Grocery Shopping on a Budget

Feeding a family while sticking to a budget can be tricky. Here are three easy ways to cut your grocery bill and still create delicious meals, without clipping coupons.

Plan Ahead and Consolidate

Buying a lot of special ingredients for every meal adds up. Plan your weekly dinners around one or two items and go from there. For example, make one week "chicken week," and the next week "beef week." That way you can buy one thing in bulk rather than several expensive ingredients in smaller amounts.

If you do want to use special ingredients for a dish, try to find other recipes that call for that same ingredient but used in a different way. Sites like allrecipes.com have free recipes you can look up by ingredient.

The key here is to stretch your grocery dollar to the max by using as many items you buy per week in as many dishes as you can.

Save Time AND Money With Substitutions

We all want to cook delicious, healthy meals for our families. And you still can, even on a budget, and even with no time.

Things like garlic powder and onion powder are fairly cheap and last a long time. A little bit of each goes a long way. Rather than buying (and peeling and chopping) onions and garlic every time a recipe calls for them, sprinkle a little powder into the dish.

In fact, this rule goes for almost every herb and spice you might use. Are there particular seasonings you know you use a lot? Look for dried versions that come in large, airtight containers. Buying those rather than buying fresh each time will be easier on your wallet and save you time in the kitchen.

Buy Generic, and Look for Sales

Does you family eat a lot of pasta? Check the shelves. A brand-name might be on sale. Stock up now, save money later. If you haven't already, sign up for your supermarket's store card. It's usually free. Sometimes sales only apply if you use your card, so don't miss out.

Compare sale prices and generic prices. Sometimes the generic brand isn't worth the money you would save if the product is really inferior to the brand name. And sometimes your family may prefer a more expensive brand here or there. But when all else is equal - and in most cases, it is - buy the cheapest you can find.

Remember to check quantities, too. It's no use spending less if you are also getting less and therefore have to buy more. Bring a calculator and divide price by quantity. This is a quick and easy way to find out which products give you the most bang for your buck.

By doing a little homework before you go shopping, making easy substitutions, and taking advantage of sales and non-brand name items, you can shave tens of dollars of your grocery bill, or even cut it in half! Week by week the money you save on groceries can add up to hundreds of dollars per month!