The Singleton's Guide To Economical Grocery Shopping

Every household needs groceries every month, some more than others. As more Indians leave their homes to come to the cities for work, there are scores of people living alone and managing their homes and finances in rental or purchased apartments. Their needs are pared down to a single person’s, but they must also be judicious in planning their finances and bill payments. Single persons hoping to buy bigger homes, start a family and even send money to their parents and elders, must be careful about how they spend their income. A large expense is grocery shopping.

The following points guide single persons on buying groceries economically and efficiently:

• Set aside a grocery budget.

By now, you are aware of how much you need to spend on groceries every month. The amount increases in some months when celebrations or special occasions come around. But by and large, you know the ballpark figure. Set a grocery budget and stick to it every month. Having a dedicated grocery budget frees up the rest of your salary for other expense heads. Try not to veer over Rs 2,000 outside the set budget.

• Buy only what you need.

As a single person, your needs are limited and you might not have a large pantry space to stock your groceries. The trick to economical grocery shopping is to spend only on what you need to stock, and not trivial extras. Take stock of which staples need to be replenished, which new groceries you need to buy, and make a list of things. Making a list ensures that you don’t miss out on anything, and can shop for the month at one go instead of placing repeat orders. Do remember to trim your shopping list from time to time to buy only essentials, or your home will become cluttered soon.

• Borrow a credit line loan if money is short.

There are months when your salary is credited late to your account, or there may be temporary pay cuts at work. Or you might just end up overspending your salary and have little money left over for grocery shopping. This is where you stop panicking and apply for an instant credit line to buy groceries online. The instant credit line is available with leading loan apps in India. Download the app, set your credit limit and borrow shopping loans to buy groceries online when money is short. The provisions are delivered to your home for immediate use without you spending any money for them. Simply repay the loan in easy EMIs from your salary to reinstate the credit line.

• Wait for deal and discount shopping days.

Online grocery shopping is worth your while because it saves a lot of money. Most online grocery brands offer discounts on practically every purchase. But they also have ‘good deal’ days in the week, and there are bumper sales during festive seasons. You can stock up on groceries during these days to get the best discounts and save a lot of money on your groceries. We suggest waiting for the discount days of the week to shop for groceries online to save an appreciable amount of money on the final bill.

Conclusion

The points above serve as a handy guide for singletons wishing to buy groceries without burning a hole in their pockets. A credit line loan serves one admirably when grocery shopping without spending money upfront.