Dave Ramsey Recommends Curbside Pickup for Groceries. Here’s Why He’s Right

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If you aren’t already doing curbside grocery pickup, you’re missing out. 

Groceries can be an expensive purchase these days, as food prices have gone up due to inflation. If you’re tired of giving your credit cards a workout at the grocery store, there are ways to reduce what you’re spending on food.

In fact, finance guru Dave Ramsey has a simple, straightforward suggestion for reducing grocery costs that just about everyone should follow to keep more money in their checking accounts. He advises using curbside pickup for food purchases instead of actually going into the store — and he’s absolutely right.

Here’s why Ramsey recommends curbside grocery pickup

Ramsey suggests curbside pickup as a method of reducing grocery spending for a few key reasons.

First and foremost, if you pick up your groceries instead of going into the store, Ramsey points out that you’ll be much less likely to pick up items that aren’t specifically on your list.

“If it’s too hard to say no to the candy (whether the kids are with you or you’re talking to yourself—we don’t judge), order your groceries for curbside pickup,” he suggested. “It’s a lot easier to avoid the temptations when you can type everything you need into a search bar.”

Ramsey also pointed out some other benefits of picking up groceries instead of going into the store to buy them, including the ease of comparison shopping, making sure you aren’t spending more on groceries than you budgeted for, and being able to check in real-time whether you’re actually out of an item and need to buy it or not.

“Shopping online is also an easy way to compare brand prices, see what’s on sale, and watch the total add up in real time without the calculator,” Ramsey said. “No more getting up to the register only to discover that family-size box of cereal isn’t on sale after all. And no more buying rolled oats just in case you’ve run out at home (you can walk to the pantry to see for yourself—mind blown).”

Here’s why you should follow his advice

Ramsey is spot-on with the advice to switch to grocery pickup rather than shopping in the store. Far too many people end up throwing items in their cart because stores are set up to entice extra buying. Or, it feels like a hassle to walk up and down the aisles and check which pasta sauce or canned peas are on sale for the best price — but this isn’t an issue when you’re just scrolling on your computer and can see prices in real-time.

You need to be careful, though, that you aren’t paying inflated prices or extra fees for grocery pickup. Many stores offer this service for free (especially if you spend over a certain amount of money), but others may charge a premium for online purchases. If you do have to pay a fee, check to make sure that the money you spend on it doesn’t eat up any savings that comes from avoiding impulse purchases in the store.

The good news is, it’s easy to check costs up front and chances are good you’ll be able to find an affordable grocery delivery service near you so you may as well give it a try. You may just find Ramsey’s right and that this technique helps you save a fortune on food shopping going forward.

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