During the quarantine period, everyone is advised to stay at home and limit their trip to essential tasks such as grocery shopping, buying medicine, or a trip to the hospital, to help slow the spread of COVID-19.

It may sound smart to stock-up with groceries as much as you can in one go, it’s not advisable for many reasons. One of them is that hoarding items is totally unethical, while another is that it’s not practical to waste money during an economic crisis.

Follow these smart ways to stock up on essentials while saving money.

1. Buy only what you need

It is easy to panic as if all grocery stores will shut down and stop selling. Do not worry about this. Grocery stores will remain open and continue to sell. There’s absolutely no need to panic and hoard a lifetime supply of items like canned goods, sanitizers, or sanitary tissues.

Only buy supplies that can last you one to two weeks. Other easily perishable items such as fruits and vegetables, milk, can be purchased as often as needed.

Think of other people who will also need the same supplies. It will also benefit you if the people around you are safe and have enough supplies.

2. Use discount coupons when possible

This is the best time to use those discount coupons hiding in your grocery receipts, magazines, or newspapers.

This helps you save costs significantly, especially at this time. You can cut off these savings from your usual monthly budget with more room to stretch if you need to.

3. Tune in for store sales and promotions

Being frugal is a good habit to practice, not only during the crisis. Most stores, including grocery stores will offer huge discounts to certain goods. Before you even head to do some grocery shopping, check for online promotions and which products are on sale. Plan your meals using those.

Check which store has more items on sale or on markdown and head to that store. It’s not advisable for you to jump from one grocery store to another.

4. Create a meal plan

You will have plenty of time to cook and prepare your meals if you’re staying at home. You can cut down on your delivery and dine-out costs as well. This is the perfect opportunity to create a healthy meal plan.

This is to avoid food wastage and boost your immune system by eating healthy. You will find a lot of recipes online, or even start that keto diet you’ve been postponing for a while. Plan for breakfast, lunch, and dinner and make sure you have enough for the week.

Takeaway

Your neighbors also need essential supplies and panic buying will definitely not help. If you practice good etiquette when grocery shopping – buying only what you need,  you can help others too. During these times, it is important to be wary of how much you are spending and save for what might happen next.