I don’t know why it took me so long to learn this myself but planning ahead before grocery shopping actually saves money. Crazy concept right? Seriously, I would clip my coupons, I’d have a list of things we needed before I went but I never really planned out too far. I’d buy things while I was there for meals. I might think “oh I’ll make Lasagna” so I’d buy the lasagna noodles and the hamburger but maybe I didn’t buy enough cheese for both the lasagna and the homemade pizza I was making. Perhaps I forgot the ricotta cheese so I’d go back to the store to pick it up and end up buying 5 more things while I was there. So I learned to do these things before our grocery trip:
1. Meal planning – We do a big grocery shop every two weeks and a fill in shop at about one week for things like milk, eggs, etc. I would write what I was planning on making for each of 14 days and what we needed. For example: meatball hoagies and a side of mixed veggies I’d need hoagie buns, 1 lb of hamburgers, mozzarella cheese, bread crumbs to make the meatballs, and mixed veggies. This worked out fantastically to keep from running to the store and being tempted to buy things we didn’t need.
2. Collecting coupons – If I knew what I was buying I could look for specific coupons in the paper, online, on manufacturer websites, etc to save more money on the things I’d be buying.
3. Checking sales – We do the majority if our shopping one specific place but maybe a different grocery store may have a meat sale so we might get the meat at the sale and buy the rest at our normal grocery store. Or I might be able to get great coupon deals on some toiletries at the drugstore down the street before we go. Stick to the list though, right down what sales or coupon deals you’re going for and don’t stray from the list.
4. Checking the money saving apps – If I couldn’t find a coupon for …say…my favorite brand of tomato sauce and it wasn’t on sale I may be able to get cash back from a money saving app like Ibotta or checkout 51.
5. If possible go alone or just with your spouse – I have 4 kids. I know getting out on my own is a rare treat BUT let’s be honest, aren’t you more willing to pick up oreos that weren’t on the list or a gallon of chocolate milk when the kids are around. “Oh honey you’re being so good I guess you can get that bag of chips” You don’t want to feel rushed if you’re trying to coupon too. If there’s a certain day of the week it works better for you to go by yourself then maybe plan for that day.
Planning ahead can really save money in many aspect of your budget. Check out the guest post I did for planning ahead when buying a vehicle.
