Grocery Shopping on your Own

Grocery shopping on your own for the first time can either seem extremely fun or extremely daunting. I for one, am part of the latter group. Yes, you can buy whatever you want and eat whatever you want. If you want to eat chocolate for breakfast then you can! I wasn't too excited for this because a) although I would love to eat chocolate for breakfast, I'd prefer to be healthier (the inner kid in me has died in that sense) and b) because I know that groceries are a huge money drain. Yes, you use groceries but they can be really expensive.

Here's how to get the most out of your grocery shopping:

1. Make a list beforehand
    If you make a list of the things that you will need then you won't go in there and forget anything. Trust me, it's very easy to forget things when you are wandering aimlessly through the isles.

2. Check if your grocery store price matches
    I have a No Frills super close to me and they price match. The day of my shopping trip I looked through all of the flyers and found the best prices for each thing I needed. I wrote them down and compared them to the No Frills prices. It turned out that No Frills had the best prices basically across the board but it's good to save yourself money by doing a little extra leg work.

3. Test your food
    No, I don't mean take a bite of an apple before you buy it, I mean squeeze your fruit, knock on your watermelons, examine your veggies...do whatever you need to do to ensure that you're getting the best bang for your buck.

4. Try your best to eat everything before you go shopping again
    I've been pretty guilty thus far of making the mid-week grocery shopping trips because I'm craving something. It can be a waste of money to go grocery shopping when you've got perfectly good food at home. Don't let yourself buy new fruit if you've got something in the fridge. Make sure you're eating anything that expires before buying something else that expires. Letting food go bad is the best way to lose your money.

5. Be creative with your meals
    Now that you're on your own you don't have to follow any rules. For dinner last night I had Nutella on toast and broccoli and cheese. How random is that meal, huh? Eat whatever you want for whatever meal you want and just enjoy it. If you need to use up those grapes then feel free to make them a side dish to your spaghetti. Your meals are for you so eat anything you want and just enjoy it!

Happy shopping!

From the desk of:

Taylor Brown
Mid-Week Grocery Shopper, Nutella on Toast Enthusiast