Keeping the grocery bill down doesn’t start in the cereal aisle or at the checkout. Frugal shoppers usually do a little homework before they ever leave the house, because walking into the store without a plan makes it much easier to buy things you already have, forget what you actually need, and spend more than you intended.
Here are eight things frugal shoppers tend to do before heading to the store.
Shop the Kitchen Before Shopping the Store
Before adding anything to the grocery list, check the refrigerator, freezer, and pantry to see what’s already there. It’s surprisingly easy to buy another jar of pasta sauce or bag of frozen vegetables simply because you forgot about the one hiding at home.
This is also a good opportunity to spot food that needs to be used soon. A few vegetables, an open package of tortillas, leftover rice, or something buried in the freezer can become the starting point for a meal rather than something that eventually gets tossed.
Plan Meals Around What You Already Have
Once you know what needs to be used, figure out how you can turn those ingredients into meals. Instead of starting every dinner from scratch, look for meals that only require buying one or two additional ingredients.
If you already have pasta, sauce, and frozen vegetables, for example, most of dinner is taken care of. Building meals this way can shorten the grocery list while also helping you work through food you’ve already paid for.
Check the Week Ahead
Before deciding what’s for dinner, take a quick look at your calendar. A busy night filled with appointments, activities, or a late workday probably isn’t the best time to plan something that takes an hour to prepare.
Plan easier meals for the nights you know will be hectic and save more involved recipes for days when you have time to cook. Even intentionally scheduling leftovers can keep a busy evening from turning into an unexpected takeout order.
Make a List Based on Actual Meals
Instead of filling your grocery list with foods that simply sound good, give most of what you buy a job. If tacos are on the menu, write down what you need for tacos; if you’re making soup, add only the ingredients you’re missing.
Don’t forget breakfasts, lunches, and snacks while you’re at it. Thinking through how the food will actually be eaten makes it much easier to avoid coming home with a full grocery haul that somehow still doesn’t contain everything needed to make dinner.
Get a Rough Idea of What the Trip Will Cost
You don’t have to calculate your grocery total down to the penny, but it’s worth estimating what your list will cost before you shop. Store apps and online prices can make it fairly easy to spot when your planned grocery trip is already heading beyond what you wanted to spend.
If the total looks too high, make adjustments before you’re standing in the checkout line. You might choose a less expensive dinner, skip a few nonessential items, use a substitute you already have, or push something to next week’s list.
See What’s on Sale
Once you have a general meal plan and shopping list, check the weekly sales at the stores you normally use. The goal isn’t to rebuild your entire menu around whatever happens to be discounted, but to look for savings on things you were already planning to buy.
Sales can also help you make simple swaps. If one vegetable, fruit, or pantry staple is considerably cheaper that week, switching to it may lower the bill without changing your meals very much.
Check Digital Coupons and Rewards
Those store-app coupons aren’t much help if you remember them after you’ve already paid. Before heading out, take a couple of minutes to check for digital offers that match items on your list and activate any that require it.
While you’re there, look at your available rewards, points, personalized deals, or free-item offers. These benefits can be easy to overlook, and some have expiration dates that make saving them indefinitely a waste.
Decide Where You’re Shopping
Frugal shoppers don’t necessarily chase every sale across town. Saving a few dollars isn’t nearly as appealing if it requires visiting several stores and spending extra time and gas to do it.
Compare your list with the prices and promotions at the stores you regularly visit, then decide which trip makes the most sense. Sometimes two nearby stores are worth visiting, but other weeks you’ll come out ahead by getting everything in one place and heading home.
