Have you sit down and think how much you spend on groceries?
Personally, I realized that the cash spent on groceries could be a substantial sum cumulatively.
Consumers spending have increased, obviously due to inflation which is 16 percent in Nigeria. An aspect that got the bad hit is the groceries segment, where Nigerians spend most of their cash.
Also, the emergence of e-commerce is another major indicator that consumers are now spending more than ever.
You can easily sit down, connect to your smartphone and enter your credit card details to make purchases on groceries. It’s pretty simple.
I was going through a blog post recently, and my attention gripped on what Kara said concerning groceries in the comment section. He was lamenting.
“I usually spend about $120/week at the grocery store for our family of 3 humans (adult female/adult male/5-year-old boy). That also includes pet supplies (1 small dog/1 cat) and our paper goods, some personal care products. I also budget $20/week for a fruit and vegetable co-op (Bountiful Baskets).
Approximately $560 a month which is right on the high end of the thrifty budget for a family of 3.
Because I work full-time, we eat more convenience foods than I’d like to admit and I don’t shop multiple stores. I have one list, one store, and shop once a week.”
The fact is that impulse purchases are like suckers that drain out the money in your pocket. This is why it is important to have a plan regarding what you need to buy.
The temptation of not buying stuff you never planned to buy is quite strong to resist.
What does this mean? It means that you should have a specific weekly or monthly budget for groceries. The more you avoid the number of times you shop, the better.
“Take stock of your pantry and freezer once a month to get a sense of what items you need and what you can skip buying, says Annette Economides, co-author of “Cut Your Grocery Bill in Half with America’s Cheapest Family.”
“You don’t want to get in a panic when you’re in the grocery store and impulse buys an item at full price only to go home and find you’ve already got it.”
Have you compared shopping alone and shopping with someone, probably your spouse, or your friend? If you have not, try the two options. Shop alone, and go for a group shopping, compare the scenarios afterward. You will realise that you saved more money when you shopped alone than the group shopping.
According to Marketing Science Institute study, about 65% of the items in our baskets when we team shop is unplanned, an eight percentage point increase over shopping alone.
Further, there are grocery items that are needed daily by consumers, what if you buy stuff like that to a great quantity. You can buy items that can last for months; it probably saves you time and money.
“Sales run through cycles, typically on an eight to12 week rotation,” says lifestyle and money-saving blogger, Leslie Lambert of Lamberts Lately found.
However, the amount of money allotted to your budget should be dependent of how much income you earn. You shouldn’t allow groceries to take over 10 percent of what you receive monthly.
Finally, have a budget, stick to it and avoid impulse purchases which will drain your money.
