1. Always go with a list. Prepare a list of everything you need, pulling from your weekly menu and checking to make sure you don’t have it in your pantry, fridge or freezer. Stick to that list.
2. Don’t go when you’re hungry. When you’re hungry, you want to buy all kinds of junk. You’ll end up spending a lot more. Eat a good meal first, and you’ll be more likely to stick to your list.
3. Have a budget. If you don’t know how much you can spend, you’ll certainly spend too much.
4. Buy in bulk when it makes sense. If you can save money, over the course of a month or two, by buying in bulk, plan to do so.
5. Buy frozen veggies. While fresh veggies are a little better, frozen veggies are almost as good, and much better than nothing.
6. Pack your own lunch snacks. Buy little baggies and buy the snacks in bulk, then it will take just a few minutes to pack some snacks for lunch each day.
7. Make leftovers for lunch. Plan to cook a bit extra for each dinner, so that you’ll have leftovers for your lunch and for the kids’ lunches. Pack it right away, after dinner, so you don’t have to worry about it in the morning.
8. Clip coupons. You can save 10-20% of your bottom line with coupons. Check store entrances, newspaper and flyers for coupons.
9. Try the store brands. Give the store brand a try, and often you won’t notice a difference. Especially if it’s an ingredient in a dish where you can’t taste the quality of that individual ingredient.
10. Know when the store stocks its fresh fruits and veggies. Fruits and veggies can go bad quickly, because they have to be shipped. So know when the store re-stocks items.
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