Meal Plan Monday – Saving at the Store

When I’m out and about doing my shopping, here are a couple of things I do to save some money.

1. Use cash to buy everything.
Groceries are one of several categories we use cash for. Using cash instead of a card helps us spend less because we actually feel the money versus swiping a card you don’t necessarily think about it, therefore, making it easier to overspend. Hello, Target! 😉 And because we budget a particular amount for groceries it helps me stick to the plan.

2. Have a smartphone? Use an app!
Since I regularly shop at Target, I take advantage of their Cartwheel app. It lets you search or scan in your items to see if there are any additional savings; then when you go to the register the cashier scans the barcode and the discounts are applied!

Safeway also has an app where you can scan club card items already on sale and see if there are any additional discounts. I’m sure other major retailers have apps as well, so if you have preferred grocery stores you like shopping at, see if they have an app for any deals.

3. Buy store brand.
Since I do the bulk of my shopping at Target, you’ll see a lot of Market Pantry, Archer Farms, and Simply Balanced in my kitchen. These are all Target brands, which are a lot cheaper than buying name-brand items. Now there are certain items that I like buying brand name, or a store brand version isn’t available. But for the most part, I buy the store brands because it’s cheaper, and to tie back to tip #2, a lot of Target’s store brand items have additional discounts on Cartwheel.

This Week’s Meals

Monday: Pizza

Tuesday: Dinner with family

Wednesday: 20 Minute Chicken in Lemon Cream Sauce

Thursday: Thanksgiving! ICYMI, I posted what I will be contributing.

Friday: Leftovers. If I get sent home with enough turkey, I might try making leftover turkey soup.

Saturday: Dinner with family

Sunday: It’s the mid-season finale of The Walking Dead so we’re eating pizza and watching it live! Yes, we’re having pizza twice in one week, but I don’t care! 😉