Living alone in your space for the first time is a great feeling to enjoy the freedom after years of hard work finally. You no longer need a roommate to manage the expenses with shared bills and spending. However, the other financial goals will require you to continue the savings from your limited income.
Grocery is an essential expense that can help you save some serious money with the right strategy. You will spend a considerable portion of your income every month on visits to the grocery store. And the strategy to save money is similar to the ones you may have adopted while living with your previous roommates.
Read also: The Ultimate Guide for Solo Living
Challenges of the First Few Months
You may require a few months to settle down with the major change in your lifestyle while living alone. The responsibility to manage everything on your own is overwhelming during the initial period. However, things will come easy to you once you find the right approach to manage the different expenses.
Your financial condition may face troubles with the increased expenses and one-time payments. You have to pay the deposit for the home, personalize the interior, and insure your belonging to move in. Prepare yourself for these new expenses with enough savings in your account to manage them.
You may not find the time to prepare yourself for these expenses because of an unavoidable situation. It is common for people to face financial troubles during the first few months. You can apply for doorstep loans in Ireland to manage the expenses outside your budget.
Tips for Grocery Shopping While Living Alone
Your shopping list will go through major changes with lesser items and quantities. Still, the strategies are somewhat the same, with less focus on bulk purchases. Here are some tips to save money during your first visit to the grocery store after starting to live alone.
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Find the Right Formula
You can join an online community of smart buyers to find everyone has the formula to save money. They come up with creative ways to keep the bills within the budget. Spend some time in search of these formulas with a very specific shopping list and budget.
Always check the weekly plan and the available items in your house before visiting a grocery store. Do not carry credit cards while buying items as it may give a false sense of increased affordability. And more importantly, stick to the list no matter how delicious the items on top shelves may look.
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Buy Fresh Ingredients
Frequent visits to the grocery store are a waste of time, money, and effort. Buying everything in a single visit is possible if you create a detailed plan. But many people forget the importance of products with a longer shelf life in saving money and needless trips to the market.
Therefore, look for fresh ingredients for your food to fill your refrigerator for the next few weeks. It will help reduce food wastage to save money on the items that end in the dustbin. Furthermore, you will have the option to try new recipes from online platforms such as YouTube and Pinterest with the available ingredients.
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Opt for Generic Brands
The value of products from known brands is known to us with an added assurance of their quality. However, it makes no sense to pay them the extra amount just because of the name on the packaging. You should always look for generic alternatives to save money with the same product in your cart.
You can find the product with almost the same quality, taste, and quantity at a reduced price. It can result in major savings to add a few of your favorite products. Or, you can use the savings from generics to buy the branded product with an actual difference.
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Stay Ahead of Grocery Stores
Grocery stores use various sales techniques to make the customers buy products outside their shopping list. They will make the best use of impulse buying methods to add a few small items to increase their revenue significantly. However, you should always stay one step ahead of these age-old practices with research and help from the experts.
Another common technique to boost sales is the use of top shelves for expensive or underperforming products. Check the bottom shelves for a product with more value for money. Walk in the farthest section of the store to find the products at a cheaper price with high popularity.
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Buy Items in Bulk
This may sound like a contradiction to a point made above while explaining the change in approach while shopping for yourself alone. You should buy items in bulk to save money but after serious consideration. They may end up in the storeroom way past their expiration date because of your limited consumption.
Certain categories of products are the best fit for bulk purchases, such as toiletries and personal care items. Sellers want to clear the stocks near their expiration date in clearance sales, and it makes no sense to buy them for a long period. Though, you should not miss the sales on the product with longer shelf lives since you can get quick loans in Ireland.
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Adopt Vegetarian Diet
A vegetarian diet is associated with numerous health benefits for people of different age groups. You can adapt it to make your diet healthy and lose some extra weight when combined with an exercise schedule. Furthermore, the alternatives to meat for vegetarian is cheaper to cut the grocery bills.
The switch to a vegetarian lifestyle may sound extreme because of the major changes in your eating habits. But it is worth the efforts with better health and major savings.
Conclusion
To sum up, the common strategy to save money on groceries will remain almost the same if you are living alone for the first time. Though, you need to make slight changes to suit your habits and budget. You will get comfortable with the new lifestyle after a few visits to the grocery store with more control over your decisions.