Grocery and Shopping Tips

Some of these you have heard before, some of these tips are personal for me. Either way, I hope it helps.

1. Try not to go with kids.

      ~ I know that can be hard when you have little ones. Luckily my oldest is, for the most part, responsible enough to watch her siblings for a couple of hours. However, I am surprised sometimes to come home and she hasn't strangled the other two. If I go to Target, which is 45 minutes away, I go with them, regretfully (I promise, I do love them). It is hard enough trying to price compare and sometimes couponing; you don't need kids going, "Mom, I'm hungry. When are we going to eat? This is taking to long!" Or even two of them chasing, playing, or fighting in the store with each other. (That was specifically intended for you, Evan and Brianna!)

2. Eat before you go.

     ~ You have probably heard this before and it works for me. If I go with an empty stomach, I am eyeing down every piece of fattening goodness like a kid in a candy shop. I have made many shopping mistakes going on an empty stomach. If you take your kids with you, make sure they eat, also. You will still get that nagging, "can we have this? Can we have that," you know you love to hear; however, you will know it's just because they are begging, not because they are hungry. I keep snacks in the car as a bribe and tell them they can have a snack when we are done if they stop asking for everything they lay their eyes on.


3. Make a list and stick to it!

     ~Another rule that is not new, but I stick to this like a fly on a flytrap. (I don't know why I keep typing silly puns, it is not my style.) If it is not on my list, it must not have been important enough to remember. I do not deviate from my list. My grocery list hardly varies from the previous one. I will explain in another tip. I know most of the prices of what I buy which helps me stay in my budget range. Another thing I do is shop for my groceries every two weeks. I enter the store with a calculator and total my items as I put them in my basket. I always round up a dollar to account for tax. This helps stay at $200 for every two weeks. If I hit my cap, then I have to decide what I am willing to forgo.

4. Menu plan before grocery shopping.

     ~ I plan my menus on a monthly calendar ahead of time so I know what grocery items I will need. I basically cook the same types of meals unless I see a Pinterest recipe I want to try. Although we eat the same meals, the meal only gets eaten twice a month so my family doesn't get tired of the same thing. Ex. black beans, nacho casserole and our other meals are only eaten twice a month, unless hubby gives a special request. I plan a month ahead of time and it only takes about 30 minutes. Here is my menu for July. It is basic and mainly helps with my grocery list and allows my kids to see what we will be eating that night. I did this because my son asks 18 times a day, "What's for dinner?" I have attached a link to my menu and my grocery list.

5. You don't need to buy name brand.

     ~ This is just my personal opinion, but I mostly by store brand items. It is cheaper and since I make a lot of casseroles or items that get mixed with other grocery items, our family can't taste the difference. I know many people will be upset with me because a few of the items are made outside the U.S.A.; if I could afford to buy strictly here, I would, but this is a debate I won't get into.

6. It is ok to venture into the middle of the store.

   ~ A tip you usually have heard about is to shop the parameter of the store and not venture in the isles. There are some items I have to get from the isles, such as canned or dried beans, rice, canned tomatoes, spaghetti sauce, canned salmon and tuna fish, frozen veggies and other things. As long as you stick to your list, you will be okay. I avoid most of the snack items, especially chips!

7. Don't use meat as the major part of your meal.
                                                                  
    ~ Everyone knows meat is expensive. This is why I make a lot of casseroles, tacos or bean meals. Meat, in our family, is used to enhance the meal, it is not the main course. I buy my meats in bulk and use a pound and a half or less at a time. I also buy whole fryer chickens and crockpot them. This way, you have homemade chicken broth (saves on buying!) and chicken that can be used for two to three meals. I go ahead and use the chicken in a row so I don't forget it is in the fridge.

8. Use a coupon site to find the best deals.

    ~If you want to save even more, use sites like Krazy Coupon Lady to tell you where you can get some items for very little or even free. I want to reassure you I am not getting paid to mention any of these sites. I  truly use them because they tell you the best deal and they even list links to online coupons for the item. Southern Savers does the same for FoodLion coupons. Another way to get epic coupons for Target is to join the Cartwheel program and their mobile coupons. Target let's you use their store coupon on top of a manufacturer coupon for extra savings. Ibotta is a phone app for coupons. They pay you for certain items you buy. All you do is upload your receipt, scan the product, take a survey and they will add money to your account. Once you save up $10 or more, you can transfer the money to a Paypal account. The first week I used it, I transferred $18.00 dollars! Again, I am not paid to mention these websites.