How to Write a Grocery List That Saves Time and Money

A grocery list that saves time and money is an essential part of maintaining your budget. Once a month, once a week or everyday you go to the grocery store to purchase food for you and your family. You owe it to yourself and your budget to try these sure fire tips to save time and money and actually enjoy the grocery shopping trip.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

1. To Save Time and Money Check the Sales: Get out the sales ad, all grocery store have them, I know, you were thinking of a low price warehouse store but Grocery Stores Run Sales so go to that ad and use it to prepare your menus for the week and you won't need to run all over town to get quality groceries at a great price.

2. 

   To Save Time and Money Get 7 Dinner Ideas: Check what meats are on sale this week, what rice or pasta products, what frozen foods etc. Now write down 7 dinner ideas from you're research. I always like to work with menus for a week because the ads only come out once a week here.

3. 

   To Save Time and Money Prepare an Ingredients List: Take your dinner ideas and list basic ingredients for main and side dishes, check what you have at home, check what might also be on sale to fill as sides. Now you have an ingredients list.

4. 

   To Save Time and Money Prepare a Shopping List: Here's a secret, meats are never in the front of the store, they are not pretty, never have been and never will be until they are cooked of course. All store have the same basic layout and if you write your list by the layout of the store you will save tons of time and money because you will not be looking at things that are not on sale and you do not need.

5. 

   To Save Time and Money Check you're Cart: We all do it but in this economy it is important to avoid those impulse buys. Did you pick up a package of Oreos? Just take a look and see what you have put in your cart that wasn't on your list. You can save tons with this final look.

Tips & Warnings

• Don't go to the Grocery Hungry
• Wear Comfortable Shoes
• Help a Fellow Shopper, it makes you feel good and costs nothing
• Check expiration dates, if you can't use it or freeze it by that date don't buy it

[kristara]

on 5/7/2009 Great money saving ideas. 5*

[bizzyliz]

on 3/26/2009 Good tips for saving time and money at the grocery store.

[FrazzledNanny]

on 2/21/2009 Thanks for the great tips. 5*

[painthorse42]

on 2/21/2009 Great tips! Your tip #4 is something I'm going to try - Thanks! 5*

[sunshine11219]

on 2/18/2009 great tips on saving time and money