Feeding your family is stressful. You want to make sure they get the best healthiest food, but you have a budget, and we all know, eating healthy isn’t cheap.
Flickr photo credit: qmnonic
It is a minefield trying to get the best deals when it comes to grocery shopping. With news stories popping up every day about moms seeking legal help against stores like Wal-Mart over their sneak pricing schemes, it is hard for mothers to find the best deals.
We have found some great tricks for getting the most out of your grocery budget, here they are.
Take stock of what you have
Before you leave the house to go shopping, check what you already have in the house. If you have things that need to be used up, plan to make some meals that will include those things.
Keep a grocery list
Everyone has been there, getting home from shopping only to realize you forgot one of the most important things you went for in the first place. Keep an ongoing shopping list, and make sure you take that with you when you go shopping. Nowadays’ there are even apps that take care of this for you!
Go early to get the freshest produce
The best time of the day to go grocery shopping is as early as possible in the morning. Meat, fish, and fresh produce are often stacked just before opening time. This means that getting there early gives you the best chance of getting produce that will last the longest.
Plan your meals
This one pairs with keeping a grocery list. If you know roughly what meals you want to serve up for the whole week, you can make a list of the ingredients and only buy them. This will save you time while you shop and avoid you wasting money on ingredients that you aren’t going to use. In addition, use a Meijer Weekly Ad to plan where to get your groceries for the most cost-effective shop. By looking for the best value supermarket who advertises deals, you can save a considerable amount of money. It can be exhausting trying to complete a supermarket comparison on your own, but sites like My Supermarket Compare can really help with this.
Be flexible
You may have planned your meals for the whole week and know exactly what you need but allow for a little bit of flexibility. If you get to the shop and chicken is 60% off, or see a great deal on beef on a No Frills Flyers, and you were planning to serve pork, be willing to change it up a little bit in order to maximize savings!
Set a budget and only take that in cash
A great way to stop overspending is to set yourself a shopping budget, then leave your cards at home and only take that budget in cash. This stops you from being able to spend more than you have budgeted for.
Leave the kids at home
We know this isn’t possible for everyone, but if you can, leave your kids at home. Not only will you be quicker in the store, but you also save money and effort by not arguing with your children about what brand of cereal they want.
Budgeting and feeding your family makes for a hard balance for most moms, but hopefully, with these tips, we have made your life just that little bit easier!
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