You go to the grocery store on an empty stomach and rummage through the aisles. With no list or game plan in mind, you chuck everything imaginable into your cart. You get to the register and check out, trying your best not to go over your budget.

You get home and unpack the groceries, wondering how you could’ve forgotten such staple items but managed to pick up a new Oreo flavor. You barely have the ingredients you need for dinner, let alone for meal prepping. Letting out a deep sigh, you wonder why it has to be this way.

It doesn’t!

And I’m here to tell you how!

Here’s a surefire way to shop smarter and save money on your next grocery shop and meal prep.

1. Plan your food shop and meal plan around the weekly sale paper while taking into account what you already have on hand.
2. Stick to simple recipes to lessen the amount of ingredients you have to buy. (Tip: Buy staple items in bulk when they are on sale.)
3. Choose recipes that each use some of the same ingredients to cut back on costs. (I.e. You need rice and vegetables to make vegetable fried rice and baked chicken, rice and vegetables.)
4. Make a list and try your best to stick to it. Give yourself one or two random items that you can buy at the store.
5. Coupons and reward cards are your best friends.

-Jas