Tips and Tricks

 Let's face it, we all like to get more bang for our buck.  That's particularly important when you're on food stamps, or you have a very strict budget for food shopping.  There are a few tips and tricks that I have learned over the years, to help do just that!

1.  Contrary to what our very American lifestyle tells us - meat does NOT have to be included in every meal.  Your family will not rebel (overly much) if you institute a meatless day or two during the week.  Meat is expensive!  There are loads of other ways to get some really good protein into a meal.  Eggs and beans are two really amazing sources of protein.  Breakfast for dinner? No problem! A big pot of seasoned beans with some cornbread on the side?  Abso-freaking-lutely!

2.  Meat - as we said above, it can be expensive, especially if you are cooking for a larger family.  One big help for me was finding out when my local WalMart prices down their meat - meaning, the meat that is getting closer to expiring gets marked down for fast sale.  For my store, this was done around 5am.  Find marked down meats and buy those - buy some extra if you can, portion them into baggies, and throw them in the freezer until you are ready to use them!

3. Veggies - super yum and good for you, to boot!  But, like meat, fresh veggies can be expensive.  There's absolutely nothing wrong with hitting up the frozen section of your local store and stocking up on frozen broccoli, cauliflower, or whatever else your heart desires.  The Great Value WalMart brand of frozen veggies usually runs just under a dollar a bag (16oz).  Plus, the majority of them can be popped into the microwave and steamed right in the bag for ease of cooking!

4. Store Brands.  Always get the store brand of something if you are able to do so.  They are cheaper, and in most cases, are just as good as your name brand foods.  My go-to is the Great Value brand from WalMart.  That said, there are a few items that I always get the name brand of, but those items are pretty few compared to the rest of my shopping.   

5. NEVER SHOP HUNGRY.  Yep, we have all heard this one before.  It leads to disaster.  You go into the store for a few things and end up walking out with those things plus 2 packages of Oreos and 3 bags of chips with some dip on the side.  Don't do it.

6. Plan your menu.   I always plan my menus for the week.  This helps me to know what I need before I go to the store.  Check your cabinets to make sure you don't have a sneaky can of tomato paste hiding behind something else.  Check the expiration dates for your milk, etc.  Stay on top of what you have.

7. Have a plan.  This is a BIG one.  Write out your grocery list before you go to the store.  One thing that I like to do, is to log into my store's shopping app, and actually price my list out, so that I know about how much I am going to be spending.   If you are able to do so, leave the kiddos at home or with a friend, while you shop.  Those cute little pleading eyes and pouts lead to us buying things that we had not planned on buying.  If it isn't on the list, it doesn't go into your cart.  Period.  Get in and out as fast as you can while still being thorough.  The longer you're in the store, the more tempted you are going to be to grab that one little thing that wasn't on the list, but sure sounds good.

8. Limit your shopping.  What I mean is, if you go to the store more often, you will spend more money.  Try to limit your shopping trips to once a week if you are able to do so.  I try to do a two week shopping run - from payday to payday.  

9. Shop in familiar stores.  If you know where everything is, you will spend less time in the store, and therefore, less things will go into your cart.  

10. Buy less pre-packaged! Shred your own cheese! Shred your own lettuce! Cheese often freezes well, so feel free to shred a bunch and throw it in the freezer.  

11. Pre-Prep! We all know how it is -we get home from work, the kids are hungry, and its all a little much.  That's when the urge to order out comes from.  Spend an afternoon a week if you're able to (maybe a Sunday) chopping veggies and getting the meats ready to go.  Prep a veggie soup and throw it in the freezer.  Anything that you can do, to save some time during the week, is going to be a life-saver for you!

You might already be doing most or all of these things, and if you are, that's great, and go you!  I thought it would be helpful to include these things for the ones, like me, who didn't think of doing some of them right off the bat!  If you're reading this, and have some tips and tricks of your own, please feel free to add them in the comments!