How to Get The Most Out of Food Stamps
Food stamps are a valuable tool for families in need of a little assistance. However, the available funds on your EBT card may come in well below what you're used to spending on groceries. The key to getting the most out of food stamps is to plan ahead. Stopping into the store here and there when you need something, or picking up ingredients one dinner at a time on the way home from work, is inefficient. These tactics will ruthlessly chip away at your funds till you're left with nothing but worry in the middle of the month.
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Instructions
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Locate all the vendors in your area that accept food stamps. Grocery stores are not your only option. Big box stores like Walmart accept food stamps, as well, and often have some of the lowest prices on groceries. In some cities, like Philadelphia and Minneapolis, the farmers markets even accept food stamps.
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Check the grocery ads for the lowest prices. Before you decide what you'll be eating for the week, see what's on sale. Sometimes otherwise expensive grocery stores will run great sales on meat or produce. Make a note of the sale item and store.
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Double check your kitchen. You may find canned vegetables, dried pasta and frozen meat that you've long forgotten about. Make note of these items so you can make a plan to use them. To get the most out of your food stamps, you should use up everything you buy rather than letting forgotten goods waste.
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Make a very specific menu using your sale list and the items you already have as a starting point. Don't forget to include snacks and occasional desserts. While it may seem more frugal to forgo everything but the basics, it's more expensive in the long run if you give in to cravings at the last minute and purchase sweets and snacks one at a time from gas stations or convenience stores. To get the most out of your food stamps, use them for scheduled shopping trips only, and not for spur-of-the-moment purchases.
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Make a grocery list of items you need to buy to complete the items on your menu. Keep in mind that some of the ingredients are probably in the house already, so you don't necessarily need to buy every ingredient for every meal. Where you're buying sale items, note the store beside the item.
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Purchase your groceries at the store with the lowest prices. If you're purchasing sale items at an upscale grocery store, buy only the things on sale and get out before you overspend on other staples that will be cheaper somewhere else.
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Carefully monitor your weekly spending, and aim to spend no more than a quarter of your total monthly allotment of food stamps each week. Strive to be the most frugal at the beginning of the month and loosen up for a special dinner or two at the end of the cycle as a reward if you've stayed on track all month and still have food stamps to spare.
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Tips & Warnings
Forget couponing with food unless you're truly a master at it. Most coupons are for name brands and require that you buy two or three of the item to use the coupon. It's much cheaper to simply buy store brands, even when you factor in the after-coupon price of the name brand option.
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