Being prepared before heading to the grocery store is one of the best ways to make sure you stick to your grocery budget. We rounded some strategies to keep in mind and products to keep an eye out for at the market. They will help you slash your costs without sacrificing nutrition, so check them out.
PLAN AHEAD
If you don’t want to overbuy, you should create a detailed shopping list based on your needs and weekly menu plan. Before you plan your menu, check the ads to see what’s on sales and use coupons to take advantage of it. Sign up online to receive email alerts or coupons from your favorite grocers. Don’t go shopping hungry to avoid impulse purchases.
GROW YOUR OWN
Think about growing your own salad greens. They grow quickly and they don’t take up much space. You can buy a packet of seeds for mixed salad greens for the cost of a bag salad greens ($3).
MAKE HEALTHY CHOICES – THEY ARE CHEAPER
According to some studies, eating healthy food can actually save you money. In other words said, the families that wanted to lose weight went on healthy diets, and they not only lost weight but reduced their budgets. The savings came from buying fewer of the high-calorie and junk foods and from reducing portion sizes.
Chips, bakery items, and soda add calories but little nutritional value, so you should definitely avoid them. Sparkling water with a splash of a 100% fruit juice like cranberry can be a cheaper alternative to flavored drinks and sodas.
BULK UP WHEN IT MAKES SENSE
Compare the price per weight for other bulk items to those in packages before you buy a package. Sometimes the bulk section is a better deal, sometimes not. Oats, brown rice and whole-wheat flour are often cheaper in boxes as opposed to bulk. Pistachios and pumpkin seeds are cheaper in bulk, while other nuts are much more expensive.
BUY PRODUCE IN SEASON
Buy a newspaper and check the food section to find the best food deals for the week based on fresh produce in season. Food in season is usually priced to sell. During summer, cob on the cob can cost 10 cents, while during the other seasons it may cost 10 times as much. For great deals on local produce, shop your local farmers’Â markets – the price won’t include shipping costs.
STOCK UP ON FROZEN VEGETABLES
Frozen veggies are nutritious because they are picked at the peak of ripeness and then frozen to seal in their nutrients. Plus, unlike canned vegetables most of the frozen vegetables don’t have added sodium. When compared with their fresh counterparts out of season, they are also relatively inexpensive.
