Buying Groceries With No Money

Experiencing financial crises can make people do crazy things. Some people are in denial about the financial situation, some people go shopping to make themselves feel better, others find comfort in various activities such as eating, drinking, etc. One thing I have noticed and got additional feedback from grocery store managers is customers who try to buy groceries with no money. This seems to be a big problem that many grocery stores and other stores face – customers who pick up items and get to the checkout line with no money or not enough money to pay for the items.

Going to the grocery store and getting a basket full of groceries when you don’t have enough money is a waste of time and shows a lack of common sense. Grocery stores are in business to make money, I haven’t heard of any grocery store giving away groceries.

Getting a basket full of groceries and not having money to pay for them is a waste the store’s time, it wastes your time, causes you unnecessary frustration and embarrassment and angers the customers in line behind you. Due to your actions, the store now has several voids on their financial records and sees the voids as a loss. To make up for losses the store raises prices so when customers go to the store the next week or two, they will see higher prices.

Many stores have websites where you can go online to see how much items costs. If you don’t have access to a computer you can go to the store and write down the prices of the items you need to buy. The next time you have to get groceries take a calculator or pen and paper with you and tally up the items you put in your basket so that you know approximately how much your bill will be before you get to the checkout line. Here are 15 tips for those who don’t have enough money to buy groceries.

1. Budget. Create a budget and include groceries in your budget. This will help save money on and ensure that your money goes the furthest to buy wisely and healthy items for your family.
2. Don’t steal. Going to jail and having a criminal record will only make your situation worse.
3. Food bank. Go to a local food bank in your area if you can’t afford to buy any groceries.
4. Use coupons. Use coupons found in your local newspaper or use online sites such as groupon.com, coupons.com, couponmom.com to find coupons. Shop at stores that double coupons to save even more money.
5. Shopping List. Make a shopping list of the things you absolutely need. Make a list of things you would like. Buy all the items you need first and if you have money left over use that to buy some of the things you would like to have. This also prevents impulse shopping.
6. Hungry. Don’t go shopping when you are hungry; you tend to buy more items than you normally would or tend to buy more unhealthy items.
7. Network. Get to know your grocery store employees and managers. Ask them when they will be having sales and what days are the best to shop for sales.
8. Shopping. Comparison shop to see which stores have the best sale each week and shop at that store for the items you need. Don’t spend a lot of time and gas shopping at multiple stores to find bargains especially with the increasing gas prices.
9. Generic. Buy generic instead of name brand to save money.
10. Family. If you have a family or 3 or more buying in bulk saves you money but if you are single or a single parent with only one child buying in bulk may not always be the best option.
11. Plan Meals. Plan you meals for the week and shop according to your meals. This helps you stay focused and prevents you spending more money than you should.
12. Stay focused. Stay focused when shopping and stick to your list. Don’t go down every aisle because this can be tempting and don’t buy items just because they are on sale if they are not on your list.
13. Buy in season. Buy fruits and vegetables that are in season. Out of season items cost more.
14. Frozen. Frozen vegetables are a good option if you can’t buy in season vegetables.
15. Kids. Don’t let your kids influence you to buy items that are not on your list. Explain to them that you are at the store to buy certain items and you are not going to deviate from that.