Shopping Smart: Saving Money While Buying for Your Family

I've been married for almost five years and until this past year, I really had no clue on how to shop for my family and stay within a budget. As long as I stayed under a certain amount I figured we were doing okay. Last April, my husband left his rewarding career in the Army and decided to give the civilian life a try. That was a huge change for us. Not only did we loose half of our income, we also were stuck trying to come up with a budget that suited our new life. I had no idea what to do and I panicked. How in the world were we going to be able to afford to buy our groceries and stay under a new budget? There wasn't much that we could cut back on. Both of our children were still in diapers and diapers are expensive. We were not against using the generic brands but unfortunately our daughter has sensitive skin and only one brand of diapers would not make her little bottom break out in a horrible, blistering diaper rash. In addition, our son is large for his age. He's not fat, he's just big. None of the generic brands created diapers that were big enough for him. The only kind he could wear was Huggies. Again....expensive.

After doing some research online, I finally found a game plan that works for us. I have shared these tips with many friends who have either found themselves in similar situations or who just had no idea on how to shop smart.

I'll give you a warning; this will require some work on your part. You will have to do some research and be willing to take some time out of your day to plan your trip to the grocery store. Do yourself a favor; find a notebook that is small enough to fit in your purse, diaper bag, backpack, or pocket. Grab a pen and keep these two things with you at every trip you make to the store.

Do Your Research and Set Some Rules

This is the time consuming part. However, when you begin your next grocery shopping trip, you'll be glad you did your research. You will also need everyone in the family to be on board with your new game plan.