It should include breakfast, lunch, afternoon snack, lunch, dinner, possible snacks (if necessary).
It is by this principle that all successful and healthy people eat. Then browse the products that you already have. Only list components that are missing for cooking. Do not get too much!
Check prices in different stores
It's no secret that every supermarket or store puts up a price for the same product. Therefore, the cost can sometimes vary very much. Indeed, various factors influence the final price.
Compare the pricing policy of stores in which you are used to buying. When compiling a list, specify in which supermarket this or that product will be bought. So you will save a lot.
Buy a week in advance
Of course, it’s very convenient to purchase everything in one grocery store. But do not be lazy and buy expensive goods in the supermarket, if the same is in the store around the corner, but at a lower price.
Take the habit of buying food for a week. Otherwise, tomorrow you will not have the ingredients from which to cook food. You will go to the store, and this will lead to unplanned expenses. In addition, near the house, products are more expensive.
Do not be lazy once a week to set aside time for a grocery trip. In this case, you should take a list of ingredients marked with what and in which market to take.
Keep your emotions
Keep yourself in control. You should not buy sparkling water (which you do not drink) just because there is a discount of 10-20 rubles on it. The same applies to other products not listed. Go around them.
Remember that the most expensive products are located at eye level. Therefore, when choosing, pay attention to the shelves located at the top or bottom. As a rule, products are cheaper in these places.
Focus
Studies have shown that buying any product is a pleasure. Food is no exception. When a person enters the store, he automatically begins to put in the basket all the products from the list or without.
Such an "autopilot" leads to the fact that closer to the checkout you have to clutch your head because too many unnecessary goods have been collected.
We advise you to concentrate and go only to the necessary departments before leaving for the hypermarket. If you need household chemicals, do not go to cosmetics.
Do not pay more for brand and packaging
Promoted brands usually ask for a larger amount for their products than those who have just entered the market.
Moreover, the high cost does not mean the quality of the product. On the contrary, the new manufacturer wants to earn a name for himself, therefore he produces goods that meet all the requirements. Do not pay for the name.
Beautiful packaging is, of course, good, but it does not cost 20% of the markup.Better take a less bright pack, transparent or plain, in which there will be the same quality products.
Refuse cutting and semi-finished products
Everyone knows the fact that sliced sausage / cheese / bread costs many times more. Is it hard to chop yourself? Not at all! Buy whole products, do not overpay for this.
Refuse semi-finished foods, ready meals, which should only be warmed up. Cook cutlets, dumplings, dumplings yourself. Make time for this at the weekend. Store the finished product in the freezer.
Buy for the future
There are various wholesale bases where you can buy products in bulk at a very attractive price.
Pay special attention to cereals, pasta, sugar, flour and other ingredients that will never be superfluous and have a long shelf life.
So, instead of one pack at the supermarket, you will buy two at a wholesale base. The benefits are there! You should not dissuade yourself with the words "I have nowhere to store all this", there is a place later. You can negotiate with friends and go to the bases together, everyone will pay for their own.
Have a meal before going to the store
This is the most important rule that must be put in first place. Before you go shopping, eat tight. Moreover, the meal should not only fill the stomach, but also bring moral satisfaction.
It is proved that a hungry person picks up a lot more products in the basket, because he thinks only about food. Moreover, it cannot be said that these same products will be useful. As a rule, snacks, buns, cakes, chips and other “muck” are used.
Use discount cards
Today, almost every store offers its customers to use discount cards. Moreover, they do not have to be paid.
Even in the latter case, you will pay a small amount once, but then you will enjoy discounts for a long time to come.
You should also connect a notification of new promotions via SMS. You will receive a message on the phone that soon there will be a promotion for sausages with a 40% discount, etc.
Compare product to price
Before buying vegetable oil with a volume of 950 ml. look at the same product for the same price, but with a volume of 1 liter. Extra 50 ml. help you out at the right time.
It is worth highlighting that you do not need to be afraid of expired products. Some manufacturers make a good discount when pasta or cereal aging is about to end. Naturally, this rule does not apply to milk and other perishable products.
Buy seasonal fruits and vegetables
In most cases, fruits and vegetables are grown in our country. Therefore, the cost of raw materials should not be high.
In cold weather, it is quite possible to purchase inexpensive apples, beans, vegetables. All components are suitable for a nutritious and tasty dish. In this regard, it is better to buy products in the market.
Give up the little things
When visiting supermarkets, often very attractive and useless goods are placed at the box office. However, our subconscious is eager to acquire them. Calm down and ignore the urge.
This is a marketing move, standing in line, you involuntarily begin to look at various little things. You are sure to be interested in them and unknowingly put them in the basket. Do not give in to such a temptation.
It is important to understand that a simple chocolate bar can be much more expensive, for example, 1 kg. flour or vegetables. In this case, standing at the checkout, you do not need to look around and look at various goodies.
Be careful at the checkout
After you put the products on the tape, carefully observe how they pierce the goods. The cashier can make a mistake and break something twice.
In large stores, the price may not match the product. Feel free to ask about why the amount exceeds the declared. Use the discount system.
After you paid for your purchases, carefully study all the items on the check. Perhaps one product will be broken several times. You should immediately file a claim. No one is safe from the mistakes of the cash register operator, so be careful.
Saving budget in the kitchen
- To minimize the budget spent on products, it is necessary to adjust the new diet in advance of going to the store. This way you can accurately imagine which products you need. Try to replace the usual components with cheaper ones.
- Pay attention to offal. Everyone understands that a juicy steak of red fish or beef can not be compared with a heart or liver. But offal can also be cooked deliciously. So you will periodically alternate the components of the new menu.
- If you spend enough time on the global network, you should visit culinary blogs more often. In them you can find recipes for preparing quite interesting and budget dishes. Create a separate folder on your desktop and save notes. Weekly menus and purchases can be greatly diversified.
- Try to cook almost all dishes and pastries yourself. Believe me, so the family budget will be reduced at times. Various drinks, milkshakes and sauces can be made with your own hands. If you wish, you can bake bread, which will be much tastier than purchased.
- When preparing meals, you should pay attention to the seasonality of vegetables. Familiar summer salads can be quite expensive in the cold season. Simple carrots and cabbage can also appear on the table as a vitamin dish.
- Do not cook for the future. Large dishes, as a rule, are not completely eaten and then fly into the trash can. You can find a way out. Do not cook new foods until old ones are eaten. Learn to cook evenly and wisely.
- Take the habit of always doing various workpieces. It's not about pickles. It is enough to start freezing vegetables, herbs, fruits and berries. Chop the components and pack them in a sealed bag or container. Send the raw materials to the freezer until better times. Fragrant herbs can always be at hand.
- Do not forget to use primarily products with a limited shelf life. As soon as possible, use fermented milk and similar products as directed. Thus, you will not encounter a problem of rotten and unapplied composition, which you simply throw out.
- It is important to store products correctly, do not forget about it. Always comply with the conditions recommended by the manufacturers. If necessary, stick stickers on which there will be a note that the product should be consumed in the coming days. The dried bread, in turn, can be used as crackers for salads.
Reducing the budget for food does not mean restricting yourself to everything. You can eat tasty, but pay less money for it. Keep track of your behavior in the store, always make lists and follow them. Do the blanks yourself.
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