9 Simple Ways to Save Money on Your Groceries
Easy Meal Planning |
It never fails, we budget for our groceries, but the bill always ends up being more. We underestimate, run out of things faster than expected and overall, everything is becoming just too darned expensive! To make things a little bit easier, here are 9 simple ways you can start saving money on your groceries.
1. Go with a List: Yes, I know…it’s a pretty obvious suggestion, but it’s amazing how effective it can be. You can purchase only what you need and avoid all the other yummy distractions of the grocery store.
2. Meal Planning: Planning your meals in advance makes it easier to get your list together and ensure you buy only exactly what you need. You can get help with your meal planning at Dine Without Whine AND they actually put your grocery list together for you too.
3. Eat Before You Go: Another classic tip. If you’re hungry, you’ll want to buy (and instantly eat) everything! Have a meal or good snack before you go to avoid impulse purchases.
Why Meal Planning is so Important During These Bad Economical Times
Can Planning Meals Save You Money? You Bet!
OK….let’s see a show of hands. How many of you know how much money you spend on groceries per month?
A recent unscientific survey conducted outside a grocery store in San Francisco offered some surprising results. It doesn’t seem most people keep track of how much money they spend on groceries, because trips to the grocery store usually include non-food items such as health and beauty products, pet products, etc., and there are usually several trips per week. Who scrutinizes receipts? Do most of us go to the grocery store armed with a list of just the essentials? The answer is a resounding “NO!”
Living Cookbook 2008
If you are like me and have recipes scattered everywhere, you’ll like this software I just found on Amazon.com. It’s called Living Cookbook 2008 and not only will it help you organize your recipes, but it will help you do your meal planning and your grocery shopping. Sounds good to me!
Living Cookbook 2008 is the latest version of the award-winning recipe software from Radium Technologies.
Use Living Cookbook to organize recipes, plan meals, create menus, calculate nutrition information, create shopping lists, publish cookbooks, export, e-mail and much more.
The software is extraordinarily flexible and easy to use and Living Cookbook’s comprehensive help file, tutorials, demo videos and customer support will ensure that you can find and learn to use the features (more…)
How to Get Started Meal Planning
| Easy Meal Planning
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Meal planning may sound intimidating at first, but it’s really not that hard.
The first thing you should do is to write down all of your family’s favorite dishes. This will be very handy when you just can’t think of anything for dinner 
Next, grab the grocery ads. If you don’t get these in the mail or in your weekly newspaper, just jump online and visit your favorite grocery store’s website. Most grocery stores have their weekly ads listed right on their websites now, and some are even interactive (allowing you to create a printable shopping list – very cool!). Once you have your grocery ads in hand, scan them for sale items that can be used for this week’s meals.
Before you get to deep into your menu plan, you might want to look at your calendar for the week. If you have family or work activities that will keep you from getting home at a decent hour, you will want to plan very simple meals or even leftovers for those particular nights.
Next, you should take an inventory of the items in your fridge and pantry. Do you have any food that needs to be eaten right away? This is one of the greatest benefits of meal planning. You waste much less food because you only buy what you plan on using that week.
At this point, you should have an idea of what you want to cook for the week based on the grocery store ads, what you already have on hand, and your family’s activities for the week. Go ahead and write out the meals you plan on cooking for the week, and fill in your grocery list for the items you don’t have in hand.
All you have left to do at this point is to do the grocery shopping, post your menu on the fridge for all to see, and create your meals each day. The rest of your week should go much more smoothly now that you don’t have to worry about “what’s for dinner” at the end of each day. See how easy meal planning can be?
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Free Weekly Meal Plan Worksheet
If you’ve been looking for a free weekly meal plan worksheet you’re in luck. I found one over at HealthyMenuMailer.com this week.
It’s a simple worksheet that allows you to list breakfast, lunch, dinner and two snacks for each day of the week. This is a great worksheet to post on the fridge so everyone knows what’s for dinner each day.
You can find the worksheet here:
http://www.healthymenumailer.com/ebooks/weekly-meal-plan.pdf
Easy Ways to Save Money at the Grocery Store
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Groceries are a major expense for many families and individuals. While this expense is necessary and will never be eliminated, there are many different strategies that can be used to save money at the grocery store. By using a few of these simple techniques, you will find that you can save money on groceries while still getting the things that you need.
