Groceries can be quite expensive, especially if you have a large family to feed. But there are awesome ways to save money on food and not just by eating mac and cheese every night. With a little organization and preparation, you can make grocery shopping a frugal adventure – save some money and have fun doing it.
Make a meal plan for the week
Before going grocery shopping, sit down and take some time to plan your meals throughout the week. When you have a thorough plan of breakfast, lunch and dinner completed, it’s time to check what you already have in your kitchen pantry. Many times when we do not have a plan, we tend to over buy. We purchase items that we may already have or we don’t plan means based on what we already have so those items tend to get old and thrown out because we didn’t use them before their expiration date. Make a meal plan based on food items you may need to get through before they expire and by the ingredients you already have. Once you have created items that you will need from the grocery store on a list when you go grocery shopping the frugal way by sticking to the list!!
Don’t go shopping when you are hungry
This is the worst because you tend to put almost anything that looks remotely appealing into your grocery basket when in the end you may not have bought it if you were that hungry. Always eat before you head out to do some grocery shopping. This will help you prevent those grocery food splurges and enforce your grocery shopping frugality in check.
Grab the local sales ads and coupons
Doing some research and some planning with sales ads and coupons will help you save even more money. You can base your meal plan on what is currently on sale and what you have coupons for. It’s an excellent way to save a lot of money! Take a look at when their double coupon days are for shopping and when you see a good deal on a product, it is always good to stock up – especially if you use that food item quite a bit. Grocery Shopping and Frugal Savings unleashed!
Join your store’s savings program
If you are a consistent customer you can enjoy additional savings when using your customer rewards card. Many stores have fantastic rewards programs where all you need to do is to scan your card to save a few extra bucks. Savings can be extra dollars off of products or earning cash back for every dollar that you spend. Shop around to different stores to see which has the best rewards program that fits you and your family.
Most of all, have fun grocery shopping. Make it a frugal adventure!
Jenna says
Thanks for the tips! I have to get better at the not going to the store when you’re hungry one!