After you have decided how often you plan to go to the grocery store you can begin planning your meals. Because I go once a month I plan seventeen meals out for the month. On the list I include side dishes which can be rotated and desserts that I can make on occasion instead of purchasing store-bought cakes/cookies. Seventeen meals is what I have found is enough for one month since we do eat out occasionally as well as have leftovers from meals.

If your recipe index is limited or you are tired of eating the same thing, this is a great time to try out new recipes. I love to cook so I subscribe to ?Taste of Home? magazine as well as ?Cooking Light.? Both of these magazines offer lots of new recipes each month as well as tips on cooking techniques. You can always try to get the magazines at the library so that you don?t have to pay for a subscription or just request this as a birthday or Christmas gift. A free place to get great recipes is www.allrecipes.com. On this web site you can type in the ingredients you have on hand and the site will offer you recipes using these ingredients. The best part about the site is that you can create a grocery list right from the recipes you chose so it saves you from writing them down on your grocery list. I pay special attention to the reviews of these recipes as well because if many people have found the dish to be lacking, I do not want to waste my time and money making it. Other great web sites that offer wonderful recipes are www.campbells.com and www.kraft.com. You can always use these recipes and substitute the brand name foods for the off-brand in your grocery store

Making the List: Get out two sheets of paper and use one for your grocery list and the other for your menu plan. On the grocery list divide your list into categories based on the aisles that you would go through for your items. For example, you would have a category for dairy, cereal/breakfast, frozen foods, grains/pastas, baking needs, canned goods, paper products, and household cleaners.

I then write down what I need on my grocery list, making sure that I do not have the items I am listing already in my pantry for all of the meals I have chosen for the month. If I have a coupon for the item I write a big ?C? by it, pull the coupon from my organizer, and put it in an envelope. If the item is running on sale in the flier then I put a large star by it so I can make sure I buy the item that is on sale. It is important that you write a good description of what you are looking for that way you do not forget once you get to the store. Instead of writing ?butter? on your list, you would write ?Land of Lakes Butter? if you had a coupon in order to avoid confusion once you are in the dairy aisle.

Make sure that you have plenty of lunch meat, condiments, bread, eggs, and cereal on your list. These are items that you might forget to list that you will definitely need during the week.

Making Your Trip: Finally, you have made your research, grocery list, and menu plan and now you can make your trip to the grocery store. It goes without saying, but as a reminder always make sure that when you go to the grocery store that you are not going on an empty stomach. I have done that plenty of times and am both amazed and horrified at the amount of money I spend not to mention my choices of food.

Once you have a full stomach, it is time to decide how much money you plan to spend at the grocery store. I pick an amount that has been budgeted by my husband and I and do not go over the amount. It is so easy to become sidetracked by all of the great things on the end caps as well as other things that seem appealing, but by setting a budget I know that I cannot stray from the list that I have made. The best way to stick with your budget is to go to the bank/ATM and withdraw the agreed upon amount of money to spend. By having the cash only you will be surprised how much easier it is to stick with your budget.

Now that you have your cash withdrawn you can hit the grocery store. Make sure that you have your envelope of coupons, your coupon book (just in case) with your small scissors, a pen to cross of your items on your list and a calculator to keep a tally of how much money you are spending.

The most important advice I can offer you is DO NOT GET SIDETRACKED! It is difficult to do, but essential if you want to stick to your budget.

Once you have paid for all of your items be sure to put the money leftover from your budget back into your envelope. When you get home write ?Food Money? on the outside and keep this envelope on your fridge. This money can be used to put towards milk/bread as well as pizza or a night out for your family. By having the cash you really do end up staying in your budget.

Wrapping Up: You can never do too much research when you are doing grocery shopping and each minute you spend doing that will be time well spent. It is great if you have a good friend who is equally enthusiastic about saving money because you share tips on where to shop together. Many times my ?grocery- buddy? will call me and ask if I saw that a particular item was on sale. Sometimes I have looked so quickly through the flier that I have not seen the item and this really helps me when I do my shopping.

Always remember that if the store runs out of your item that you need and it is advertised as being on sale to get a rain check for the item so that you can still take advantage of the sale price. When they ask the quantity you are planning to buy when you come back to the store always aim high. It will never hurt for you to say that you need more then you do, but it will really hurt your wallet if you have to buy more then what you stated.

I wish you luck on your shopping adventures and hope that using these helpful tips you can find the best technique for you and your family. Happy shopping!

About The Author

© 2003-2004 Amy Allen Clark. All rights reserved.

Amy Allen Clark is a stay-at-home mother of a two year old son. She is founder and creator of http://www.momadvice.com. Her web site is geared towards mothers who are seeking advice on staying organized, living on a budget, and for those seeking work-at-home employment. Please visit her site to sign up for her free monthly newsletter filled with more great tips to help simplify your life.

amy@momadvice.com