50 Great Grocery Shopping Tips
Written by Leo Babauta
Clean out your fridge. You’ve got stuff growing in there and turning from solids to liquids. The leftovers have begun to organize their own political party. Toss em out and make room for the new.
Stick to your list. Avoid impulse buys. They are almost always bad, and even if it’s just a couple dollars, they will add up to $50-100 for a trip. Over the course of a year, that can mean thousands. Tell yourself you will not buy anything that’s not on your list unless it’s an absolute necessity (why isn’t toilet paper on my darn list?).
Use store savings cards. These can add up to big savings over the long run.
Cut back on your restaurant eating. It’s never cheaper or more nutritious than eating at home. Plan your dinners (see above tip) and bring your lunches to work and save a ton of money.
Avoid frozen dinners or prepared entrees. Again, these cost way more and are usually much less nutritious.
Drink water. If you regularly drink iced tea, Tang, sodas or other types of drinks, cut those out completely and just drink water. It’s much better for you, and much cheaper.
Prepare your grocery list by aisle. If you regularly shop at the same stores, organize your list so that you can easily find and check off items as you walk down the aisle. We always shop from right to left, so we’re not constantly running back and forth in the store.
Get cloth grocery bags. You’ll save tons of plastic over time, and help the environment tremendously.
Pack healthy snacks for the kids. Whole wheat crackers, popcorn, cut-up fruit, raisins, and other kid-friendly snacks are much better than the junk you often see in kids’ lunches. And cheaper.
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You have some great pointers here. Grocery shopping is one of the easiest areas for me to analyze and cut back on my budget. I have to stop asking my husband to stop at the store on his way home from work to pick up just one item- he always buys extra, unnecessary items, and he doesn’t have my coupons with him!
One point about the frozen veggies tip- frozen veggies can actually be more nutritious than fresh, because they are frozen at the peak of their nutritional value. Fresh veggies that have been sitting in bins for awhile have lost much of their nutrition.