I just read an interesting article from kiplinger.com. It’s about saving money on practically everything. There are 8 spending categories, let’s start with the first one, my all time favorite: FOOD !!! 🙂
They say, this is the way to satisfy the hunger without starving your wallet. Hmmm…quite promising, right?
So, here are ten ways to save money on groceries and dining out.
1. LEARN TO COOK
Eating out is a huge budget buster. Even seemingly inexpensive fast food can add up quickly. Cooking your own meals could save you a small fortune on restaurants and groceries (you’ll buy fewer pricey frozen and prepared meals).
Menurut saya: Ini bener bangeut! Selain lebih sehat, you can reduce your expenditure significantly just by cooking yourself. Dulu waktu di Belanda, ini kerasa banget. Makan nasi rames (ada banyak resto Indonesia di sana), harganya sekitar 6.50 euro/porsi. Ada mie di stasiun (saya suka makan kalau mau berangkat kerja), harganya 4.95 euro. Padahal cuman spaghetti digoreng, dengan daging sedikit dan rasa yang juga standard. Saya bisa buat lebih enak, kalau lagi rajin hehehe Kalau makan di restoran jauh lebih mahal lagi. Padahal kalau masak sendiri, mie, spaghetti, dan teman-temannya itu harganya sebungkus gak sampe 2 euro. 50 euro itu bisa buat 1 minggu!
2.TAKE FEWER TRIPS TO THE GROCERY STORE
Making bigger shopping trips less often will cut down on your impulse buys. In fact, almost half of all shoppers go to the store three or four times per week. Shoppers making a “quick trip” to the store usually purchase 54% more than they planned, according to a study published by the Marketing Science Institute. If you go to the store three times a week and spend $10 on impulse buys each trip, that adds up to $120 extra per month. But if you go only once a week, you’ll spend $40 per month on impulse buys. That saves you $80 per month, or $960 per year.
Kalau saya, untuk belanja bulanan yang banyak memang hanya sebulan sekali. Tapi sejak adanya jaringan toko ritel xxxxmart dimana-mana, agak susah juga buat nggak mengunjungi toko-toko itu kalau lagi butuh sesuatu, dan berakhir exactly seperti yang tertulis di atas. Tapi bener juga ya, akan dicoba! Mungkin jangan lihat saving yang kita lakukan dalam sekali kunjungan, tapi lihat dalam sebulan, setahun. Baru kan berasa!
3. BREAK YOUR RESTAURANT ROUTINE
This may seem obvious, but we are creatures of habit and convenience. Make an effort to cut back a little, such as dining out once a week instead of three nights a week. With $20 meals, this simple act will trim your expenses by $160 a month. Or, try something different — and cheaper. Pick up a restaurant guide or a tour book of your city for budget-friendly suggestions. If you eat out three times a week, cutting just $5 from each meal ticket will save you $60 a month.
I think this is SO TRUE ! Coba aja dalam sebulan ini (mumpung masih awal bulan sekarang), hitung berapa kali kita makan di restoran, dan berapa uang yang sudah dikeluarkan. Saya pernah menghitung. Pengeluaran saya untuk makan memang lumayan banyak. Dalam seminggu, bisa 4-5 kali makan di restoran (di luar makan di kantin pas makan siang, di luar makan di tenda ya…). Misal rata-rata 4 kali. Pengeluaran sekali makan misalnya 100-200 ribu. Rata-rata 150 ribu. Sekarang lagi dicoba untuk tidak terlalu rakus maruk, jadi makan mahalan 2 kali aja dalam seminggu. Kalau dihitung, penghematan saya bisa 300 ribu per minggu = 1,2 juta per bulan…Lumayan bangeut…Yah, sedang diusahakan…Semoga bisa ya..
4. BRING YOUR LUNCH TO WORK
Spending just $2 a day on a home-made lunch versus $6 a day on the sandwich shop next to the office will save you about $80 a month and $960 each year.
Berapa anggaran makan siang Anda? Rata-rata kebanyakan orang mungkin 10-20 ribu rupiah ya per hari. Kadang-kadang bisa makan mahalan, tapi kalau setiap hari bangkrut juga hehehe Kalau bawa makan siang dari rumah, dengan perhitungan menghemat 50%-nya saja, maka Anda akan bisa menghemat 100-200 ribu per bulan. Lho, kok dikit ya? Kurang signifikan sepertinya. Atau hitungan saya salah ya? Kalau masak di rumah, hematnya berapa % ya? Ada yang punya pengalaman? hehehe
5. GROCERY SHOP WITH FOCUS
Another way to cut down on impulse buys is to shop with a list. Sketch out the week’s meals and jot down the ingredients you’ll need. Remember to factor in treats, snacks and lunches. Then stick to the list. You might find it helpful to leave the kids at home so you’re not tempted to give into pressure from crying children for an extra treat or toy that isn’t on your list.
