When you are meal planning, one of the things you need to do is grocery shopping. And when you are grocery shopping, you want to save money on the groceries that you are buying.
Here is how to do that:
1. Write A Shopping List Before Going Shopping. You need to do this as part of meal planning already, so go ahead and write your list! Without a shopping list you will end up buying half the grocery store, and then throwing a lot of those groceries out, which is not exactly good for saving money.
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With a shopping list, you will only buy what you need, to prepare the meals that you have already planned.
2. Use Coupons. If you are grocery shopping, and buying grocery brands that offer coupons, use them. Or, sometimes your local grocery stores will send you ads with coupons by email. If you are already shopping at those grocery stores, make sure to use the coupons as well.
You can print coupons here:
Redplum Coupons, take a look at the available coupons, and print the coupons that you need.
Coupons, review the coupons that are available, and print the ones that you need.
3. Don’t Shop Hungry. I never took the warning to never shop hungry seriously, until I actually shopped hungry once. I was hungry, and I just wanted to get out of the store as soon as possible, so that I could get home and eat. As a result, I kept putting everything in sight into my shopping cart, since everything looks good when you are hungry.
Don’t shop when you are hungry — shop when you are not hungry, and shop with a shopping list.
4. Shop The Sales. I meal plan based on what is on sale this week. Before I create a meal plan for next week, I review the grocery store ads, and find out what is on sale. Then, I find recipes that use ingredients on sale and create a shopping list. You will save a lot of money by buying meats and vegetables that are on sale, and using them in your meals for the week.
5. Meal Prep For The Week. Meal planning will save you a lot of money on grocery shopping. When you are meal planning, you know exactly what you are going to cook. So you will only buy what you need for the meals that you will make.
No more overbuying, wasting money and throwing away spoiled groceries at the end of the week. You will buy enough for the week, and you will use the groceries, instead of wasting them.
6. Get An Instant Pot. A roast is much cheaper than a filet mignon. But it takes a while to cook the roast and sometimes even after you cook it for a while it comes out dry and tough. Enter Instant Pot, which is a pressure cooker. It can cook tough, cheap cuts of meat in under an hour. Those tough cuts will come out tender and delicious. You will make dinner in no time, and you will save a ton of money in the process.
If you have been thinking about buying one, take a look at the one that I have: Instant Pot IP-LUX60 V3 Programmable Electric Pressure Cooker, 6Qt, 1000W.
7. Stock The Pantry (On Sale). You will save tons of money on the pantry staples if you buy them on sale. Unlike perishable grocery items, the pantry items don’t go bad, so you can stock up on them, and you will be able to keep them until you can use them.
So many items are pantry items, including pasta, spices, brown rice, quinoa, buckwheat, couscous, soba noodles, dry beans, canned beans, canned peas, canned corn, canned fruit, dark chocolate bars, oils, vinegars, salt, pepper, chicken stock and so much more.
Buy when the pantry items are on sale, and you will save a lot
8. Shop Costco and Sam’s Club. Both Costco and Sam’s Club have a lot of well priced grocery items. If you know what the prices should be for various items, you will be able to find the deals at these price clubs, and save money. While you will have to buy in bulk, you will be able to save per unit of the item.
They also have sections where they sell fresh fruits and vegetables. Compare those prices to your regular grocery store prices, and if Sam’s Club or Costco’s produce is cheaper, but it there.
9. Shop Aldi. I wrote a post about what I like to buy at Aldi. Aldi sells lots of staples and produce at great prices, and every week they have weekly specials with great deals on produce and other items.
8. Money Back On Credit Cards. Many credit cards now offer 1% or more cash back. If you are already shopping for groceries, make sure to use a cash back credit card, so that you can get money back.
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