Grocery shopping may not be your favorite weekend activity, and it can be especially difficult if you aren’t prepared for grocery shopping prior to setting foot in your local supermarket. Proven grocery shopping tips which will help you save money and time are as follows: (1) prepare a budget, (2) use coupons, (3) buy only what you need, and (4) shop on a full stomach, and (5) you need to make a shopping list and stick to that list.

First, prepare a budget for what you anticipate will be his or her grocery shopping needs for the year. Break down your budget by months and weeks. Set a specific amount you can afford to spend each week. By setting a specific weekly amount. You will find yourself putting back items you don’t need right now. Do you really need 10 pounds of sugar or 20 pounds of potatoes? Or can you wait for a better time or price?

Second, use coupons to purchase essential food items. Shoppers may think she can’t save much money by clipping coupons. But they could be wrong! You don’t need to spend hours each week. Cutting out coupons, but concentrate instead on those non-perishable items which are on sale. You may be surprised at how quickly the savings add up. If the sales item is out of stock, ask your stock girl for a rain check so you can buy the item later.

Third, buy only what you need. How many times have you overspent your food budget because you found items on sale that you just had to have—even though you didn’t intend to cook that item this week? A shopping list is, after all, a list of what you need from the supermarket. The more perishable the item, the more you need to think about whether you actually need that item now. If you aren’t sure about how perishable an item might be, ask the male store manager.

Four, shop only on a full stomach. This may, in fact. Be one of the most important points to remember. When you’re hungry and go grocery shopping, you will often buy what you don’t need. If you are hungry, you tend to purchase snack items you don’t need. Even your German mother, 49, would agree on this point!

Five, you need to make a shopping list and stick to that list! Never buy what you don’t need. A good deal is a good deal, right? Well, it’s possible that buying in bulk isn’t the best deal. Just remember that a larger size isn’t necessarily the best deal or the least expensive. Any housewife will tell you that you need to check the unit price before selecting an item for purchase.