Grocery Shopping Can Be Daunting
Do you feel like your money is being wasted every time you go shopping? It’s time you learned to shop smart. There are certain things that just aren’t worth the money when you shop – and this list is here to tell you exactly what those things are. Bear this all in mind for the next time you do a big shopping trip.
Pre-Cut Fruits and Vegetables
Smart shoppers skip pre-cut fruits and veg because it’s dramatically more expensive and spoils faster. You’re paying for the convenience, when it takes less than five minutes to cut up a piece of fruit. It’s just not worth it, unless you have a disability which means you can’t use a knife.
Brand-Name Spices
Some things you just don’t need to buy branded, and spices is one of them. The non-branded kind are totally fine and much cheaper. If you use a lot of spices, make the switch and it shouldn’t take long for the savings to add up.
Bottled Water
Why pay for bottled water when you have free water in your tap at home? Bottled water is expensive and all that plastic is also a terrible drain on the environment. Buy a reuseable water bottle and just fill that up whenever you’re going out.
Greetings Cards
Greetings cards are slowly going out of fashion and it’s not very hard to see why. Sometimes they even cost up to $8, a truly ridiculous price to pay for what’s basically just a piece of paper. Many, many people have switched to cheaper digital greetings cards now.
Single-Serve Chips
This is an impulse buy. You see the bag of chips sitting near the cash register, you feel hungry, and you buy it without thinking. But this adds up a lot if you’re doing it every week. Don’t buy single-serve snacks – buy in bulk instead.
Brand-Name Cereals
Brand-name cereals lure people in – especially kids – with their brightly colored packaging and charming mascots. But if you look at the ingredients list on non-branded cereal vs branded, you’ll find they’re usually exactly the same. There’s no reason not to switch to non-branded.
Pre-Made Sandwiches
This is another one that people impulse buy. They see a tasty sandwich and put it in their cart without even thinking about it. But if they did think about it, they’d probably realize that they already have all those sandwich ingredients at home and what they’re really paying for is the convenience.
Bakery Desserts
Bakery desserts should be something you buy every once in a while, definitely not every time you go shopping. Cakes, cookies and muffins all last barely any time at all, and they come with a high price tag. Why not make a cake at home instead?
Pre-Made Marinades and Sauces
Pre-made marinades and sauces often contain cheap fillers and preservatives, and all that badness comes with a high price tag to boot. Instead, you should try making your own at home using basic pantry staples like oil, vinegar, and spices.
Scented Trash Bags
Whoever came up with scented trash bags was a genius, there’s no doubt about that. But their invention costs some households more than they can handle. You really don’t need scented trash bags – baking soda in the bin will help with the smells.
Bottled Salad Dressings
Store-bought salad dressings are often loaded with sugar, sodium, and preservatives – all things that are terrible for you. Plus, they cost more than homemade versions. Smart shoppers avoid it entirely and whip up simple dressings at home using olive oil, vinegar, mustard, and herbs.
Frozen Dinners
With frozen dinners you’re paying for the convenience, and certainly not for nutrition. They cost a fortune over time and they’re packed full of preservatives that do terrible things to the body. Kids love them, but you should insist they go back in the freezer.
Detox Teas
Your body absolutely does not need detox tea, it’s more than capable of detoxing itself. Detox teas come with all sorts of health risks and they’re often very expensive too. Avoid them like the plague and stick to regular tea.
Vitamin Water
Vitamin water has a lot of hype around it, but all the hype is misplaced. It’s basically just regular water with some sugar thrown in, and it has very few if any actual health benefits. Really, you’re paying for the plastic bottle first and foremost.
Microwaveable Rice
Microwaveable rice is bad for you, as is pretty much everything that advertises itself as microwavable, and you don’t need it. It’s another pay-for-the-convenience food. If you like rice, just buy yourself a bulk bag. It’s much better value for money.
Seasonal Specialty Items
When Christmas or Halloween rolls round, stores are suddenly filled with seasonal versions of already established items. Don’t be fooled by them. You’re paying for the packaging and nothing more – you can buy the regular versions of the items anytime.
Single-Use Cleaning Wipes
Head down the household aisle and you’re bound to see cleaning wipes for every surface. You don’t need even one of those, let alone all of them. A simple surface cleanser (even one you make yourself) and a microfiber cloth will take care of most stains.
