After Holidays Saving Money Plan

ElitePersonalFinance
Last Update: September 14, 2021 Save Money

And we wish you to recover from holidays too, for they can be rather difficult to process both to your tummy and your wallet.

Indeed, if you had stood on your weight scale before and after holidays (and we are sure some of you have), you would know how much weight you gained during the holiday season. The mood is festive, and the food’s ingested at the speed of light. People regularly gain a couple of inches in their waist and consequently lose some inches in their wallets.

And now, a week after the holidays, you look yourself in the mirror and start disliking yourself. Wait until you open your wallet.

But not all is lost. After all, this is just another year that you have done it. If you follow our advice, you will quickly compensate for all the money you spent, which will get you halfway to your goal.

As for the extra inches in your waist… Sorry, but we are not fitness experts. If you want to lose some weight, go to some fitness websites, and you will surely find beneficial advice.

But from us, you will get a list of tips and tricks on saving money on food after the holidays.

Plan

As with every other kind of shopping, you should make a list of food items to buy before leaving your home. Just because food is not expensive, it doesn’t mean it will not be expensive if you don’t buy it wisely. People often forget this and later complain about how much they have spent.

To avoid spending too much money, make a shopping list. Open your fridge, freezer, cabinets, and wherever else you keep your food. When you see what’s missing, you should make a list of things you really need. Stick to the list while in the supermarket, and you will save a lot of money.

Another aspect of planning is your meals. Figure out what you want to eat, what kind of food you need, and how much of it you need. Not only will this make your shopping more practical, but it will also make you reconsider what you want to eat and perhaps cut on expensive, unhealthy, and unnecessary ingredients.

Eat before shopping. The scientists repeatedly confirmed that you are more likely to spend more money if you buy anything on an empty stomach. Now imagine how this pertains to shopping for food.

Finally, as inseparable from your children as you are, you shouldn’t shop together with them. Imagine a situation where you try to stick to your shopping list while your kid is throwing items over the shopping cart items.

First, you will be highly annoyed by this behavior and spend time explaining to your kid that this is not ok and return all of the extra items to the shelves. Moreover, you will probably allow them to keep some of the items they threw in. Consequently, your bill is increasing.

Again, don’t take your children to shop under any circumstances if you want to save money.

Eat at Home

After the holiday season is over, everything returns to normal. So should you.

That means no more eating at restaurants so often. Or at least not until the next holiday season. Restaurants, bakeries, junk food, and fast-food stands are a big no-no.

Yes, the food you eat there can be delicious, but it can be rather expensive. On the other hand, you can easily control your food expenses when you prepare your own food.

Also, the food that you prepare will (hopefully) be healthier than the food you buy at a fast-food stand. If this is not the case, consult one of the many food and fitness websites.

At The Supermarket

When you enter your local supermarket with just your shopping list, you stand good chances of actually saving money on food. Still, there are some steps that you should follow while at the supermarket, but these can be rather tricky.

Always buy in bulk. When you buy in bulk, things are almost always cheaper. Decide if you need some items in large quantities when writing the list and weigh your supermarket options. For example, you can buy larger quantities of meat and then cut it into pieces when you’re back home.

Buy cheaper items. If two items are of the same or similar quality, don’t go for your favorite one if it is more expensive. Falling for this means losing money. And your goal is to save it, remember?

Look for items at a discount. Not only should you decide cheaper option, but you should also look for discounted items. They are usually located in special places, for instance, at the beginning of each aisle.

Shop less often. We are talking about those major shopping ventures, like once fortnightly when you load your entire car with food. If you shop less often, you will learn how to use all of the food in your pantry before you go shopping the next time. Who knows, there might be enough food in there for five more meals.

Don’t be a snob. This is a cruel sentence and yet a useful warning. Avoid buying branded food, for it is much more expensive than the generic alternatives. You will hardly notice the product quality difference, but your bill will surely prefer the cheaper alternative over costly branded food.

This is a very exhaustive list of tips and tricks, as you can see. It starts with careful planning your shopping at home. This first step is usually a solid basis for all the following ones. Eating at home and sticking to your plan at the supermarket basically mean sticking to your plan and shopping list.

Within a month of following our advice, you will see that your financial situation is getting significantly better. Consequently, your waist will get significantly thinner. When this period is over, you need to remain careful not to return to your holiday food habits.

Of course, this doesn’t mean you should be stingy when it comes to food. You can surely be more relaxed, but you still need to pay attention to the amount of money spent on unnecessary and unhealthy food.

MEET THE AUTHOR

ElitePersonalFinance

Recommended Articles

AS SEEN ON