How to Create a Weekly Grocery Budget
When families and individuals have to pinch pennies to make ends meet, buying groceries can be a real hassle. Dieting restrictions, picky eaters and costly entrees can all throw your grocery bills through the roof, and cause budgeting headaches. Preparing a grocery list on a budget takes a little practice, but once you've done so a few times, the process is much more simple.
Other People Are Reading
Instructions
-
-
1
Write a list of meals you can make for the week. For example: Sunday: lunch, turkey sandwiches; dinner, roast chicken and potatoes; Monday: lunch, chicken Caesar salad; dinner, lasagna, and so on. Be sure to keep it simple, and try to think of things that use similar ingredients, like hamburger, that can be made into sloppy joes one day and also make a meatloaf on another night. This trick not only saves you money, but also shortens your grocery list.
-
2
Make a list of the ingredients that you will need. Be sure to go through and double check your pantry, refrigerator and your freezer so as not to buy something you already have at home.
-
-
3
Find the best deals at your local supermarkets. For this step you can either get ads from each grocery -- often times they can be found within your local newspaper -- or you can usually go online to your grocery store' s website and take a look at there weekly ads. Go through your grocery list and take note of how much each item costs at each store. Pay special attention to buy one, get one deals and compare them to other store' s prices, as they are not always the best deal to be had.
-
1
Tips & Warnings
When thinking of meals for the week, keep it as simple as possible and also consider meals that will create leftovers. Some leftovers, such as chili, can be converted into separate meals like chili dogs or chili cheese burritos. Freezing meals is another great way to save time and money. Research new recipes online or browse through cookbooks to make cheap and simple meals at home.
