Frugal Friday: Grocery Shopping 101

Sticking to a budget at the grocery store can be very difficult, especially when you go on an empty stomach. As a college student, it is also challenging to find healthy food at a price you can afford. As a result, your cart is filled with inexpensive and often unhealthy choices. If this sounds familiar please keep reading.

Take a look at some of the tips and resources we've compiled to help you begin saving on your most basic necessity: food.

• Pick inexpensive but nutritious food.
• Stay away from processed foods. Products like fruit snacks, sugary cereals, and microwave dinners are packed with sodium and sugar. These items will make you feel full for a short time but ultimately do nothing for your appetite and your health. These products do not offer enough nutrition for the price, so your money is better spent elsewhere.
  
• Some of the most nutritious and inexpensive foods are beans (black beans and garbanzo beans are good choices), whole grain rice in bulk, frozen vegetables or fresh vegetables that are currently in season, and lentils. These foods can be used in various dishes together. Try combining black beans, frozen corn, and a cup of salsa in a pan. Saute until heated through and tender, and serve over brown rice. Another option is a vegetarian fried rice dish using brown rice and frozen vegetables sauteed in soy sauce and rice wine vinegar. Come up with more combinations before you go shopping to ensure that you maximize the number of meals you can prepare within your budget. For inspiration, check out the postings on Thrifty Fun for suggestions from other frugal eaters here.
  
• Know where and when to shop.
  
• Find out where the local markets are. Markets will sell better quality produce for less than the supermarket. Waltham hosts a variety of ethnic grocery stores, from Indian specialties to Italian delis. Indian markets will sell bulk bags of rice for less than the supermarket, as well as cheap spices and vegetables to enhance your cooking.
  
• If you are partial to supermarkets, make sure you go at the beginning of their sale cycle. Check out the circulars to determine when items are put on sale. Doing so will ensure you get the freshest products for the best possible price. However, do not just buy items because they are on sale or you have a coupon-- coupons are generally intended for processed foods and are worthless if you're looking to maximize nutrition.
• Be creative and try new things!
• Too many students fill their diet with the same foods-- frozen pizzas, waffles, pop tarts, and other convenience foods are some examples. The markup on junk foods is enormous and generally only 10% of the cost of the product is related to the actual food in the package. Branch out from these items by buying fresh and learning how to cook creative and tasty meals. Make cooking fun by inviting friends over for a pot luck party.
  
• If you're still craving pizza and waffles, try making your own. The ingredients you purchase will likely cost less than buying one unit of frozen pizza or one box of frozen waffles, and you'll get many more servings. Investing in small appliances like a waffle iron or a toaster oven will help you start cooking even in the smallest of spaces.
  

For more tips about grocery shopping, check out GetRichSlowly.com's list here. Sites like Thrifty Fun and Cheap Cooking will also provide some inspiration for cheap meals.

Do you have any cooking or shopping tips to share? Leave us a comment or send us an email as sfs@brandeis.edu.

Bon appetit,

Savvy Student