What makes you a good grocery shopper? Is it getting the cheapest price on a certain food item? Not always. It involves more than that although that is a good start. Check out the following list and see how many of these tips you also follow:

1. Plan menus before shopping. Planning menus insures you have what you need for your meals.

2. Use a grocery list. The list helps keep you focused and avoids impulse purchases.

3. Look for store and generic brands offering comparable quality. Store and generic brands often times offer good quality for less money.

4. Buy day-old or reduced-priced bread. If you are serving sandwiches you definitely need fresh bread, but day old bread is great for toast.

5. Keep written records of how much you spend for food. A record helps you know exactly how much you spend each week. It also helps you know how much you spent for a box of cereal or a canned good.

6. Avoid unnecessary trips to the store. Research shows that each time you go to the store you usually buy more than the item you went into the store for. All the purchases add up.

7. Check dates for freshness to avoid waste. Buying 2 gallons of milk at 2 for $5.00 is a great buy but only if you can use the milk up before it goes bad.

8. Buy items on sale. A item you use often or something you can substitute into your menu is a good buy.

9. Buy in quantity and repackage itrms into smaller portions at home if storage is not a problem. Lots of times big quantities are cheaper than smaller quantities. If you have room in your freezer, pantry, refrigerator, you can often save money by buying a large quantity and dividing it into several packages. For example family packs of meat. A large pantry can hold cereal in air tight container so it will stay fresh.