<h1>Budget Meal Planning Strategies</h1> Meal Planning Article
By Dana Joseph
| If you are trying to save money, one of the easiest ways to trim your expenses is to start by reducing your food budget. It can seem overwhelming at first. However, if you can develop a method and then stick to it, over time you will see your grocery bill decrease. Here are the basic guidelines that I use for keeping our grocery costs in check: |
| 1. Check the store sale ads. First you need to gather together the ads from your local grocery stores. Many times you can even view the ads online by going to the chain's homepage. Typically you'll need to enter your zipcode and then you'll have access to the current sales ad for the store in your area. As you scan each ad make notes of what is on sale (especially the Buy One Get One Free sales). Some stores will feature a "stock up sale" which is a great way to get staple items at lost cost.
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2. Using the above ads, make your menu based on the sale items. Try to make a meal starting with the cheapest item from the ad. If chicken breast is on sale, then one of your weekly meals will be a chicken breast dish. Think outside the box when meal planning. Instead of cooking chicken in the traditional manner, cook it in the crockpot with BBQ sauce and make BBQ chicken sandwiches at a fraction of the cost you would pay for take-out. Continue working your way through the sale ads, looking for the next cheapest meal.
3. Use coupons. Check your coupons and see if you can match any of them with sale items. I've been very successful at Publix by combining a Buy One Get One Free sale with a manufacturer coupon (especially on cereals). Make sure you attach the coupons to your shopping list. I find it is much easier to staple the coupons directly to my store list so I don't misplace them before they are needed.
4. Eat a snack before shopping. If you're hungry when you go grocery shopping, the chances are that you will make some unplanned food choices! Give yourself the best chance for success and do not go shopping when you are hungry.
5. Shop alone. I try to see how quickly I can get in and out of the grocery store (while still sticking to my shopping list). Many times if the kids are with me I find myself making purchases that are not on my planning list.
For more money saving tips, including 50 chicken breast recipes, please visit us at notmadeofmoney.com/blog/.
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