The beginning of 2020 will be remembered by people all over the world as a time when everything has changed. An unexpected epidemic of a new virus called COVID-19 began to spread in different countries and already in the first three months of the year, it has grown into a pandemic disease people haven't faced during recent years. Along with the rapid spread of the coronavirus around the world, panic behaviour among the global population is also growing. COVID-19 has made people face a huge amount of problems both within a small family and within the entire population.

Changes In a Lifestyle Caused by COVID-19

The authorities are looking for proper ways to curb the activity of the disease, to decrease the number of new everyday cases in their countries and to prepare for imminent economic repercussions caused by the virus epidemic. Therefore, in a lot of countries, a quarantine with certain restrictions and government bans was introduced as a step to prevent the degradation of the current situation with coronavirus cases. After the lockdown, one of the main problems everyone has experienced is a lack of money. People started to panic and to stock up food spending the rest of their money without even thinking about what they really need and how much money they have. There are some useful tips on cutting down the expenses on food listed below.

(Photo : How to Save Money on Food During Coronavirus Pandemic)

Saving Money on Groceries Being on Quarantine

So before someone starts saving money on food, it is extremely important to realize that it is by no means starving and very far from consuming only water. No matter which way you look at it, doing grocery shopping is the main item on a family budget. And it is more about the ability of rationally housekeeping and doing shopping rather than being hungry, especially during the worldwide quarantine. There are some main useful techniques to help you stay safe during pandemic spending less time at stores and even buying food online from home.

• It is time for special offers. Most people do not pay much attention to different store ads and special coupons. Such ads show you what kind of offers and a number of discounts a certain store has these days and it really helps to save some money. Before shopping, look at weekly sales ad from Walgreens and spend your time at the store more profitably because you already know about all the discounted prices. Your task is just to compare prices and decide which store you will visit when you go shopping. But do not forget that sometimes you may find expired products on sales, so pay more attention to dates of expiry. 

• Plan your grocery list ahead. Take your time at home before shopping and make a list of products you really need now or will need in the nearest future. Stick to your list at a store and do not buy anything spontaneously. Going shopping with a planned list of products is a great way to save money and also to plan out your family budget, which is very important in these days' situation. 

• Do not forget to eat before. According to statistics, about 20% of all spontaneous and odd purchases are made by customers because of hunger. So make at least a small snack break to dull a sense of hunger to reduce the risk of buying a couple of unexpected items. 

• Leave your kids at home. This tip is extremely important to stick with during the coronavirus quarantine because it is almost impossible to make kids avoid touching different things not only at stores but everywhere. In addition to non-compliance to safety precautions during the epidemic situation, going shopping with kids leads to extra expenses like chocolates and sweets. Small chocolate bars are not so expensive but spending money on them every time doing shopping will make a whole lot of money.

• Do your shopping not so often. The less often you do your shopping, the less unnecessary goods you buy, the less money you spend on them. Try to go shopping at least twice a week or even once a week. During the quarantine, it helps not only to save money but also helps to stay safe from the virus. 

• Prefer wholesale shopping. The next level of doing your shopping once in a while is buying wholesale. It is a great opportunity to cut down your expenses on food and to save money for something you want and need. Wholesale products usually have lower prices depending on the amount you buy. You can go to the supermarket once in two weeks or even a month and plan your budget really well. 

• Online shopping is a gift from the Internet. Online shopping is a great way to get everything you need in several clicks at lower prices because online stores usually have a lower markup percentage on product costs. 

Of course, these are not all the ways of saving money on grocery shopping. But even following these easy above-mentioned tips will help you plan your budget and spend less money on unnecessary items during coronavirus quarantine. Such hard times need well-organized meal without any harm to our health. Let's spend money wisely. There is never extra money, especially now, so better spend it on something you really need.