Smart Shopping

create a grocery plan

List your weekly meals

Before making a grocery list, write down meals you want to make this week. Buying for the week means you’ll make fewer shopping trips and buy only the items you need.

Tips for creating a menu & grocery list:

Look in your freezer, cabinets, and refrigerator. Make a note of what you currently have on hand. You can save money by using these items in the upcoming week’s meals.
Use a worksheet to plan your meals and figure out what items you need to buy.
Create a list of recipes to try. Find new ideas for healthy and low-cost meals based on what you have on hand, foods your family enjoys, and foods that are good buys. Search recipes by ingredients using What’s Cooking? Use USDA Mixing Bowl — an interactive tool to help with healthy meal planning, cooking, and grocery shopping. Be sure to include some family favorites along with the new recipes.
Think about your schedule. Choose meals you can prepare easily on your busiest days. Save recipes that take longer for days off.

Make a grocery list

Stay organized with a grocery list to avoid buying items you don’t really need. Grocery List Basics:

Use your list of weekly meals to create a list of foods and beverages you will need to buy. Don’t forget to include foods like fruits, vegetables, and milk that might not be part of a recipe but, are basics for healthy eating.
You can write your list on scratch paper, enter it into a computer or a free mobile app.
Keep an ongoing grocery list in your kitchen, on your computer or a mobile app and add items as you run out.
Try organizing your list to make shopping quick and easy.

The smartest shoppers know that saving money is more than luck. When shopping for groceries, it’s about having a game plan and making smart decisions about what to put in your cart.

Save more at the store

Eat before you shop

Grocery shopping while hungry can lead to impulse buying and unhealthy food choices.
Read the sales flyer

Sales flyers are usually released mid-week and can be found at the store’s entrance, in the newspaper, or on their website.
Use coupons

Use coupons only for items that you know you’ll use. If you don’t need an item right away, save the coupon and see if it goes on sale.
Look up and down for savings

Stores often stock the priciest items at eye level. You can save big by looking at the upper and lower shelves too.
Check for store brands

Most stores offer their own brand of products that are cheaper than name brands.
Grab from the back

Stores typically stock shelves from back to front, placing the newest items behind the older ones. Reach in the back for the freshest items especially in the produce, dairy, and meat aisles.
Ask for a rain check

If a sale item has run out, ask the store for a rain check. This allows you to pay the sale price after the item is restocked.
Join your store’s loyalty program

Most stores offer a free loyalty program. Get special offers and discounts that non-members do not.

Shop smart to fill your cart

With a game plan in place, you’re now ready to shop! To get the most for your dollar, follow the tips in this section as you shop at your favorite food store or farmer’s market. Where can I shop? There are many places where you can find good deals, such as:

Grocery Stores
Ethnic Markets
Dollar Stores
Retail Supercenters
Wholesale Clubs
Farmers Markets

Tips for every aisle

Fruits & Vegetables

Find fruits and vegetables in the produce section, frozen foods and in the canned and pantry food aisles. Compare prices to find the best buys.

Buy “in season” produce. They are usually less expensive and are at their peak flavor. Buy only what you can use before it spoils.
Try buying canned. Choose fruit canned in 100% fruit juice and vegetables with “low-sodium” or “no salt added” on the label. These products are just as nutritious as fresh, and often cost less.
If you have the freezer space, buy frozen vegetables without added sauces or butter. They are as good for you as fresh and may cost less.
Canned and frozen fruits and vegetables last much longer than fresh and it’s a quick way to add fruits and vegetables to your meal.
For a great resource on selecting healthy and affordable produce, take a look at Smart Shopping for Veggies and Fruits.

Grains

Find grains in many areas of the store, including the bread, cereal, snack, and pasta and rice aisles.

Make half your grains whole grains. Throughout the store, check ingredient lists and pick the items that have a whole grain listed first.
Whole grains include whole wheat, brown rice, bulgur, buckwheat, oatmeal, whole-grain cornmeal, whole oats, and whole rye.
Rice and pasta are budget-friendly grain options.
Choose hot cereals like plain oatmeal or whole grain dry cereal.
Try new whole grain snack ideas, like switching to whole-wheat crackers or popping your own popcorn.
For more information on grains visit Choosing Whole-Grain Foods.

