by Daniel Schwartz

Created on: May 25, 2007   Last Updated: January 07, 2008

What would you do if I told you to go to your favorite supermarket and to buy anything you wanted and I would pay for it. You would probably be like a group of termites around an old tree. You would throw anything and everything you could in your basket. Unfortunately none of us is that lucky. When it comes to grocery shopping there is a limit as to what we can spend. We have other obligations and expenses that we have to pay for. So how do you do it? How do you feed a whole family for a week, month or even a day on a limited income? Let's see how this can be done.

To begin I am not going to tell you to look in the Sunday ads, clip coupons, shop at certain stores or buy certain brands. I've worked for ten years in the grocery industry before I finally got tired of it. Most of the time what they give with one hand they take back with the other. The shopper cards that most supermarkets use are a good example of this. Besides most of the time you will find better deals if you shop for yourself rather than going by the paper or what the store tells you is a good deal.

Next you have to have a plan. Take inventory and find out what you already have. You don't want to waste your time buying things you don't need. Make a list. It may sound like old worn advice but it is still good today as it was when your grandma first gave it to you. Lists helps to keep you organized. They also help you to keep track of your purchases and cost.

Speaking of cost bring a calculator with you. As you put things in your basket keep a running total, that way you will know how close you are to reaching your limit. An important note here each time you put an item in your basket add that item with the sales tax. Sales tax varies from state to state and sometimes from county to county. Some states may have different rates for food and nonfood. It's not really complicated it just involves some third grade math. The average tax rate is around 10% so if an item cost $1.20 you would add $1.32 to your running total. That way when you check out you won't have any embarrassing surprises.

When you go shopping you want to go at a quiet time. You want to be able to compare different things and you want to be able to do it with out twenty people hovering over you in the canned vegetables section.

So what are you comparing? You want to compare price per unit. Now there are two ways to do this. Most stores will have a price per oz listed on the mylar. This is the most accurate way but not the most practical.

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