June 17, 2008

Shop smart to increase savings on grocery bill

"At the beginning of each week people should sit down and make up a menu of all the meals and snacks they plan on consuming," said Angie Abbott, Purdue Extension specialist.

By planning out meals for the entire week, consumers will know what they need to purchase when they go to the grocery and will not have to spend time searching the store for meal ideas.

Sometimes when people do not make lists they forget what they went shopping for and buy food that they do not need. Lists also help consumers make smart choices and buy healthier foods by cutting down on the aimless wondering of food aisles and picking up junk food items.  

"When going to the grocery store there are two important things to remember. Never shop when you are hungry and, if possible, try to shop alone without children causing extra distractions," Abbott said.

"Another way to cut down on the grocery bill is instead of buying products that are convenient, such as bagged lettuce, consumers should buy the actual product, like a head of lettuce, and chop it themselves. Even though it takes more time to prepare the food item, shoppers will save money and have a fresher product."

People can drastically cut down on the amount of money they spend on food by limiting the number of times they go out to eat per week. When there is not time to fix a meal, instead of going through a drive-through window of a restaurant, pull some leftovers out of the refrigerator and heat them up, she said.

It also helps to search through cabinets and see what food items are on hand that can be fixed ahead of time. Later on in the week, when consumers are in a crunch, they can pull one of the prepared meals out of the freezer and warm it up to eat.

Writer: Ashley Bechman, (765) 494-8402, aabechma@purdue.edu

Source: Angela Abbott,  (765) 496-2488, abbottar@purdue.edu

Ag Communications: (765) 494-2722;
Beth Forbes, forbes@purdue.edu
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