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Grocery Shopping on a Budget

Shopping for food is an essential part of everyone's budget. With soaring produce prices adding to the current economical woes, many of us are looking for ways to save money by reducing our costs at the grocery store. But how can we do this without going hungry, and without compromising our health by buying cheaper foods that are also less nutritious?.
Here are some tips to help you become a frugal grocery shopper:

Meal Planning and Grocery Shopping List

The basic principal to saving at the grocery store is preparation. Plan your meals for the week (or 2 weeks, depending on your shopping schedule). From your meal planning, create a shopping list with all the ingredients required, along with any additional items you may need. Don’t forget to include the non-edible items such as shampoo, soap, toilet rolls, etc.
Sticking to this list will mean that you should not have surplus food at the end of the week, and neither will you be short on ingredients during the week for lack of planning. Plus, you will not be wasting money on groceries that you simply do not need.

Grocery Coupons

Coupons are an excellent way to reduce your food shopping bills by significant amounts. Many people are often unaware of the huge amount of coupons available and their saving potential. A great source for coupons is your Sunday newspaper and local coupon mailers. However, the best way to find coupons these days is by doing a Google search for "free grocery coupons". There are many sites that offer free access to lots of printable coupons. Some good, free sites are Coolsavings, CouponCabin and Smartsource.

Farmers Markets

An often overlooked source for great quality and often cheaper fruits, vegetables and other cheap groceries, are farmers markets. At farmers markets, the produce is often pesticide free or even organic. Along with potential savings on produce, you are also supporting your local community and helping the environment by decreasing the demand on food imported from out of state or abroad. You can find a nearby market here, through the USDA website.
Be sure to call ahead of time, to confirm the information is still current.
"Organic Grocery Shopping on a Budget" has more information on buying organic food.

Grow Your Own Foods

If you have your own garden, why not consider growing your own fruits and vegetables. Not only can this be a fun hobby, but it could also save a lot of money on groceries in the long run.
Even without a garden, you could grow herbs and sprouts in your kitchen.
For more detailed information on this, read "Growing Your Own Food."

Buying Food in Bulk

A great tip for frugal grocery shopping, is to buy in bulk. Dried foods, canned foods and grains are some good examples that work out to be a lot cheaper in large quantities. They are also great foods to have in case of an emergency.
Some good sites are: Bulkfoods, Granarybulkfoods, Foodservicedirect and Waltonfeed (has some organic).

In-Store Savings

Take advantage of the different saving opportunities that grocery stores will offer for free. Sign up for store discount cards, return glass milk bottles for store credit, use your own grocery bags for money off, and keep an eye out for the special deals. Make the most of special one time deals by stocking up on those items. Remember, items like meat, fish and even milk can be frozen and saved for a later date.

Generic Brands

What the big name companies do not want you to know, is that supermarket generic brands are often sourced from the same locations as those expensive name brands. This means that you can essentially get the same product for less money by buying the generic brands.

Don’t Shop on an Empty Stomach

Making this mistake tends to make everything in the market look very tempting . Before you know it, your shopping cart is filled with everything from twinkies to 10 different brands of pot pies. It's a simple step, but one that can make it a lot easier to stick to your shopping list and grocery budget.

Bottled Water

If you are one of the many people who refuse to drink tap water, and buy bottles and bottles of water each week, consider buying a water filter for your tap, or a filtered jug instead. These are 99.9 percent effective at removing impurities from the tap water, and even with having to buy the replacement filters every few months, it will be a lot cheaper than the bottles.

Sticking to Your Grocery Budget

Finally, set your budget and try to lower it by using the tips listed above. This can be quite a fun and rewarding experience when you start to see how much money you are saving on groceries. If you need help working out a budget, read "Creating a Budget and Sticking to it."

Written by Jon Boyd Barrett

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