These days many of us say we are too busy to cook meals. A recent survey showed that the average American eats out 4 times per week; in fact, this study showed that 46% of our food budget goes toward eating out. The problem is fast food, convenience foods and restaurant foods are high in fat, salt, and sugar. Eating out also puts a big dent in the food budget - especially when the food budget is limited.

Eating more meals at home, will surely make your food dollars go farther. This means planning and shopping smart.  First, know what your food budget is and stay within your budget by using good strategies at home and at the grocery store. 

At Home:

Write a meal plan:  Try to plan what you will eat for a few days.  Write down what you will eat for breakfast, lunch and dinner, and plan snacks. What you put in your menus depends on what your family likes, what foods they need for good health, what fits in your budget and what perishable food you have on hand that needs to be used before it spoils.  Also take advantage of what foods are on sale and what produce is in season by looking over the sale ads.  Look at cookbooks and recipes to get new ideas. 

Really tight budget planning:  Meat is your most expensive item. Consider replacing meat with beans, a high quality protein that is low cost. 

Make a grocery list:  The list will include what you need for your menu that you do not have.  Making a grocery list and sticking to the list will help you stay on budget.

Eat before you shop, try to shop alone and avoid busy shopping hours:  Shopping when you’re hungry will increase your temptation to buy foods not on your list.  Try to make arrangements for someone to watch your children when you shop.  Try to avoid the after-work rush and Friday night frenzy. 

Know where to shop:  Keep track by writing down in a notebook how much the foods you buy frequently (milk, bread, meat etc) cost at different stores. 

At the Store:  REMEMBER YOUR SHOPPING LIST!

• Consider store brands over national brands:  Companies spend lots of money on advertising – try store brands, they are usually less expensive.
• Compare size and form:  compare the cost of larger packages versus smaller packages; compare form such as shredded cheese versus chunk cheese, frozen juice constitute versus reconstituted or fresh juice, whole chicken versus cut up chicken etc. Meat is often cheaper when bought in large sizes.  Be sure to break down into family size and freeze promptly, or cook immediately and then freeze. 
• Use Unit Pricing:  The easiest way to compare brands, size and form is by unit price.  This will tell you which product costs the least per ounce or per pound. 
• Avoid Prepackaged “Convenience” Foods:  Items such as frozen dinners, boxed dinners, vegetables frozen with sauces, canned pasta entrées etc., will cost more and likely have more fat, salt and sugar. 
• Be aware of product placement:  The most expensive items will be positioned at eye level. Look up higher and lower for lower prices. Watch out for “end of aisle” displays – typically not on sale and are placed to get your attention.
• Don’t Shop Aisle by Aisle:  Only shop the aisles that contain items that are on your grocery list.  Try not to wander into the “non food” section of the super-stores.  The more time you spend in the store the more money you will spend.  STICK TO YOUR LIST!
• Unadvertised Specials:  This may be the one exception to varying from your list.  Many times the meat counter, produce section or bakery will offer perishable items at a very low price because they need to be sold quickly.  These need to be cooked right away and perhaps frozen or used in recipes that plan on leftovers. 
• Read the Labels:  Make sure the foods you are buying are low in fat, sodium and sugar by reading the food label.  Keep in mind that over 20% of your daily recommended intake of a nutrient is considered “HIGH” and under 5% of a nutrient is considered “LOW”.  For example on saturated fat, trans fat, cholesterol and sodium you want the percentage of daily value to be low (5% or lower); For calcium, fiber, vitamins A and C, you want the percentage to be high (20% or higher). Also look for whole grains on the ingredient label. 
• Look for Expiration Dates:  Try and find the MOST RECENT “sell by”, “best if used by” and/or “expiration date”.  The fresher your food is, the less likely it will spoil and be wasted. 
• Pay attention at the check out:  Make sure the cashier is accurately checking out your food purchases.  This can save valuable dollars. 
• Refrigerate and freeze promptly:  Don’t run other errands if you have meats and fresh produce in the car.  Get foods that need to be refrigerated put away quickly to prevent waste and possibility of foodborne illnesses.