If you don’t plan ahead, grocery shopping can quickly become expensive and wasteful. With these simple tips, you can find better deals for your family and waste less food:
1. Make a list of the things you need to buy. Plan the next week’s meals for your family based on the recipes you’ve chosen. Then you can easily create a shopping list of the ingredients. Keep a running list in your kitchen of any staples you run out of so you can easily add them to your weekly shopping list. Check your pantry and fridge for any last-minute items you might need before you go out.
2. Make a list and go shopping once a week. If you run to the store every time you want to make dinner or need something, you can quickly spend a lot of money on extra things you buy on each trip. To avoid this, go to the store once a week with a list of everything your family needs for the next week.
3. Don’t go shopping when you’re hungry. If you go grocery shopping when you’re hungry, you might buy things you didn’t plan to. Even if you just eat a granola bar or a piece of fruit before you go, you should eat something to keep yourself from buying things you don’t need.
4. Use coupons. When you go Indian grocery shopping every week, coupons can save you a lot of money. When planning your weekly menu, you can also look at the weekly circular from your local grocery store to see what’s on sale. Recipe costs can be cut by using coupons and planning meals around items that are on sale. Try some of the discount grocery stores near you to save more money on the things on your list.
5. Shop first thing in the morning. You’ll feel better and move faster through the store. The faster you move through the store, the more likely it is that you won’t spend money on things that just catch your eye.
6. Make your food. You don’t have to be a Top Chef to cook your own meals. There are a lot of recipes for quick, cheap meals that can be found online. To save time, look for recipes that take between 5 and 20 minutes to prepare and cook. Meals that are already made can cost more than meals that you make from scratch.
7. Rideshare. Plan your weekly trip with a friend to save money on gas. There’s more help to watch your kids if you have them. And to keep an eye on you to make sure you only buy the things on your list.
8. Try a store-brand product. Most store brands taste just as good as name brands, but cost a lot less. Try getting a few things to test. Most likely, no one in your family will notice, but your bank account will.
