When it comes to grocery shopping, most people think they’re experts. However, there are some tricks for saving money which most people consider, but sometimes they are not as effective as others. Like in many other areas, when you try to spend less, we tend to search what is easy and immediate. What we should do is to focus on what will give us the best result with less effort.

Through this article, we are going to tell you some tricks which work very well during grocery shopping. There are some which you can put into work pretty quick, while there are others which require more time to be put in practice.

1. Choose The Best Supermarket You Can Find

When choosing the best supermarket for your purchases, give priority to cheap ones instead of those who have more offers. While offers can help you to save some money, you are only capable of doing it when you know how to take advantage of them, and most people are not well informed about them.

There are some cases where some offers will make you spend more than what you expected and end up with unnecessary stuff. There are plenty of options out there, and it doesn’t mean you have to visit every supermarket in the city to get to know which one is best; you can look for information online.

It’s important to choose the best supermarket when it comes to saving money.

2. Make a list of your purchases

Throughout many of our articles, we have told you to make a list of your purchases. While the idea may be seen as repetitive, it is one of the most effective tricks. What you should do is to make a list of everything you’re going to buy, and stick to it no matter what happens. This way, you won’t buy things you don’t need.

Another thing you can consider is to visit the page of the supermarket and make a list with all of the necessary things you’re going to need each week or month. This way, you’ll only have to log in and make your purchase. Not only you’ll be saving money, but also time.

More Tips For Saving Money You Can Use

Make sure you’re not hungry before you go to the supermarket. We don’t have to think this thoroughly, because we tend to spend more on food when we’re hungry. This way is effective, and will also be useful for your well-being.

Be loyal to your supermarket. This way, you can earn points (if they have them available) and you may get discounts after you become a usual customer.

Take advantage of technology. In the modern-day, technology offers us many perks which we didn’t have the last century. Now, it is easier to complete purchases and many other common activities with just a tap. This applies to purchases as well. Most of the time, these apps are available for almost any kind of device, and they don’t take too much space on your phone. They are commonly simple, and very user-friendly, with customer support also available in most cases.

Learning how to manage your expenses is one of the first steps you must take to start saving money. Grocery shopping doesn’t have to be a nightmare. Spending more than what you earn has a negative effect on your economy, which is why you must learn how to manage your purchases properly instead of just recklessly buying. Buying online helps a lot to save and most people recommend reaching the minimum purchase so the delivery doesn’t cost anything. You can also try buying different products in different places.

Every month, a certain amount of money should go to all the things you have prioritised on your list. That’s the ideal thing to do. However, not all the time is possible. Remember, all your savings must have a reason, and an emergency fund is definitely one of the most important.

When you have an emergency fund, you have a certain sum available at all times because you don’t know when it can come in handy. This money should not be used for investing, because you may lose more when you try to withdraw it after something happens. What is recommended is to have the emergency fund savings in a remunerated account because they have fewer interest rates, which means it won’t lose its value easily. Keep in mind you are saving this money for emergencies, for example, a medical procedure.

Having an emergency fund is as important as investing. However, in both cases, most people don’t know where to start. Through this post, we’re going to tell you some tips to start an emergency fund.

1. First Step: Make A Budget

When you make a budget, you’ll be able to know:

• How much money you are currently earning
• How are you earning it
• If there’s a way to have an extra income
• How much are we spending, and what are we using the money for
• If some expenses must be cut

This is one of the most basic tools you can use for almost any financial procedure. It serves as a way of knowing if your incomes are more than your expenses, and vice versa.

2. Second Step: Determine How Much Money Do You Need

There isn’t a certain amount which should be saved; it all depends on your needs and your current situation. Ask yourself: What would happen if I suddenly don’t have a source of income? What kind of things might happen in the future? (For this question, consider things like repairing your car, or even helping a loved one through a difficult situation, like chronic illness)

Unlike other savings, there is some feasibility when it comes to an emergency fund, and you are the one who’s managing it, so you can trust your money will not suffer great consequences in the short or long-term.

