One of the tasks that you might have taken over for your senior when you became her caregiver is to shop for groceries for her. But that might not feel easy, especially if you’re working with a tight grocery budget.
You’ve Heard to Make Menus and Lists
One of the biggest tips that most people start out with as they work within a grocery budget is to make menus and to make lists. There are reasons for that. When you’ve got a plan, you are going to find that it’s much easier to hit the specific goal set forth in that plan. Your menu and list are the bones of that plan.
Coupons Can Help
Coupons are often one of the first things people look for when they’re operating within a tight grocery budget. These can absolutely be helpful, but the thing to remember is that the types of products that have coupons aren’t always the healthiest choices. Fruits and vegetables, for instance, rarely have coupons. What you can do is shop seasonally and on sale for these healthier foods and for that, you need to make friends with store ads.
Store Ads Are Your Friends
Grocery stores offer sales on specific items according to sales cycles. As you become more attuned to your store’s sales, you’ll learn what to expect to see offered at a great price within the ad. Seasonally ripe produce is typically on sale because it’s plentiful and stores don’t want ripe produce to sit around for long and become old and overripe. Use the store ad to help you to plan menus.
Definitely Read the Label
If you’re buying packaged foods, always read the label before purchasing the item. You’re looking for ingredients, nutritional information, and anything else that is important, like an expiration date or best by date. This is going to feel time consuming at first, but it gets easier and faster as you do this more often.
Mark a Running Tally
With a really tight budget, it’s important to know what you’re spending before you get surprised at the register. The easy way to do this is to use your phone or the grocery list itself and keep a running tally of the groceries you’re putting in the cart. By rounding each price up a little bit, you’ve got a way to account for taxes and unexpected price adjustments.
This is just one way you might be caring for your senior, but it’s an important one.
If you or an aging loved-one are considering caregivers in Cherry Hills, CO, please contact the caring staff at SYNERGY HomeCare today. Call us at (303) 756-9322.
