The Hidden Basket Method To Save Money On 'Extras' At The Grocery Store

We all love saving money when we shop for groceries, but now, it's more important than ever. With prices on grocery essentials soaring, budgeting for the things we need most can feel extremely difficult, especially if we have a habit of walking into the store for three necessary items but walking out with a bunch of extra stuff we might not even use.

Fortunately, there's an easy method to nip that extra spending in the bud and assess what we truly need at the store. With just a grocery cart and another grocery storage method, we can make sure that we only leave with the items we truly need — and leave those delicious but pricey baked goods behind in the bakery section. What makes this method so great? It's easy to sort out what you need and what you don't and calculate how well you're adhering to your grocery budget. If money allows, it even leaves "wiggle room" for you to pick out some "extra" fun foods — without leaving the store with all of them.

Want to check off your entire grocery list without spending excessive cash on extra items? Just stick a shopping basket under your shopping cart.

On first thought, it may sound strange to wander through the grocery store with both a cart and a basket, but it's all part of a system that can save you some serious change. Make your usual rounds through the store, placing the items on your grocery list into your cart as you find them. If you spot something you'd like that didn't make it onto your grocery list, that's where the basket comes in. Stick those "extras" in the shopping basket under your cart. You can more easily calculate the approximate total cost of your essentials when they're the first thing you see, and those other items could be more likely to be "out of sight, out of mind." Once you reach the checkout lane, get everything in your cart ready for scanning. Once all of those items are scanned, you'll know how much is left in your budget, and you'll easily be able to figure out how much you can spend on those "shopping basket" items. The basket versus cart debate is a hot one, but this is such an easy way to save money on groceries that you'll want to use it every time you head to the supermarket.

Another of the best ways to save at the grocery store also has to do with how you transport your groceries through the store. It's easy, too: Shop with a basket instead of a cart.

Okay, sometimes a cart is necessary, like when you're buying heavier items like milk and juice. If you can, though, stick with a basket — it'll save you money. Baskets are so much smaller than carts that they fill up more quickly. When you carry your groceries in a basket, especially if you have enough groceries to fill an entire grocery basket, you might stop justifying extra purchases with the old "There's still room in the cart" excuse. If there isn't any room in the basket, don't try to squish in those few items that could push you over your budget — they won't fit, and chances are, you don't even need them in the first place. Baskets clearly make phenomenal price control devices at the grocery store, so whether you opt for the cart-and-basket method or just try shopping with a shopping basket alone, you're likely to save money on all those impulse purchases you don't actually need.