It is a simple fact that every time you go to the grocery store you will spend money. Unless great self discipline is exercised, every trip will result in one or two unexpected purchases. To cut down impulse spending at the grocery store, limit your trips to the store. This solution sounds very simple and it is. However, to be effective at cutting back on trips to the store, it is important to plan trips carefully. Make a list and be sure to include all needed items on the list. This will help to ensure that nothing is forgotten and that additional trips will not be needed to pick up items that were not purchased.
The second strategy to saving money at the grocery store is to make a list. Having a list makes it easier to say no to unexpected purchases. A list will focus the shopping trip and will result in fewer impulse buys. Impulse purchases add up and the simple elimination of these items can save hundreds of dollars each year.
Grocery store ads can be a great money saving tool. Consult your weekly ads before shopping trips. Plan your weekly meals around items that are on sale. If an item is on sale that you know you will need in the next several weeks, stock up while it is on sale. By shopping sales and using these sales to plan meals and purchases, you can save valuable money without clipping coupons or sacrificing the items that you love.
Never go to the grocery store when you are hungry or rushed. Go to the store when you will have time to evaluate purchases and needs. Hunger will always result in many items purchased that are not needed. When you are in a rush you will not have the time to evaluate prices and find the best deal.
Consider using store brands when possible. Sometimes name brand products are a higher quality. Other times you are only paying for the label. Try a few store brand products and see if any will work for you. These products can save you quite a bit of money without compromising quality.
There are many different methods that smart shoppers can use to save money at the grocery store. Apply a few of these strategies into your shopping routine and start saving today.
When Sammi saving money at the grocery store, she loves spending time in flower gardens. Two of her favorite plant products is neptune’s harvest fish emulsion plant food and terra sorb water saving crystals which eliminates a lot the time she spends watering her hanging flower baskets.
Save Money on Groceries without Coupons
Cut Your Weekly Grocery Bill by 40% – 60% Without Coupons A little-known program is a big part of the answer! The average family of 4 spends around $1000 a month for groceries! You Owe It to Yourself AND Your Family to Take a Second Look at Your Grocery Spending
Can’t Cook On a Budget? It’s Grandma’s Fault
Cooking everyday at home is a great way to cook on a budget. But sometimes, the habits that we picked up as a kid can be detrimental to saving money on food. Let me explain what I’m talking about – remember the end of most family meals when grandma would push the serving platter at your already loosened belt and waist-band?
“Eat it or it’ll go to waste” she’d always say.
“If it’ll go to waste, what did you cook it for”? was my thought, even as a young kid. “Isn’t there a way to figure out exactly how much you should cook?” I didn’t actually say that sentence out loud…I never was fond of the taste of soap. But, it only took my 8th grade math skills to figure out what grandma hadn’t been able to for decades.
The precise portions you feed your family is the basis of cooking on a budget. When you know exactly how much each person will eat, you’ll know how much to buy, and how much to cook, eliminating over-buying, over-cooking, wasting leftovers, or letting food spoil while in your possession.
The average cooked portion is 4 ounces protein, 3 ounces vegetable, 5 ounces starch per person. If your husband is a big eater, adjust upward. If your wife is petite like mine, adjust downward. But, with a digital scale and keen observation, perhaps a notebook, you’ll arrive at the quantifiable amount that everyone in your house eats.
Now, you can begin saving money at the grocery store, or using the money you’ve saved by buying more wholesome, exotic, or expensive ingredients because you know there will be little waste. You’ll also be helping the health of your family buy controlling the amount of food they eat.
In her everyday cooking, Grandma offered you more and more of what she prepared and she did it out of love for you. Today, when you’re cooking at home, the best way to show love to your family is by preparing a wholesome meal that is an appropriate amount for all to enjoy, while still being able to cook on a budget.
Chef Todd Mohr is a classically trained chef, entrepreneur and educator. Chef Todd’s simple philosophy – burn your recipes and learn how to really cook – has helped many home cooks and professionals alike finally achieve success in the kitchen. Learn his #1 Secret for Free and discover how online cooking classes can really teach you to cook!
