I’m all about saving money at the grocery store, but much of it happens before I even leave my house.
On Sunday afternoons, I take the time to meal plan for the week. Meal planning saves me time during the busy work week and, of course, it saves me money. Here’s how I plan my shopping trip even before I set foot in the store.
Step 1: Put It On the list!
As soon as I run out of something, I immediately add it to The List, which hangs on the side of the refrigerator. So, when I use the last of the peanut butter on Monday morning, I don’t forget about it by Sunday afternoon. This system works like a charm!
Step 2: Assess Your Kitchen
The first thing I do in my meal planning process is see what I already have in my cabinets, freezer, and refrigerator. I even take the time to move things around and really see what I have on hand. Most of the time, I am surprised by what I find– a jar of marinated artichoke hearts, a can of pinto beans, a half-used bag of coffee… you get the idea. 
So, instead of buying these items again or letting them go to waste, I incorporate them into the coming week’s menu.
Step 3: Consult Recipes for Meal Ideas.
I love trying new recipes, so I am constantly ripping pages out of magazines and bookmarking recipes online. I actually keep torn out magazine pages on the refrigerator right next to The List as a little reminder to test out some new meals. I also keep a separate folder in my Gmail account for recipes. I check it at least one a week for ideas.
Step 4: Incorporate On-Hand Ingredients Into Meals
A jar of marinated artichoke hearts, for instance, is a perfect addition to a pasta dish or topping for a homemade pizza. Basically, I build my meals around what is already in my kitchen instead of buying more ingredients. This also helps me get creative with my meals!
Step 5: Check Out Your Coupon Situation
I basically collect coupons as a hobby! I get a lot of questions on Carrots ‘N’ Cake about coupons, so here how I get a hold of them:
- I cut coupons from the Sunday paper, magazines, and other print publications
- I look for coupons online to print
- I sign-up online for my favorite companies’ newsletters/coupons
- I save coupons from boxes, bags, lids of products that I buy
- As a food blogger, companies send them to me
- My mom gives me coupons
- My sister and I trade coupons
- I check out store flyers (like WF’s Whole Deal) before shopping
- I save the store coupons that I receive with my receipt at check-out
Step 6: Schedules meals around your schedule
Before I visit the grocery store, I look at my calendar as well as my husband’s calendar for the upcoming week and create a menu around when we will be home for dinner. We typically plan a meal for each night at home and make sure to take into account meals with lots of leftovers, like chili or homemade pizza. I then schedule one or two nights, typically Fridays and Saturdays, as “wing it” nights because usually we’ll end up going out to dinner or meeting friends for appetizers and drinks.
Step 7: Use Recipes to Create Your Shopping List
My shopping list already includes items that we’ve run out of for the week, but adding to it with the help of recipes that I want to make prevents me from forgetting necessary ingredients. It also helps me stick to our meal plan for the week, which saves money in the long run.
Developed by an independent panel of nutrition and medical experts, the 
Great tips! I have to say, going with a list in hand helps me stay on track sooo much better
Your grocery shopping tips are fairly close to my game plan! I love how you broke down the steps.
The grocery list on the fridge is my (not so) secret weapon against forgotten items! I’ve been doing that for years and would never remember half of the stuff we need without it! I love all of your other tips too, great advice!
I do basically all of the same things! The only thing I don’t do is use coupons. I don’t get the paper and that’s the only time I really look for them! Silly me. I should definitely sign up for my favorite companies.
Nice tips – thanks a lot. I am horrible at shopping correctly. I am too sporadic and I have a hard time planning meals. These tips should help – I will give them a try! I also am trying to collect coupons.
I love your tips! I am notorious for buying multiples of things. I need to stop doing that! Now, I just need to figure out what I can do with 3 bottles of dried rosemary!
you can use springpad, too– add recipes you want to try and generate weekly meal plans and shopping lists!
I like your approach to grocery shopping. Mine is pretty similar. If I see something on a blog I like I put it on springpad or print it and add the ingredients to the grocery list. I also write down things that I run out of so I won’t forget to get them later. Good ideas on coupons!
Great tips I currently do the list on the fridge so I never forget things and planning my list by the recipes I plan to cook, I need to try incorporate more coupon usage!
what a great way of doing it. I feel like you wrote into words exactly what I do each week, except my list is on my phone. Have a great day Tina!
I follow the same strategy. I’m at a loss in the grocery store unless I map out the week ahead, plan a menu and recipes, take inventory, and make a really good list. I even bring a highlighter so that I can keep track of what I’ve already bought when I’m there!
Seems like so much work!!
Fantastic tips, Tina! I need to get back to using more coupons than I do. Oh and actually sticking to just what is ACTUALLY on my list
I feel like I plan well, incorporate lists and menu plans well. But I don’t use what’s already there. That’s a good tip, because I’ve bought these things at one time with the idea that I would eat them! I’m going to look into my cabinet before shopping this weekend and see what I can incorporate. Thanks
The best thing about this list is that it doubles as a “how to budget when grocery shopping” list. Double win!
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One last thing to do before leaving the house for grocery shopping: Eat a snack! Walking the aisles while hungry can only lead to unnecessary purchases that probably aren’t the healthiest.
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I have a very similar system and it works great! My friends are always asking how we keep our costs low
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Cool, it has been bothering me that I couldn’t get this to work right. Thanks again!
Great tips! I also like to keep a good idea of what foods and items I have in my fridge and pantry. I hate forgetting about things and letting it go to waste.
I’m also a huge fan of printable coupons. Sometimes I plan meals according to what is on special at the grocery store that week. Like if the salmon is on sale, then it’s fish for dinner!
We also keep a notepad on our kitchen table for when we run out of things “add it to the list” is what my husband and I say!
I shopped last week without a list and I spent so much money – I won’t do that again for a long time!
[...] the time to plan my meals for the week is the most effective way that I save money on groceries. My list has two columns: one for meal [...]
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Great post. I need to get more organize before going grocery shopping. I always end up wasting money buying stuff before checking for coupons.
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