My Weekly Menu Planner » save money on groceries

9 Simple Ways to Save Money on Your Groceries

Krissi — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 16:24:46 +0000

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.

4. Stock Up on Staple Items When They’re On Sale: If you see ketchup or your family’s favorite sauce on sale, stock up. Or if it’s a certain type of soup or frozen vegetable your family eats all the time, buy a bunch of it. As long as it doesn’t spoil and you have space to store it, you will save money in the long run. The nice thing about this is if you continue to stock up on a variety of items, you’ll have a nice pantry full of food at any given time.

5. Cook from Scratch More Often: Yeah, yeah…it sounds easier said than done, but it doesn’t have to be too complicated. It’s no secret that pre-packaged items and convenience foods come at a premium price. They save you time in preparation, but they eat up your budget and let’s face it, time IS money. Plus, if you’re using Tip #2 and planning your meals, cooking from scratch more often is a whole lot easier.

6. Comparison Shop Before You Leave Home: No, I’m definitely not suggesting you go from store-to-store looking for the best deal. That takes too much time. Check the flyers that come to your door and see who is offering the best deals on what you actually need. If you don’t have any flyers at your door, visit the store website as they generally post flyers online.

7. Use Coupons Sparingly: Sure, coupons offer a great deal, but most coupons you’ll find are for items you don’t really need or use. Resist the urge to think, “Wow, that’s a good deal” and search for coupons based on items you need to purchase instead.

8. Keep the Little Ones At Home: If you have young children that want everything that they see, it’s easy to get into the trap of buying items you don’t need, treats that aren’t healthy and become victim to other grocery store distractions. Keep the kids at home with Daddy (it’s a good bonding opportunity) or a relative. You can even swap grocery store shopping times with your neighbor. Not only will you save money, but you’ll save your sanity too!

9. Make Quick Stops for Fresh Ingredients: This may not be easy if you’re on a tight schedule, but if you can work it in, it can save you a bundle. One of the biggest culprits in grocery budgets gone bad is spoiled food. If your fruits, veggies and other perishable items are always going bad, consider shopping for them more frequently, but in smaller quantities and restrain yourself from buying items you don’t need. If you have any teenaged kids, this would be a great chore for them too.

There you go – 9 ways to save on groceries. But in order to make these tips work, you really need to have a plan in place. You need to know what your family needs and what you’ll be eating. To make your meal planning a whole lot easier, sign up for you 1 ¢ no-risk trial at Dine Without Whine. You and your grocery budget will be glad you did.

This post provide courtesy of: My Weekly Menu Planner where you can find meal planning tips, recipes and more.

9 Simple Ways to Save Money on Your Groceries

How to Get Started Meal Planning

Krissi — Fri, 09 Jan 2009 20:35:40 +0000

Easy Meal Planning

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?

This post provide courtesy of: My Weekly Menu Planner where you can find meal planning tips, recipes and more.

How to Get Started Meal Planning

Grocery Tip of the Week

Krissi — Wed, 11 Feb 2009 23:54:10 +0000

Shop with a list!

Make a grocery list and stick to it. Don’t be tempted by instore ads or specials if it’s not on your list. Unless it’s something you KNOW you will use – like laundry detergent, toilet paper, etc.

Also, leave the kids at home when grocery shopping. You’ll be amazed how much you save by not adding all of those little extras onto your grocery bill!

Brought to you by mygrocerydeals.com and thedollarstretcher.com

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This post provide courtesy of: My Weekly Menu Planner where you can find meal planning tips, recipes and more.

Grocery Tip of the Week

Hello and Welcome!

Krissi — Thu, 08 Jan 2009 16:06:57 +0000

Welcome to My Weekly Menu Planner! I decided to create this blog so that I would have one place to keep my menu plans, recipes and tips for cooking and saving money.

A friend introduced me to meal planning a couple of years ago, and I’ve been hooked ever since.

Meal planning helps me save money at the grocery store (which is a huge benefit in this crazy economy), and just as important, it helps save me time.

I’m looking forward to sharing how meal planning has helped me, as well as my favorite menu plans and recipes.

Please feel free to share your own meal planning tips and recipes each time you visit!

This post provide courtesy of: My Weekly Menu Planner where you can find meal planning tips, recipes and more.

Hello and Welcome!