How To Organize Weekly Meals & Shopping List w/ Nutritionist Linda Miner – Goal #5
ichange.com Registered Nutritionist Linda Miner shows you how to plan out 1 week’s worth of meals, prepare a shopping list and make a meal in under 10 minutes. You will yourself save time, money, energy and frustration. www.MyHealthyBalance.com
Save Money On Groceries At Wholesale Clubs And Grocery Stores
Searching to cut your household costs so, you can just pay the bills? Feeling like the only thing left to cut is your monthly grocery bill? You can cut your grocery spending as much as 50 percent if you know where to shop, how to shop, and when to shop.
First, there is usually more than one place to do your grocery shopping every week. Even in the smallest burgs of America, you do have a choice. Grocery stores carry most of the standard food and non-food items, but prices vary from week to week. Wholesale clubs such as Sam’s Club, Costco and Gordon Foods sell food and non-food items in bulk packaging and are found in larger cities and metropolitan areas. These stores normally do not advertise sales, but typically accept manufacturers’ coupons. Convenience stores like Circle K and 7-11 are simply convenient to purchase one or two items and fill up with your favorite beverage while traveling or shopping. These types of stores do not offer sales on grocery items and charge more on standard grocery items. Then there is the online option. Yes, now more national retail chains are offering online shopping; they will either ship the grocery items or have them available for pick up if located nearby.
Knowing where to shop to save the most money on your weekly bill is the most important step. One does not have to buy groceries at the same place week after week and month after month. Even if you must travel a few miles, you may be able to save on your monthly food spending. Retail grocery chains such as Albertson’s, Kroger, Giant Eagle, Publix, Safeway, and others run an ad circular each week advertising select brands for a specific price; many also include their own brand items on sale as well. Check each circular for the items you buy the most and compare the prices. Buying only the items that you need and that are on sale will also save you money. It is important to know the price range for items you buy frequently, so you know which store is offering the best price.
Second, wholesale clubs can be more affordable on items that you use more often or specialty items. Canned food items including soups, beans, and drink mixes are sometimes cheaper to buy in bulk than at your traditional grocery store. When comparison-shopping, do not look at the ticket price alone. Wholesale clubs base their prices on volume (ounces or pounds), which can be found on the shelf price sticker. Compare the volume price to the weekly price at your grocery retailer over the course of a couple weeks since grocery chains vary their prices from week to week.
A comparison of several products between a Costco and Giant grocery store was conducted by AOL Money & Finance, which found many of the bulk products were much less expensive at the wholesale club.
Sample of products compared:
Tropicana Orange Juice, no pulp – Costco savings of $.60/quart Maxwell House coffee – Costco savings of $1.54/pound Fillippo Berio Extra Virgin Olive Oil – Costco savings of $9.93/quart Nabisco Oreo Cookies – Costco savings of $1.55/pound
Be aware that the above savings are for volume pricing only, and these savings do not represent the actual prices. Your state may charge additional fees including sales tax on food or non-food items. Wholesale or warehouse clubs also charge an annual fee, which varies at each club.
When you join and shop at warehouse or wholesale clubs, jot down what you buy, the date purchased and the date the item was completely used or the packaging was thrown away. This will give you an idea how long the product lasts and the cost to replace it on a monthly basis.
Lastly, knowing when to shop or which week has the best sale items is crucial. Typically, retail grocery chains will charge more the first week of every month. Why? Through observation and experience, retailers know this is when most people get their paychecks and Food Stamps are uploaded the first ten days of the month; therefore, people are likely to spend more on groceries. The best time of the month is to shop the third to fourth week when people are running low on cash and need to get through the rest of the month until payday. Oftentimes grocery chains will offer their 10 for $10 sale, which sometimes are good deals. In addition, they are more likely to sell multiple quantities of the same product for a reduced price.
Get more and spend less when you know where to buy groceries, when to shop during the month and how to stretch your budget throughout the month.
Alicia R. Young is an experienced freelance writer and blogger. Writing about issues that help people save on food and other personal interests. She has a degree in secondary education with an emphasis in English and Journalism, and uses her experience as a teacher to write articles for various audiences.