{"id":32303,"date":"2018-01-09T08:04:30","date_gmt":"2018-01-09T13:04:30","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/canadianbudgetbinder.com\/?p=32303"},"modified":"2025-01-14T15:58:21","modified_gmt":"2025-01-14T15:58:21","slug":"create-master-food-list","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/digitalskyweb.co\/canadianbudgetbinder.com\/2018\/01\/09\/create-master-food-list\/","title":{"rendered":"How To Create A Master Food List To Slash Expenses"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

<\/span>Estimated reading time: <\/span>16<\/span> minutes<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Efficiently manage your grocery shopping with a master food list. Learn how to cut costs and save time while balancing your budget.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Grocery shopping expenses aren’t going to balance unless there’s a master food list incorporated into your master plan. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Creating a master food list is an efficient and frugal way to grocery shop as it frees up time and money while trying to balance a budget.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It sounds a bit off the wall, but you have to be on top of things when saving money on groceries. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

What Is A Master Food List?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Easing into the grocery budget process by testing the waters for a few months with a Master Food List might be YOUR<\/strong> ticket to food shopping success.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you’re anything like me, when I was single, I would tend to create the same recipes over and over only because it was easy, saved time, and kept me from lingering around the grocery store.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Food Lists Will Change<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Once I got married, we decided to become a lingering grocery shopping couple with a frugal mindset, yet we were and still are working on cutting back on roaming. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This got me thinking the other day about how easy it is to overspend when grocery shopping, even if you have a meal plan<\/a> and a shopping list.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Besides having a focused mindset when in the grocery store, you must stick to a food list that offers your meal plan all the staples. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the UK, my list would have been small: certain vegetables, milk, eggs, cheese, pasta sauce, tortellini, sardines, bread, and butter. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I was and still am a simple guy, but once I got married, EVERYTHING CHANGED!<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Our diet, as has our grocery shopping, has been all over the place for the past 11 years. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

We’ve learned how to grocery shop, failed at many aspects, and then learned from those mistakes. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

When one feat is conquered, another always seems to take its place. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Price increases on food come to mind.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Welcome to 2018, another year of working magic around a grocery budget, meal planning, and getting the best bang for our buck. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

For grocery budget newbies who are frustrated about spending too much at the grocery store, a master food list may be the perfect starting point.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Think Master Food List for a diet, but this isn’t a diet- it’s a food lifestyle.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Grocery List vs. Food List<\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

What’s the difference between a grocery list and a food list?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

A grocery list can always be modified and easily distracted without personal limits. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Not everyone who grocery shops with a list uses a budget, and not everyone who uses a budget grocery shop with a list. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

A grocery list is ideal as you progress toward grocery shopping and stretching the budget.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A food list is a master document of products you need in your kitchen regularly to create the meals and snacks you enjoy. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This type of shopping helps create a budget-friendly mindset for those starting out learning how to budget for food. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

You might even be a dull food lover like I was in the UK and prefer a food list to not over-complicate your shopping experience.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How <\/span>To Create A Master Food List<\/h2>\n\n\n
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\"THE<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

It has been years since we ran the grocery game challenge<\/strong><\/a>, and we have tackled many ways to save money on food.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Over 300 published articles on this blog are dedicated to saving money on groceries; it can be overwhelming for someone new to food budgets.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What is easy for some is terrifying for others. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Think about your child and the first time they attempted to do something independently.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Most likely, they were nervous, but with parental guidance, they did it! <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Treat adding new skills to your life, starting from the most basic form, and move on.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This assures you to learn as much as possible without skipping valuable lessons.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ways To Help You Ease Into Budgeting For Groceries<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Since I announced the grocery game challenge would go ahead for 2018, I’ve had a few emails from concerned readers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

They wanted to know how they could jump into the grocery savings game without fussing over the extremities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Consider this post an option for those who want to keep their food budget simple and grocery shop on tunnel vision alone. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The photo above of a Master List is just an example of something you can put together but on a larger scale to include all the foods on your list.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You could easily use the above as a weekly food list as well. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you’d like a printable version, just let me know, and I’ll add it to my list of printable money-saving tools<\/a>. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Reduce Costs Wherever You Can <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

It sounds boring, but shopping with a master food list, if you think about it, can keep costs down. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I’m sure by now you might be wondering what a master food list is or what it looks like. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Don’t worry. It’s not complicated and perfect for new food budget fans who want to simplify grocery shopping while learning.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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  1. Create a <\/strong>food budget<\/strong><\/a>, whether daily, weekly, monthly, etc.<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n
  2. Decide on the most popular recipes or foods that are essential to you each month and document them on a spreadsheet, or if you’re like us,<\/strong> using old-school pen and paper, brainstorm foods you enjoy and those you need daily.<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n
  3. Write them all down and separate them by department.<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n
  4. Print your list, put it on the refrigerator, and use this list as a master food list.<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n
  5. Create a meal plan for your shopping trip using those ingredients<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n
  6. Shop for ONLY those ingredients, nothing more<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n

    This food list idea is comparable to a meal plan, and in most cases, it sure is.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    However, the difference is that this is an introductory guide for those who aren’t keen on meal plans or learning to shop frugally.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    The idea behind having a master food list is that it keeps you accountable to only the foods that are a must-have in your household without deviating from your budget. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    One of the easiest things that can happen at the grocery store is that you become a consumer lured by marketing baits planted in your face and under your nose.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Getting <\/span>Used To A Grocery Budget <\/h2>\n\n\n
    \n
    \"weekly
    Printable Weekly Menu Plan available on the Free Money Saving Tools<\/a> page<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

    Building A Food List Takes Time<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

    Once you get a grip on using a grocery budget for the first time, you can expand your food list to include other ingredients that might help create a new meal or snack.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    You see, we are creatures of habit, so a food list that is simple to follow makes grocery shopping simple, budget-friendly, and efficient.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Some of you may have already done this or believe having a master list at all stages of learning how to grocery shop with a budget is beneficial.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Therefore, you might continue this way of thinking when it comes to food shopping and creating meals but expanding your options.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    My parents come to mind now that I think about it.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Buying The Same Foods <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

    They grocery shop weekly and buy the same foods and extras week after week. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Cooking was not a massive deal in our house, even though I hung around to learn from my mom. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    British recipes are traditional at best, as our cuisine is slim compared to other cultures.<\/p>\n\n\n\n