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!”
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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Five Reasons Why Meal Planning Helps Save You Time and Money
In today’s world, most people are so busy that they don’t have time to cook a healthy meal every day (or even once a week!). Work and family leave you exhausted at the end of the day, so it’s no wonder that so many people pick up dinner from a fast food place or pop something in the microwave instead of cooking a nutritious meal. While most of us have good intentions, life just seems to get in the way of cooking health dinners most of the time.
The Key to Eating Healthy is Planning Your Meals Ahead of Time
The key to eating healthy, delicious meals on a regular basis is to plan your meals ahead of time. Meal planning is exactly what it sounds like – taking the time to plan what you’re going to eat ahead of time. This can be weekly or monthly, whatever fits your schedule best. There are many benefits to planning your meals ahead of time, including eating healthier, saving money at the grocery store, and having more free time to spend with your family.
Meal Planning Helps You Save Money at the Grocery Store
After you’ve decided what you’ll be cooking for the week, you will need to complete your grocery list. By planning your meals in advance and preparing your shopping list based on only what you’re going to eat that week, you will save a ton of money at the grocery store. Why? You’ll waste less food because you will only buy what you need for the week, and if you’re like me, you’ll go to the store less often, resulting in fewer impulsive buys. The money I save at the grocery store is by far the greatest benefit I get from meal planning.
Save Time by Spending Less Time at the Grocery Store
I don’t know about you, but before I started meal planning, I was what I would call a random shopper. I would wander down the grocery aisles just hoping I would spot what I needed rather than taking a list of items we needed. As you can imagine I frequently went home without buying things we needed, thus causing myself to have to go to the store multiple times a week. With meal planning you always shop with a grocery list, which eliminates the need to have to go to the store several times a week. This was a huge time saver for me.
No More Spoiled Food with Meal Planning
In addition to saving time, by shopping with a list (as a result of my weekly menu planning), I only buy the food I know we’ll eat that week. This means we have a lot less food spoilage than we used to. I don’t know how many times I stocked up on fruits and veggies only to see them spoil because we didn’t eat them in time. With meal planning, I know exactly how much food we’ll need for the meals I plan on cooking that week, so I no longer buy food only to watch it go to waste before we eat it.
Fight Rising Food Costs with Meal Planning
With the cost of food rising, meal planning is more important than ever. I can’t tell you how much money we save on our grocery bill by planning our weekly menu based on what’s on sale, and even more importantly, by only buying the foods we need each week. In today’s economy every little bit helps, so if you haven’t tried meal planning yet, try it out – you’ll be amazed at how much healthier you eat, how much time you save, and how much money you can save.
The Importance of Family Meal Planning
What has happened to us? There once was a time when we would all come home from school or work and sit down with our families and enjoy the ritual of family mealtime. It was the best meal of the day, offering a wide variety of nutrition and family conversation.
Today, less than half of American families eat dinner together and when they do, these meals last less than 20 minutes and are lacking in proper nutrition.
The fact is our life styles have changed from those magical days of Ozzie and Harriet. Thanks to the Internet, cell phones and palm pilots, business is conducted on an almost 24/7 basis. Even conversations with our children are often times through text messages or cell phone.
10 More Reasons to Gather Around the Dinner Table
I received a lot of compliments on my post about “24 Reasons to Gather Around the Dinner Table” – well, compliments and a challenge: come up with even more reasons families should sit down to dinner together.
But first, if you find the idea of family meals daunting, take a look at Dine Without Whine. It’s a monthly subscription, which gives you weekly meal plans, recipes and grocery shopping list. Dine Without Whine definitely simplifies meal planning and preparation.
Ok, now back to my challenge. It’s been hard, but here you go, 10 OTHER reasons to gather around the dinner table:
1. You’ll have a ready audience for your jokes.
2. You can get instant feedback on new recipes you’ve been wanting to try.
Diabetes Meal Planning Made Easy
If you have diabetes, it’s important to watch what you eat to maintain your health. Meal planning can help manage your diabetes, as well as save you time and money.
The bestselling Diabetes Meal Planning Made Easy is a comprehensive but easy-to-understand guide to all aspects of meal planning for you.
Meal planning is one of the most crucial—and sometimes most difficult—aspects of managing diabetes, but this book makes meal planning simple.
This newest edition incorporates the most recent nutritional recommendations of the American Diabetes Association (more…)
Menu Plan Monday – Vacation & Baseball Edition
Hubby is on vacation this week, and we are finally catching a baseball game (first this season) on Friday. Should be a fun week! Here’s our menu plan for the week…
Monday – hubby is grilling ribs, baked beans, corn on the cob
Tuesday – spaghetti and meatballs, salad, garlic bread
Wednesday – grilled chicken, mac & cheese, corn
Thursday – chicken enchiladas, Spanish rice
Friday – baseball game… hot dogs & beer at the ball park!
Saturday – brisket on the grill
Sunday – headed to family’s for dinner
Don’t forget to head over to Meal Plan Monday for even more meal and recipe ideas!
24 Reasons to Gather Around the Dinner Table
How often does your family have dinner together? If you’re like most families nowadays, the answer is probably, “Not very often.”
It’s understandable. Modern families are busy. Both parents work and sometimes get home at different times. Children have activities to go to, and Mom’s got to drive them all over the place. Really, who’s got the time and energy to even cook dinner every single night?
You, that’s who! Eating together is good for you and your family. So you better make time and find the energy to make home-cooked meals and sit down and eat together more often.
Researchers have found many benefits to home-cooked meals. Watch this video to learn about some of them. In my own experience, though, there are many more. Here are 24 reasons I have found to share family meals more often:
Menu Plan Monday – Busy Week Ahead
This is going to be a super busy week, so I’m shooting for a simple meal plan.
Monday – meatloaf and homemade mashed potatoes, corn, rolls
Tuesday – grilled chicken thighs, salad, garlic bread
Wednesday – leftovers (chicken enchiladas probably)
Thursday – tacos, Spanish rice
Friday – steak, baked potatoes, salad
Saturday – going out to eat!
Sunday – bbq ribs, beans, potato salad
Don’t forget to head over to Meal Plan Monday for even more meal and recipe ideas!