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Save money on your food bill by planning before you go to the store.

Planning includes keeping in mind your family's needs. The basic needs to remember are:

• What does my family like?
  
• How many of us will be eating?
  
• What do the kids or older people need?
  
• Is it too hard to make?
  
• How much money do I have for food?
  
• Will we be eating away from home, so that I should buy less food?
  
• Will friends and relatives come over for meals?
  

Another important part of food shopping is planning the menus for your family meals. Here are some tips to follow when planning a menu:

• Your family needs
  
• Good nutritious foods
  
• Variety of foods keeping in mind texture, color, flavor, and temperature
  
• Consider wise use of leftovers.
  
• Weekly specials and seasonal food, such as fruits and vegetables.

Using a shopping list saves you time. It helps you control your spending. It also helps you remember all the items you need. Here are some helpful hints for making a shopping list:

• Keep paper and pencil in the kitchen. You can write down things you need when you think of them.

• Check your kitchen cabinets and refrigerator as you make your list.

• Organize the list the same way the grocery store sections are laid out. You will save time and avoid forgetting items when you shop.

• Look at the newspaper and ads for sales and coupons.

Here are some other helpful tips to get you through the grocery store without going broke:

• Eat before shopping for food. Hungry people tend to buy more food than they planned on.

• Know the current prices of the foods you buy most often.

• Read food labels to learn about: contents, nutrition, quantity, number of servings, steps to prepare, serving and storage tips, and other useful facts.

• Buy the amount of food that fits your family's needs and your storage space.

• Buy larger sizes of items that won't spoil. It may be cheaper.

• Buy the quality and size of food that fits how you will use it.

Compare your costs seven different ways.

Compare:

• prices of different brands.

• cost of frozen, canned, fresh, and dried items of the same food.

• number of servings in each food package.

• prices at different stores.

• prices of similar foods, such as fresh peaches and pears.

• larger packages and two smaller ones of the same product to get the better value.

• the cost of convenience foods vs. the cost of making it from scratch.