One of the top expenses is groceries.
"Grocery stores are brilliant at getting you to pay more than you expect or buy more than you expect," says Stephen Perrine, Executive Editor of AARP Magazine. "That's why they always put the milk in the back of the store no matter what store you're in because they want you to have to weave through those aisles and try to resist all their marketing come-ons.
As part of AARP's 99 Great Ways to Save, Perrine suggests using grocery store apps or websites to select and buy the products you want in advance.
Many offer curbside pickup.
"You just drive up to the store, take what you need, it's already bagged for you, put it in your car and drive off," Perrine said. "You never go inside, and as a result, you never have to face those marketing come-ons."
Set on picking out your own produce? Strategy is key.
Perrine says that may mean visiting different stores.
"I'll shop at the wholesale shop for the stuff that I'm going to put in the pantry, right," he said. "The canned foods, the paper products. But I don't want to buy two pounds of broccoli, right? So then I'll go to another store, maybe where I know that the produce is good."
Look for store-brand options.
"That's pennies, even dollars less than a national brand," Perrine said. "You can use apps to find grocery stores that are getting rid of produce or other products that are getting close to their expiration date. You'll be able to save money on those items."
Another tip Perrine suggests is that when online shopping for groceries or other goods, don't buy the items in your cart right away. Try closing your browser first.
"Many, many times, you'll get one of those annoying marketing emails that said, 'Hey, did you forget about us?' Most of us never bother to even open those emails," he said. "But in one out of three cases, they'll contain a discount code that you can then use to apply to your shopping cart, so you get a discount on the items that you were going to buy anyway."
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