How to Grocery Shop
By B. Dear

Grocery Shopping is a chore that none of us really like to do. In this article, I hope to make your shopping trip a little bit easier and to save you some money.

Before ever leaving the house, you'll need to know what you are shopping for and how much you can spend. If it's not you, check with the person in your household who does the bills to find out how much money has been budgeted for groceries. To do a weekly grocery shopping trip, determine how much you spend a month on groceries and divide it by the number of weeks in that month.

Next you will plan out your meals for the week. Make a list of all the supplies you will need to make breakfast, lunch and dinner for the entire week. Make a list of the items you need to prepare these meals.

Next you will check through your cupboards to see if you are running low on anything else. If you are, add these items to the list below the first set of items. You should now have a list of the essential items that you need to make meals and a list of other items that may not be as necessary.

If you like to use coupons, check the local newspaper and Internet for any coupons that you would like to use. (My mother used to have a shoe box that she used to store and organize all of her coupons alphabetically.)

Now you are ready to go to the supermarket. Don’t forget to bring your calculator, your shopping list and a notebook for making notes. As you shop, be careful to note how much money you are spending as you go, so you know when to stop shopping or whether you may need to put some items back. Get the required items you will need to cook meals first, then shop for less essential items if you have money left over.

When you buy items, determine the “by measurement” price. For example: $1.60 for 16 ounces equals 10 cents per ounce. This will help you compare products of different quantities to determine which is the best value.

Supermarkets always have sales and special deals. Try to determine what this week’s good buys are. This can usually be done by picking up their latest flyer from the front of the store.

Many stores offer discounts if you volunteer to use their store card. If you buy the store’s brand of products and use the card, you can save a lot of money.

There are often economies of scale in buying items in bulk, also known as the “economy-size.” Buying in bulk can be a good choice or bad one depending on your situation. Only do this if it is practical. If you don’t use that much of the item, you will be wasting money when if it goes bad.

If you have a large freezer, you can buy frozen goods in bulk and freeze them for use in future weeks or months. If there is a sale on frozen items, it may be a good idea to buy a lot.