Grocery shopping is a challenge for everyone right now. You are probably just grabbing anything you can find, which leaves you with a pantry full of mismatched things.
Money-saving expert, Andrea Woroch has some tips to make sure your groceries don’t go to waste.
“I’m even guilty of it myself,” said Woroch. “My husband came home from the grocery store yesterday and we’ve made three trips in just the last few days and our refrigerator is overstocked.”
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Woroch said the first step is to make a list of all the items you already have, that way you do not buy more of the same.
“If you overbuy groceries, especially perishables and you don’t have a meal plan in place, a lot of this money that you’re spending could go to waste," she said.
Woroch said go back to the meals you know how to cook because those are the ingredients you likely already have. She said when you cook, you should plan to cook in bulk and then freeze the extra meals.
If you are not sure where to start, look up meal plan help online. Many sites are now offering free trials to help you stretch the ingredients you have, like thefresh20.com.
"I love that it provides a week’s worth of different meals using the same 20 ingredients so it really trims down your shopping list and your grocery spend," she said of the site.
Woroch said having a plan before you head to the store will help ease some anxiety and keep you focused.
“Try not to panic buy, because that could end up costing you more money in the end," Woroch said.
