Buying Groceries and Planning Meals On A Budget

Planning a budget is difficult and often requires making sacrifices. There are some expenses you are unable to avoid each week, such as groceries. At first, it may seem easy to budget for groceries, but you do not want to make the mistake of saving money by purchasing unhealthy foods. Your nutritional needs are important and, unfortunately, there are many inexpensive foods with minimal nutritional value. You may think you are saving money, but you are putting your health at risk, which will ultimately cost you later down the line.

Buying the right groceries is even more important if you are taking care of a family. Children need nutritional meals when they are growing up. While healthy food is often more expensive, it does not mean you have to break your budget to afford it. There are many ways you can save money while shopping for groceries without sacrificing food quality.

Avoid Impulse Shopping

One of the reasons buying groceries often ends up being expensive is impulse shopping. If you do not have a list in mind when you go food shopping, you are more likely to pick up items you do not need because they look good. This applies to all foods, not only unhealthy options. In fact, it can be a greater risk with healthy food. For example, many shoppers end up buying healthy fruits because they are on sale and look appetizing, only for it to remain uneaten and spoil a few days later.

The best way to avoid impulse shopping is to make a grocery list and stick to it. Not only does this prevent you from buying unnecessary items, but it also makes it easier to budget. Many stores have prices listed online, or even apps you can use to plan out your grocery list. This way, you know exactly how much everything costs, staying on your budget without risking purchasing extra items you do not need.

You can take the idea of a grocery list one step further and even order your items in advance using a food shopping app. In addition to all the other benefits, you are also saving time, spending only a few minutes at the store to pick up your order. This is also a good way to get a better idea of what items are available at the store, which can be helpful if you are looking for healthier alternatives for your usual meals.

Make a Menu

Another way to go above and beyond with your shopping list is to create a menu for the week. If you plan your meals out in advance, you know exactly what items you need to put on the grocery list. This is also an important part of making sure you are preparing healthy meals for your family. With a menu, you can include more fruits and vegetables in your meals. More importantly, with a menu, you know exactly how much of each ingredient you need to purchase, so you do not end up spending money on extra food that goes unused and eventually gets thrown out.

If you are on a tighter budget, you can plan your menu around what items are currently on sale. Grocery stores frequently offer great deals, which you can find through coupon books, store flyers and newspaper inserts. Some stores also offer special coupons online or through apps.

You can also plan your menu around what items you have in your pantry or freezer, cutting down on what you need to purchase at the store. It is also a good way to clear out your kitchen before these items expire. When you make a menu, plan around leftovers, either to act as meals, or use as ingredients for future meals.

Seasonal Shopping

The cost of food frequently changes depending on the season. This is especially true for fruit and vegetables. If you are purchasing fruit out of season, you end up paying much more. In winter, cabbage, squash and yams are in season, along with grapefruit, pineapple, pears and oranges. In the spring, broccoli, mushrooms, asparagus and carrots drop in price. You can also get strawberries and apricots. Summer is great for corn, cucumbers, eggplant and most berries. Watermelon, cherries and peaches are also popular summer fruits. In the fall, you can find inexpensive mangos, pears and pomegranates. 

Meatless Meals

There are many healthy meals that use chicken and other meats, but including meat in every meal can be costly. If you want to save a little money each week, try to plan at least one meatless meal. Fish is a great alternative to meat with even more health benefits. While some fish are expensive, if you know what fish are in season you can normally find more reasonable prices. There are many recipes involving tofu. Pasta is easy to prepare, inexpensive to buy and stores well, plus it can be used as an ingredient for other meals. If you do not mind some crossover with breakfast, there are several egg themed meals perfect for dinner.

Shared Grocery

Shared Grocery is a great app for shopping online. The app is entirely free to use and compatible with both Android and iPhones. One of the reasons the app is highly recommended for shopping on a budget is the ability to save grocery lists and compare prices between stores. Each week, you can easily check to see if other stores have sales for any of your listed items. You can also make notes for each item, which is helpful if you are counting calories or monitoring other health aspects. You can also note which meals use which ingredients.

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