3. Third Step: Learn How To Manage Your Emergency Fund

When you start a savings account, you must know what you will do with that money. This applies to the emergency fund as well, and the first thing to do after you know how much you will save for it is to deposit it somewhere. Like we mentioned above, we recommend saving it in a remunerated account because the interest rates of them are not very high, and your money won’t lose too much value over time. You could also consider taking out a loan to get you through any difficulties should you not have an emergency fund available.

When you are managing money, you should consider risk, cost-effectiveness and liquidity. However, keep in mind these factors not always will be in your favour, they depend on the current situation of the market and they are constantly changing, so you must pay close attention to whatever is happening right now regarding the economy.

There is a lack of information when it comes to savings. Most people think it is enough to just save it in a current account, but by doing so you’re putting yourself in a risk situation. Remember, an emergency fund is meant to be used only during events where a determined sum is required; therefore, investing isn’t an option when it comes to this amount.

When people invest, they must know they are taking some risks, because doing it means you may lose a part of your savings. While most people know that, not everyone knows why it is so dangerous to not invest. Not doing anything with your earnings is hurting your economy in ways you have no idea about. If that’s your case, you can be sure you’re losing money.

People think of the markets as their main enemy, but it is not. Just like human beings, money ‘gets old’ through time because it is affected by inflation. Inflation can be defined as the increase in prices of goods and services, and it is used to measure the evolution of the cost of living. This means every day your purchases will cost more, and your money will have less value because, with the same amount of money you currently have, you won’t be able to buy as many things as you can right now in the future.

This is why inflation is so dangerous, and why it is so important to invest your savings. Even if you think what you currently have saved is not much, there’s plenty of time for you to start investing.

When you don’t invest, you’re wasting opportunities

When you have money stuck in your account, you’re losing great opportunities of earning more. When you don’t invest, you’re wasting chances of earning a lot of money and become successful. However, before starting to invest, you have to do it properly. Not doing it without a plan may have a bad effect on your economy. For this reason, you must gather as much information you can about the matter before starting to invest.

It’s important to have money available for investment opportunities.

Things you must consider before starting to invest

Investing your money is essential to earn more, and if you’re not doing it already, then you should start soon. In this section, you will find the answer to most of the common doubts people have when it comes to investing, as well as the things you should consider before starting doing it.

1. First, make a decision and think of the term you’d like to invest your money.

This is the first thing to consider because it basically tells you what you’re trying to achieve. As you may have an idea, there are three terms where you can invest your money: Short-term, mid-term and long-term.

• It is possible to say short-term is about from 0 to 2 years in the future. Although according to many people around the web it is not recommended, it is still one of the options we must consider. If you want to have money in the short-term, you can open a remunerated account, for example.
• If you want to invest money mid-term, you must be aware it may take from 2 to 5 years. For example, let’s say you’re currently saving some money to buy a house in the future. Instead of having said sum paralysed, you can start to invest mid-term. It isn’t easy, though, because the resources aren’t as reliable and feasible as the ones from long-term.
• When you invest long-term, you have more resources, and it’s more feasible. You take fewer risks and would take advantage of certain interest rates.

2. How much money you’re saving and how much you’re going to invest, and the strategy you’re going to follow.

You shouldn’t invest all the money you currently have, so you have to decide how much you are going to invest each month. There are plenty of options to begin; it’s just a matter of starting to look.

Financial education is a subject which society has yet to approve. We must have a good relationship with money so we can learn how to manage our finances. All of this is necessary because we need to have resources to deal with difficult or emergency situations.

This problem affects everyone, it doesn’t discriminate anyone by their social class. ‘How does it affect me?’ You must be wondering. The truth is we let ourselves be controlled and influenced by trends and publicity. Companies often create needs or problems, and later they sell you a solution to the same problem they’ve created.

Through publicity and thanks to the wonders of technology, we are often told to have a better life we need to have certain things. Where’s the quality of life? Where’s the experience? Where’s the feeling?

Now, thanks to this, many people become slaves of their own greed, often recurring to impulse buying and recklessly spending money in general. At the end of the month, we find ourselves with large amounts of debt, because we’re spending more than we’re earning. According to research, one of the most common causes of divorces is an unbalanced economy, and we owe this fact to many of the reasons we stated above.

