Financial success is easy to understand, though perhaps not so easy to achieve: spend LESS than you earn. Here are some ways to a help.

Stop shopping - If you shop for groceries every other day you are spending too much money. Studies show that each time you stop at the grocery store to pick up a 'few things' most people ending up spending way more money than they planned. One blog I checked for this report said they do 'big' grocery shopping once every 6 weeks and then stop at the store once or twice a week for the milk or sale items on their list ONLY.

And for our kids, the same 'stop shopping' mantra. Books like "Born to Shop' study the time children spend shopping compared to reading or going to church and the trends are alarming. Time spent shopping is far exceeding children's reading, religious education and other activities. Maybe dropping the kids off at the mall for their all-day hobby isn't such a great activity.

Don't be a brand snob- use discount outlets like Maine's own Marden's and resale shops for many items like clothes. But what about food? Can you trade down in brand at the grocery store and get quality? Certain items of food, or clothing, may be important to you to have as a certain brand. But on less critical items I bet you have some wiggle room for non-brand merchandise. You may save a lot of dough.

Look around- In grocery stores eye level is where higher priced items are kept. One blog reminded us to 'look high and low' for value. Have you also noticed that beans or cheese are sold in several sections of the store? Find the place where the particular item you want is featured at the best price. With clothing, the sales racks are less difficult to spot, it's usually in the back of the store.

Citations:
Shop less



http://www.americanconsumernews.com/2008/06/reduce-household-expenses-chop-the-grocery-bill.html

Grocery bills:



off brand




Marion R. Syversen, MBA - President
NorumbegaFinancial
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Marion@NorumbegaFinancial.com
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