Pre-Shredded Cheese
Pre-shredded cheese is almost entirely pointless. It often contains anti-caking agents and preservatives that affect the quality of the product and are bad for you, and of course it’s more expensive than regular block cheese. Just buy a cheese grater!
Candy Bars
Candy bars are placed near the checkout and hope to lure you in with a quick sugar fix. You may think it’s a pretty cheap purchase and buy it to have something to eat in the car. But this would be a mistake – one candy bar per shopping trip adds up, and candy bars are terrible for you anyway.
Protein Bars
Protein bars do have protein in them, but they’re not exactly nutritious in other respects. They’re processed and usually have a lot of sugar in them. Put them back on the shelf and instead settle for the healthier, cheaper, pieces of fruit.
Magazines
The time of the magazine is over now. Yes, stores still sell them, but all the information in them is also found online. One magazine can set you back as much as $5, so you should avoid them altogether, even if they come with a free gift.
Bottled Coffee Drinks
Ready-to-drink coffee beverages are costly and packed with sugar, cream, and additives. Smart shoppers make their own coffee at home, and control what ingredients go into them. They find themselves saving hundreds over the course of a year.
“Organic” Foods
Someone at some point realized they could get people to pay more for food if they stuck the word “organic” on there somewhere. Now even candy bars are being advertised as “organic”, along with raised prices. Avoid them, they’re not worth it.
Cheap Tools
Keen DIYers often stop by the tools aisle, and then they find themselves lured into buying cheap tools. But you should never do this. Tools found in non-hardware stores are often low quality and may even break halfway through a project.
Trendy Phone Accessories
Some stories have a phone section where you can buy phone cases and decorations for cheap. People buy them on impulse because they’re brightly colored and inexpensive, and then suddenly find themselves with a whole lot of phone accessories they don’t know what to do with.
Pre-Packaged Smoothies
Store-bought smoothies often contain added sugars, artificial flavors, and come with a hefty price tag. Those who want a health food fix blend their own smoothies using frozen fruits, yogurt, and greens. It’s cheaper, fresher, and healthier!
Flavored Instant Oatmeal
These packets are convenient, no doubt, but overpriced and loaded with unhealthy sugar. Smart shoppers buy plain oats in bulk and add their own fruit, cinnamon, or honey every morning for a good breakfast.
Instant Mashed Potatoes
Yes, mashing your own potatoes at home takes time, but it’s worth it. Instant mashed potatoes lack flavor and texture, and aren’t anywhere near as healthy. Buying potatoes in bulk works out much cheaper in the long run.
Pasta Sauce
Pasta sauce in jars is something to avoid if you can help it. Most of them are full of sugar, salt, and preservatives, even if they claim to be healthy. You can easily make a simple pasta sauce at home using nothing more than canned tomatoes, garlic, and herbs.
Store-Bought Flowers
Store-bought flowers look nice in the moment, and you may think they make a great gift, but truth be told they often won’t last long once you get them home. You’ll have just paid out $5 or more for flowers that will just wilt.
Flavored Yogurt
Flavored yogurt is usually full of artificial flavorings, completely negating the health benefits of the yogurt. And then they’re expensive to boot. Don’t buy flavored yogurt – buy the cheaper plain ones and add your own fruit to it at home.
Bagged Iceberg Lettuce
It’s not as healthy as it looks. Bagged iceberg lettuce is mostly water, to be honest. It wilts fast and is expensive for what you get. Smart shoppers buy whole heads of lettuce or opt for darker leafy greens like spinach or romaine for better value and nutrition.
DVDs
Some stores have a DVD aisle where you can browse the latest releases. But to be honest, DVDs are on their way out now. Everything is on streaming services, and DVDs are considered clunky and outdated.
Single-Serve Pasta Meals
These are another one where you’re paying for the convenience, not the quality of the food. If you like pasta, it’s best to buy in bulk and just boil a pan of the stuff whenever you feel like it. And we already told you how to make pasta sauce.
Trail Mix Packs
Single-serve trail mix is marked up significantly, and it often contains unwanted ingredients like chocolate. What you should really do is buy nuts, seeds, and dried fruits in bulk and mix your own. You can add chocolate if you really, really want, but it's much healthier without it!