Protein Foods

Find protein foods throughout the entire store. They can be found in the fresh meat case, frozen foods section, dairy case, and canned and pantry food aisles.

Some great low cost choices include beans and peas, such as kidney beans, split peas, and lentils. Use these good sources of protein for main or side dishes. Beans and peas cost far less than a similar amount of other protein foods.
To lower meat costs, buy the family-sized or value pack and freeze what you don’t use. Choose lean meats like chicken or turkey. When choosing ground beef, make sure it’s lean (92% lean 8% fat) ground beef.
Seafood doesn’t have to be expensive. Try buying canned tuna, salmon, or sardines – they store well and are a low cost option.
Don’t forget about eggs! They’re a great low-cost option that’s easy to prepare.
For more tips on making healthy protein choices, check out Vary Your Protein Routine.

Dairy

Find dairy foods in the refrigerated and pantry aisles.

Choose low- fat or fat-free milk. They provide just as much calcium, but fewer calories than whole and 2% milk.
Buy the larger size of low-fat plain yogurt instead of individual flavored yogurts. Then add your own flavors by mixing in fruits.
When it comes to cheese, look for “reduced fat,” or “low-fat” on the label.
Always check the sell by date to make sure you’re buying the freshest dairy products.

Other

Drink water instead of buying sodas or other sugary drinks. Tap water is easy on your wallet and has zero calories. A reusable water bottle is a great way to have water with you on the go. For other drink ideas, see Make Better Beverage Choices.

Save time, money and calories by skipping the chip and cookie aisles.

Choose the checkout lane without the candy, especially if you have kids with you.

Understanding the price tag

There is much more to a price tag on the grocery shelf. First, there’s the retail price. This is the price you pay for each item. But have you ever looked at the unit price?

The unit price will tell you how much an item costs per pound, ounce, quart, etc. Get the inside scoop on the unit price below, and try these tips at your next grocery visit to maximize your savings!

The image above shows two different price tags. In the first red box, the retail price is $1.62 for one 32 oz. yogurt. The unit price is $0.05 per oz. In the second red box, the retail price is $0.72 for one 6 oz. yogurt. The unit price is $0.12 per oz. Based on the unit price, you can determine that the larger, 32 oz. yogurt is the better buy.

How is the unit price found?TOTAL PRICE / SIZE = UNIT PRICE

This is an example using the 6 oz. yogurt that costs $0.72.

$0.72 / 6 oz. = $0.12

The unit price of this yogurt is therefore $0.12 per oz.

Read the food label

Food labels tell you the nutritional content of a food item. You can compare two different items by using the Nutrition Facts label to choose the healthier option.

Use the Nutrition Facts label to compare food choices. The example above shows two soup options. The Nutrition Facts labels show us that the reduced-sodium vegetable soup has less sodium per serving than the original vegetable soup — in this case half the amount. This makes the reduced-sodium vegetable soup the healthier choice, as long as the serving sizes are about the same size.

Smart Shopping

create a grocery plan

List your weekly meals

Tips for creating a menu & grocery list:

Look in your freezer, cabinets, and refrigerator. Make a note of what you currently have on hand. You can save money by using these items in the upcoming week’s meals.

Use a worksheet to plan your meals and figure out what items you need to buy.

Think about your schedule. Choose meals you can prepare easily on your busiest days. Save recipes that take longer for days off.

Make a grocery list

Use your list of weekly meals to create a list of foods and beverages you will need to buy. Don’t forget to include foods like fruits, vegetables, and milk that might not be part of a recipe but, are basics for healthy eating.

You can write your list on scratch paper, enter it into a computer or a free mobile app.

Keep an ongoing grocery list in your kitchen, on your computer or a mobile app and add items as you run out.

Try organizing your list to make shopping quick and easy.

Save more at the store

Eat before you shop

Read the sales flyer

Use coupons

Look up and down for savings

Check for store brands

Grab from the back

Ask for a rain check

Join your store’s loyalty program

Shop smart to fill your cart

Grocery Stores

Ethnic Markets

Dollar Stores

Retail Supercenters

Wholesale Clubs

Farmers Markets