Ini berhubungan dengan no. 2 di atas sepertinya. Make a list, go shopping, and stick with the list! Sounds simple, tapi prakteknya? Susaaahhhh…Mari sama-sama berusaha…Semangat!
6. BUY GENERIC
You can almost always save money by choosing a no-name brand instead of a brand name. And you usually won’t sacrifice much in quality on many items, from cereal to canned goods and frozen vegetables. Also, the savings on generic baby formula and prescription drugs can be huge.You could save a few cents to a couple of dollars per item. And that adds up quickly each month.
Ini bener lho…Mulai dari obat generik sampai kue ulangtahun. Ada teman saya yang jago buat kue, rasanya nggak kalah sama bakery terkenal. Tapi karena belum punya toko, cuman usaha rumahan, harganya jadi jauh lebih murah. Bisa cerewet lagi, minta rasa macem-macem hehehe Saya juga buat dimsum dan bakso, rasanya gak kalah sama di restoran deh 😛 Baru mulai buat, tapi karena home-industry, nggak repot sama budget besar buat promosi dan biaya-biaya siluman lain, jadi harganya masih terjangkau bangeut. Lho, kok saya jadi promosi hehehe 😛
7. MAKE YOUR OWN LATTE
That daily $4 cup of coffee is costing you $120 per month — or more than $1,400 per year. Invest in a good-quality machine and make your own brew for much less. Or kick the caffeine habit altogether and enjoy the health benefits along with the financial.
Saya bukan penggemar kopi, lebih suka teh dan susu (I LOVE DAIRY !!!). Nyammm! Tapi kalau lagi ngumpul di St*rb*cks, berasa banget memang. Tapi karena nggak terlalu sering juga, hanya kadang-kadang, ya sudahlah, biarkan saja…
8. USE COUPONS
You know about coupons for groceries. But don’t overlook bargains for dining out. For instance, at Restaurant.com you can get a $25 gift certificate to local restaurants for only $10. Use the coupon once a week, and you’ll save $60 per month. Or, before you dine out, hit the Web. At http://www.retailmenot.com/coupons/food, you can quickly find printable coupons and codes for dozens of eateries.
Nahhh, ini yang saya suka. Walaupun di sini kupon belum terlalu banyak, tapi ada diskon lain yang bisa dimanfaatkan. Diskon kartu kredit! Kata siapa kartu kredit itu musuh? Bisa kok jadi teman, asal kita disiplin bayar sebelum batas waktu. Dan diskon di restorannya itu lho! Makan di Takigawa, Poke Sushi diskon 50% kan lumayan bgt! Bgt! Kalau yang saya tau, kartu kredit yang rajin memberi diskon untuk restoran-restoran itu adalah Mandiri, HSBC (ini juga diskon di blitz! wow!), BCA (di starbucks, free upgrade). Jadi ya, jangan kita yang dimanfaatkan kartu kredit, tapi kita yang harus memanfaatkan mereka! 😉
9. TIME YOUR MEAL
No, eating quickly won’t make the bill smaller. Rather, consider eating out for lunch instead of dinner. That way, you can get lunch-menu prices for dinner-quality entrees.
Ini sepertinya untuk restoran-restoran yang suka ada menu ‘paket makan siang’. Kualitas sama, tapi harga lebih murah.
10. MIND THE UNIT PRICE
Many grocery store tags will tell you how much an item costs per ounce, per pound or by some other unit of measure. Comparison-shop by unit price and save. For example, a pack of 40 diapers at our local drug store cost $13, or 33 cents per diaper. A box of 144 diapers cost $35, or 24 cents per diaper. A difference of 9 cents may not seem like much, but when you change a diaper six to eight times each day, that amounts to a savings of $16 to $22 per month. One caveat: Don’t buy in bulk if you won’t use it all — otherwise, you wasted your money, no matter how good a deal it was.
Iya nih, point yang terakhir juga bener bangeut. Kadangan suka beli banyaaakkk, karena lebih murah, padahal akhirnya nggak kepake juga, dan berakhir di tong sampah! Lagi-lagi, musti buat list kali ya. Berapa yang kita butuhkan dalam sebulan. Dan stick with it!
See you on the next saving tips for the other 7 categories! 😉
Wah, ‘Dek, yang ini bagus banget! Will be very useful for all of us especially during the crisis hitting US and might would be propagated to other area (mungkin negeri kita ini bisa keimbas dalam waktu dekat). Tolong kasih tips untuk yang other 7 categories juga dongz! Category-nya one by one aja biar enak enjoying-nya… kalau kebanyakan bisa mabok juga…
Cheers,
Rosa
wahhhh, senangnya, ada yang seneng hehehe itu juga aku dapet dari kiplinger.com mbak (as I wrote in the post). iya, nanti pasti kutulis yang 7 kategori lainnya, keep dropping by yak…salam kenal mbak, makasih ya udah mampir 🙂 btw, aku juga percaya bakalan ada krisis moneter lagi nih..so, fasten our seatbelt, and be ready!!! 🙂
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