web analytics
logo
Insights on money, career and trading

3 Tips for Limiting Your Impulse Junk Food Shopping

Posted on October 17, 2017 by Daniel at 7:02 pm

Not only does eating and buying junk food harm your body, but it can also have a big impact on your monthly food budget. Purchasing expensive food that has too much salt, sugar, and fat is something that too many families are doing today. However, these purchases are often made as an impulse buy while at the grocery store. Luckily, there are quite a few things you can do to help limit the amount of unhealthy food impulse buys you make at the store. So to help those really struggling with this unhealthy habit, here are three tips for stopping your impulse junk food buys when at the grocery store.

Make A Plan and Stick To It

As you may have heard before, people who choose to go grocery shopping without knowing beforehand what they plan to buy often end up spending a lot more money at the store. But in addition to this, you’ll be much more vulnerable to buying things that you don’t actually want or need, including junk food. To combat this, StrongLifts.com suggest making a plan for your meals and shopping and then sticking to it. When you know what you’ll be eating for breakfast, lunch, and dinner and what you’ll have to buy from the store, you won’t simply be wandering around picking up whatever looks good at the time. The more you plan, the easier it will be to stick to that plan.

Start Small

If you and your family currently eat a lot of junk food, it may be hard to give it all up completely. However, once you see the amount of money you’re able to save by only buying food that you actually want and need, it may be easier to make the changes. Regardless of this, the way to find the most success with a change like this is to start small. According to Mikael Cho, a contributor to LifeHacker.com, if you view cutting out certain food purchases like a habit you’re trying to form, you’ll be able to make small changes that you can then build on as the weeks and months progress. Once you see that you can find healthy food to eat as opposed to junk food, making those choices will be easier.

Stick to the Perimeter of the Store

For some people, seeing the junk food in the store is a big trigger. So to keep this food out of your sight, Juliette Stein, a contributor to the Huffington Post, advises sticking to the outside aisles of the grocery store. Most of the processed foods and junk foods are in the interior aisles of the store. So if you can stick to the perimeter for buying the majority of your food, you won’t even be tempted by the unhealthy food throughout the rest of the store.

If you want to save money and lose weight by eating less junk food, use the tips mentioned above to help you do just that.

logo
Insights on money, career and trading