How to Grocery Shop
by B. Dear

Grocery Shopping is a chore that none of us really like to do. In this article, I hope to show you how to make your shopping trip a little bit easier and help you to save some money.

Determine How Much to Spend on Your Grocery Shopping Trip: Before you head out on your grocery run,  you'll need to know how much you can spend on groceries. If it's not you, check with the person in your household who does the bills and find out how much money has been budgeted this month for groceries. To determine how much you can spend on groceries for a week, find out how much money has been budgeted per month for groceries and divide it by the number of weeks in that month.

Determine What  to Shop For: Next you will plan out your meals for the week. Make a list of all the supplies you will need to make breakfast, lunch and dinner for the entire week. Make a list of the items you need to prepare these meals. remember to plan for snacks between the meals as well, if you  snack regularly. Next, check through your cupboards to see if you are running low on any other supplies. If you are, add these items to the list underneath the first set of items. You should now have a list of the essential items that you need to make meals, a list of snack items, and a list of other items that may not be as necessary.

Check the Newspaper and Internet for Coupons: If you use coupons, check the local newspaper and Internet for any coupons that may be available. Using coupons will help you to stretch your budget much further, if you do it right. Organize any coupons you have so that they will be easy to reference while you are shopping. (My mother used to have a shoe box that she used to store and organize all of her coupons alphabetically.)

Shopping at the Supermarket: Now you are ready to go to the supermarket. Don’t forget to bring your calculator, your shopping list, and a notebook for making notes. As you shop, be careful to note how much money you are spending as you go, so you know when to stop shopping or if you need to put some less necessary items back. Get the products that you will need to cook meals first, then shop for snack items and other less essential items if you have money left over.

Shop Smart: Now it's time to break out the calculator. When you purchase items, determine the “by measurement” price. For example: $1.60 for 16 ounces equals 10 cents per ounce. This will help you compare products of different quantities to determine which is the best value. There are often economies of scale in buying items in bulk, also known as the “economy-size.”If a product is cheaper when you buy more, it's only worthwhile to buy the larger item if you know you will use it. Otherwise, you will actually be wasting money as the additional product purchased will go to waste.

Use your Coupons: Only clip and use coupons for products that you like and will use otherwise. As you take the item off the shelf, check the fine print on the coupn and make sure that it applies to the product you are purchasing and has not expired.

Shop the Sales: Supermarkets always have sales and special deals. Try to determine what this week’s good buys are. This can usually be done by picking up their latest flyer from the front of the store as you come in.

Use the Store Card: Many stores offer discounts if you volunteer to use their store card. If you buy the store’s brand of products and use the card, you can save a lot of money.

Own a Freezer: Freezers are great becasue you can actually use leftover money from a shopping trip to buy food for future use. If you have a large freezer, you can buy frozen goods in bulk and freeze them for use over time. If there is a sale on frozen items, it may be a good idea to buy a lot.