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Hi

If you have a large family, it’s usually less expensive to cook food from scratch. For instance, a large pot of soup, beans, or spaghetti can feed a lot of people for little cost. However, if you are cooking only for yourself or for two or three people, sometimes it’s more expensive to buy all the ingredients for a meal than to purchase it already prepared, especially if you like to eat dishes with more costly ingredients. For instance, if you want to make a big salad for one person, it would be more costly to buy several different kinds of lettuce and ten or twelve other ingredients at the grocery store than to just go to a salad buffet or buy a prepared salad; you would have a much wider choice of ingredients and a lower price at the salad bar. If you like to save leftover food for the next day, or have a freezer, large dishes can be made and then divided up into different containers, lowering the cost of a dish for one or two people.

Thanks

Hi

1. Always go with a list. If you go without a list, you may as well just throw your money away. Better yet, donate it to me — I probably need it more than you.
2. Plan out a weekly menu. This is the best way to ensure that your list is complete, and that you have enough to serve your family dinner for the week. I often plan a weekly menu and then duplicate it for the next week — this way I can shop for two weeks at once. Be sure to plan a leftovers night.
3. Don’t go when you’re hungry. This is a common tip, but it’s true: when you’re hungry, you want to buy all kinds of junk. You’ll end up spending a lot more. Eat a good meal first, and you’ll be more likely to stick to your list.
4. Have a budget. When I go to the store, I know exactly how much I can spend. Then I try my best to stick within that limit. If you don’t know how much you can spend, you’ll certainly spend too much.
5. Do a rough running tally. Related to the above tip, if you want to stay within your budget, it’s best to know where you’re at. Then, when you can see you’re going to go above it, you can decide whether you really need that 10-lb. box of bon bons. I keep a running tally on my grocery list, just rounding off so I can do some quick math. An item costs $1.85? I say $2. Then I don’t need a calculator or all those complicated math skills.
6. Keep a list on your fridge, and write things down immediately. When you run out of something, don’t leave it to your memory. Jot it down immediately, and you’ll never have to run back to the store because you don’t have eggs.
7. Make a pantry checklist. Make a checklist of everything you normally stock in your pantry. Keep it posted on the pantry. Put a slash next to each item for the number of items you have (if you have two cans of stewed tomatoes, put two slashes). Then, when you use something, turn the slash into an x. This makes it much easier when it comes time to make your list.
8. Keep things stocked for quick-n-easy meals. Easy meals for us might be spaghetti or mac-n-cheese or a quick stir-fry. We’ve always got the ingredients on hand, so we can whip something up fast when we’re feeling lazy.

Thanks