One thing I learned when only having one source of income with a dependent was budgeting a grocery list.

I was always afraid that after paying my bills and picking up food at the store I would be left with nothing in my bank account. Or even suffer the embarrassment of my card being declined for insufficient funds at the register. So I always took the extra time to set up my grocery list to avoid both of those situations. So here are my top three tips to max out your grocery list.

Step one: Know Your Budget

I always had a hawk’s eye on my hours and pay at my job. I always knew the X amount of hours I worked for Y amount of pay. I even calculated the taxes out of my pay so I would have a close estimate of what my net pay would be for when my check depostited.

I also always knew what bills were needing to be taken out of that check. Plus, with my work commute at the time I had also set aside forty dollars for gas for my work commute for the next two weeks.

So, after calculating it all I always knew exactly how much money I could spend on groceries without being in the negative. It is always good to know what your budget is in any situation its no different when you get groceries as well.

Step Two: Know the Cost

Now that grocery apps have come its easier to figure out the cost of a product. When I was setting up my menu for the week I always knew what the cost of something was by going to my Walmart app and searching the cost of my item. ( You can also order online if you wanted to)

I even took inventory of what I currently had and molded my menu around it so that I would be using the most cost effective way. So if I had bread in my pantry I knew we were going to have grilled cheese that week.

Step Three: The Menu

When I made the menu for the week I tried to stretch the list as long as I could.

If I made spaghetti for the night I knew it would make three meals for me and Riley. So I would have it for two dinners and a lunch. I even went as far and calculated how many eggs I would use a day!

Setting it up this way also helped me trim what I didn’t need. So I took out soda and any snacks so that I could have the cheapest list possible!

Extra Tips:

• Chicken is always the cheapest meat! So when on a strict budget try to mold your menu around chicken.

• Coupons, Coupons, Coupons. Need i say more?

• Substitute ground beef with ground turkey. Now this is BIG savings but it can save you a dollar and is also a healthier.

• Stay within your list! You already planned your budget and have your list at the price that is beneficial for you. If you curve out of your lane and get extra “small purchases” it does add up and can easily break your budget.

• Off Brand! Be careful with this one. Sometimes off brand can be more expense with the quantity pricing. So always check how bang you are getting for your buck.

• Check into your States Assistance Programs! I sometimes had the assistance of SNAP and WIC for my grocery costs! Check out Tip number One Here on my five tips of a struggling single mom.

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