Creating a problem, then selling a solution

Like we said previously, companies often ‘create’ a problem, and then they try to sell us a solution to it. Some of these problems are, for example:

• An expensive wedding. Everyone dreams of having one, but the reality is most people can’t afford one. Therefore, there is plenty of room for deception. There are millions of adds around everywhere, no matter what kind of media it is.
• A trip. Going on a vacation while using credit is not one of the best decisions you can make. Credit cards have the highest interest rate in the market. When you realise, you’ll be swimming in an ocean made of your debts.

What you can do right now is take the first step, and start taking care properly of your finances. That’s why we’re here for! In this post, we have gathered some of the best ways of having a better economy for you to consider. Remember, all of it depends on how much your life costs you, but they are applicable to almost every situation.

Having a better economy isn’t as hard as it seems

There are many ways of starting to control your finances, and there isn’t a ‘correct’ way because we all have different problems. Whatever your case is, some of the advice we are going to name below will probably help you to solve a problem or two at any point in your life.

1. Learn how to balance your earnings and expenses. Don’t waste in unnecessary things, and make sure you’re saving some money for an emergency fund. The future is uncertain, and not having some money saved can affect us greatly.
2. If you are currently unable to start finding new ways of earning, then you should start cutting some expenses. Make a list of purchases every time you’re going to buy something. This way, you’ll learn how to make a budget and how to manage your purchases in a better way.
3. If you have children, you should educate them about finances. Since this is a subject whom schools do not teach yet, we must teach our kids how to manage their own money.
4. Make saving a habit. Whether is for an emergency fund or for investing, remember you should always save money for a reason.

Believe it or not, you’re saving a lot of money by paying your debts early. It’ll take some weight off of your shoulders in the long term.

The amount of damage coronavirus has done to the economy is uncertain, and predictions just stay the way they are: predictions. There are sectors which have been affected more than others, but all of them are suffering the consequences of an unstable yet somewhat inactive economy. Due to the previous fact, it is necessary to start caring for our finances properly, while at the same time taking care of our well-being.

One of the things which authorities and professionals have been recommending to people is to make a budget to save money during the lockdown; however, most people aren’t really sure of how much it is. You can make an estimate of how much money you’ll need after you:

1. Reorganise your priorities

While doing this, think about your current state and how you will be during the near future. What are the things you are using the most right now? Try to make a list of everything you’ve used during the last months, and you’ll have an estimate of how much you can spend when you go grocery shopping. Sticking to what’s necessary will help your finances a lot, and you will learn how much value things which you previously saw as common have.

2. Know how much your current income is

After you have made your priority list, you should know how much are you earning currently. This way, you can make an estimate of how much your expenses will be, and the amount of money which will be left after the purchases have been made. Every amount should be taken into account, even savings or those which you have invested.

3. Cut unnecessary expenses

After you have organised your priorities, you will be sure of what is needed in your household; therefore, you will cut the unnecessary expenses. There are certain things which aren’t needed at home, and by excluding them, some pounds can be saved

4. Make an emergency fund

An emergency fund is necessary at all times. Imagine something happens to you or a relative, and you don’t have the money to deal with the expenses which come with the illness or injury. This can be easily avoided if you use part of your income to build an emergency fund, which will be used only in those situations where it is extremely required.

5. Avoid debts at all costs

During times like these, you definitely don’t need debts. Since incomes are very unstable and uncertain, we must use them according to our needs. If something doesn’t make our budget, keep in mind this is the exact reason why we’re making one: sticking to buy only what’s necessary for the household. Avoiding debt (including those which come with loans and even credit) will help us to have better management of our finances in the long-term.

6. Make planning your best friend

Starting from now on, planning must become our best friend. Before doing any purchase, you should think about it carefully so you avoid spending more money than it’s necessary. Planning doesn’t mean some things are ‘forbidden’ in your budget. For example, if there’s a certain thing you want to buy, you can do it, but you should remind yourself how much it will cost you and how will affect your finances in the long-term.

We don’t know what will happen to the world regarding the COVID-19 situation. There are some countries which have made the lockdown a bit more flexible, while there are others which have been very strict. Whether is the case, all we can do is wait and see what happens in the next weeks.