Frugal Grocery Shopping

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How to Buy Frugal Groceries

Looking for frugal grocery shopping ideas? Here are a few tips for choosing frugal groceries. You can still eat well and feed your family, while saving money.

The first thing to do is to stop buying convenience foods. Frozen dinners, complete meals in a box and other prepared foods make cooking dinner faster, but they also make it cost a lot more.

Before you buy a prepared meal, look at the ingredients. If the sum of the cost of the ingredients is more than the cost of the total package, then go ahead and buy it. Otherwise, buy the ingredients and fix it yourself.

Frugal grocery shopping sometimes means sticking with the necessities. It also means sticking with a list.

Stores are designed to encourage impulse buying. The only time that you should buy something that is not on your list is when you will need the item next week, but it is on sale this week. If it’s a really good deal, stock up, as long as it is not something that will spoil.

You can shop for frugal groceries ahead of time, by using the internet. Most chain stores have websites, where they post their weekly flyer. If you are not committed to a specific meal plan for the week, you can plan your meals around the weekly sales. Whether or not you are a good cook, there are some things that anyone can do. Some of the most frugal groceries are dried beans and lentils. They typically require an overnight soak, although a fast soak is possible in most cases. Beans and lentils are very inexpensive. They are good sources of protein, fiber and vitamins. The dried versions cost a lot less than the canned.

In order to get the best deals on fruits and vegetables, frugal grocery shopping requires you to know what is “in season”. Depending on where you live, tomatoes may cost more in the winter. Apples may cost more in the spring.

Sometimes, you can tell simply by walking around the produce section and looking at the price per pound. If it seems high, it is either imported or not in season.

Meats are not usually frugal groceries. But, again, it all depends on what’s on sale. Generally speaking, deli meats cost more per pound. If possible, buy it and slice it yourself. For example, a ham might cost $3 per pound, while sliced ham from the deli can cost $7 per pound or more.

One closing thought: always try to buy at least a week’s worth of groceries at a time. The more trips you make to the store, the more you will end up spending. Hope these frugal grocery shopping ideas help you make more satisfying meals.

Some frugal grocery shopping tips are to:

• Plan your grocery shopping trip in detail.
• Learn the best ways to find and use coupons.
• Keep a record of prices on items you always buy. Some people call this a "price book." This will let you know if an advertised price is really a bargain.
• Buy store brands.
• Buy in Bulk.
• Eat less meat.
• Make creative use of leftovers.
• Boost your grocery savings at CoolSavings.com!

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Frugal Grocery Shopping Tips?

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