Grocery Tips Video from Money Talks

Meal Planning 101; Step #8

This is the easy step:

Go shopping!

Again, I do my grocery shopping at Walmart and Winco. I'm armed with my list telling me at which store to get what. Then I complete my shopping for the full month, except for things like bananas and other fresh produce that I will need to buy 2-3 times a month, I reserve about $10 for that.

We buy whatever meat is on sale or running cheap. Take last month, we found a roast and then it was sliced and that one roast lasted us 5 meals because I wrapped 4 slices and put them in the freezer. Each package was a meal along with potatoes or rice and veggies. I also like getting thin boneless pork chops and a 5 pound package of ground turkey. We eat meat 1-2 times a week but most of are diet is based around beans, fish, eggs and other sources of protein.

For cheese, I get slabs of it, which is the cheapest way to get it that I have seen. I usually buy one slab of cheddar and one slab of mozzarella for pizzas for the month. They last us the whole month!

Meal Planning 101; Step #7

Now that you have your Grocery List, you will want to shop at the store with the best prices for the items you need to buy.  That brings us to the next step:

Make a price book 

I shop at 2 stores for my monthly grocery shopping; Walmart and Winco.  I might go to another, if there is an unbelievable deal or if I'm having a craving or have extra money for a treat. 

I make a list of different foods and items and go through Walmart and then Winco and looking at the unit and/or ounce price, I write down the cheapest one.  Then when I get home I compare and see which store has which item for the cheapest.  Here is an example: I know that honey is cheaper at Walmart by comparing the price per ounce with Winco's cheapest honey.  Then Winco has the cheapest peanut butter.

You should only have to do this once and then on each monthly visit to do your shopping, note any changes (if you have time) in the prices.  Then every 3 months, you should do a complete price book check and see if there are changes.  You would be suprised!  I've seen Walmart change things from one month to the next, sometimes by a dollar or more.

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Meal Planning 101; Step #6

You have your meal list for 30 days, now you are going to do Step #6:

Make a grocery list

Since you have planned your meals around your inventories, it will be easy to make your grocery list. You know what you don't have on hand and need to buy. Take out a piece of paper and make your list. I like to have sections on my list such as:

Freezer/cold items
Canned items like tomato sauce
Produce

You get the idea! When you go to the grocery store you aren't running back and forth because you have an organized list. Then once you come to a specific section of the grocery store, you don't have to scan your entire list to see what you need from that aisle, it is already grouped together!

Desserts

• Cookies
• Pies
• Coffee cakes
• Brownies
• Cakes
• Jello
  

Dinner Meals

• Split Pea Soup, bread or sandwiches
• Pizza
• Navy Bean Soup, bread or sandwiches
• Spaghetti, cheese bread
• Beans, rice and salsa
• Taco Casserole
• Chili and baked potatoes
• Salmon chowder, corn on the cob and/or bread
• Broccoli and rice casserole (tuna usually)
• Meat, veggies, rice or potato