How to Grocery Shop Effectively

Everyone has different systems to grocery shop effectively. Here are 4 of my tips to help stay on budget and maximize your dollar.

1. Make a list and budget before you go.

This is probably the most important thing to do to help stay on budget while shopping. By planning what you are going to eat, it keeps you from wasting time in the store trying to decide what you want for the week. Similarly, you won’t waste money on extra food you didn’t really need.

2. Avoid impulse buys.

Along the same lines, making a list will help you try to avoid making impulse buys. Stick to your list. While you are in the store, everything on the shelf looks good. Avoid the temptation of buying things that look good that are not on the list. End caps of the store aisle are especially tempting. However, sometimes you forget to put an item you need on your list. By all means get it if you need it. However, the best practice is to create a comprehensive list and stick to it. Get in, get what you need and get out.

3. Look for sales to fined regularly expensive products at a cheap cost.

Another great way to stretch your dollar is to buy things that are on sale. This is especially important with meat which is usually very expensive. This sometimes even breaks my tips 1 and 2. Use the sale ad to help get these sale items on your list and budget before you go to the store. However sometimes you just find a sale too good to pass up. The best sale that I have seen was on bone in New York Strip steak. College students cant usually afford to eat steak but in this case it was not out of the budget. These Steaks were regularly $16 per pound but were on sale for $7 per pound and I just couldn’t pass it up. (I will show you how to cook these in another post)

4. Cut coupons or use digital coupon apps.

Now I am not talking about becoming a crazy or extreme coupon shopper. However, I strongly suggest making a conscious effort to find coupons for items that you regularly. This could be through coupon packets in the news paper, at the store or on an app.

I hope this help keep you on budget for your next shopping trip.

Let me know what you think in the comments section below.