Hi, I thought I'll give you guys a few tips on how to save money on food. 1. Create and follow a grocery list. A lot of the times we end up buing things we don't need just because they are cheap. 2. Compare the prices of different stores. Prices vary from a store to store, and if you are looking to save some money, you don't want to do your shopping in an expnesive grocery store. 3. If possible, buy in bulk. I'm sure you already know this, but a lot of the things are cheaper to buy in high quantities. Of course, you cannot buy a 2 month supply of dairy products, but there's a lot things you can buy ahead. If you have anything to add, please do so.
I think really focusing on coupons helps save a lot of money. If you aren't loyal to a specific brand a lot of stores have sales on certain brands and you can also use a coupon. You save a upwards of a few dollars. I'd also recommend using a lot receipt apps to earn money back for your purchases. For example, Ibotta is a great app. It gives you money back for certain products you buy. For example, if you buy bananas at some of their participating food stores you can earn $0.25-$0.50 back.
You can also try a service likeLog In to save even more. This is not available in every state but there are probably other programs like it. This helps a lot not only money wise but time wise.
I really don't scrimp on food because quality is our priority. That's why we don't store meat in the freezer because we prefer to buy meat everyday to maintain the freshness of what we eat. However, I can say that I save money on food because I usually buy fruits and vegetables that are in season, when they are abundant in the market and cheaper. Even with imported fruits like apples, we have them cheap when they are in season (of importation).
Making lists is really the key, because you focus on what you need rather than keep picking up random stuff that you don't really had to get. I also use coupons and I look up different offers so I save a little bit every day.
I think the getting familiar with the price range of each item helps a lot too. This is different to making comparisons with each store but I guess it is a part of that too since that is how you will learn the price ranges much easier. If you dont know the price ranges of each item then you are more likely to fall into traps of paying much more than necessary. Also I think this helps much more in making judgements especially when it comes to processed foods since if you know the price of each raw ingredient then you can judge how much it would cost to just make it yourself at home, and sometimes the price difference is massive that you will realize that the product isn't worth splurging on at all even for the slight convenience factor.
Other ways to save money on food: - Grow vegetables. - Plan your meals around what's on sale. - Freeze leftovers. They can be your lunch. Waste not . . . - Eat out less. - Cook in bulk. - Try new cheaper recipes. - Buy cheaper organ meats. They're more nutritious. - Don't shop when you are hungry. - Eat more veggies, less meat.
We always get sales in the mail of our local grocery stores, so that helps out as well. But we always go to DontPayFull.com and print off a bunch of coupons to use when we make our monthly grocery shopping trip. I love watching the price go down at the register. I wish they had coupons for the essentials though like eggs and and bread, etc. But that saves us quite a bit I love it.
Sticking to the list always helps me stay on budget. If by any chance I derail from my list, then it's because I found a really good deal on a household product I already use. I recently started couponing and let me tell you, I'm already seeing the savings. I don't go all extreme couponing and start buying a bunch a stuff I don't need, I stick to my list. Another trick that helps me save is to plan the bi-weekly menu ahead, and that plan so that some of the meal ingredients are present in several of the dishes.
One of the best ways to save money on food is to buy in bulk, and then cook in bulk. From cooking in bulk, you can then freeze the food, and then heat up whenever you see fit. This saves people from buying fast food a lot of the time. At least it stops me and my family from buying fast food. Fast food purchases are usually only made when we are starving and there is no food, and we cannot be bothered to cook. But if the food is frozen and just needs to be heated up, it saves money and time.
I do what most do like coupons, sales, have a list (this really works for you stick to the list and get nothing else) and go to sites like ebates.com where they give you money back for shopping online. There is a new one for shopping called plenti.com for certain stores that gives points and you get discounts, but so far for me they don't have the stores I shop in. I'v never heard of ibotta.com and going to check on it. Has anyone got money back from ibotta.com? Thanks for the tips!
I find myself buying food that is not on my budget because I was shopping on an empty stomach, so before going out shopping, make sure that you have eaten and your stomach is full, because if you go shopping hungry then it is certain that you will overspend because you will be buying the appetizing foods that you see in the mall or in the supermarket.
I've said this before, but one of my favorite ways to save money on food is to make meals that use meat as a flavoring or garnish, not the main ingredient. You can make a big pot of lentils with just a bit of ham for flavor, or a big pan of chicken stir fry with just one chicken breast sliced up. If you don't rely on too much meat for your main dishes, that will cut your food costs down quite a bit.
I just recently put together a grocery shopping list in Excel, with the estimated costs I would be spending for each type of item and it was really eye opening. I hadn't done something like this in over 10 years, so I lost track of how much I was spending on various food items relative to my total budget. I jotted down just the bare essentials, such as several packs of meat, eggs, milk, OJ, loaves of bread, coffee, peanut butter, jelly, tea bags, cheeses and such, that I would need for a typical month. I always assumed the meats would be the largest part of my budget, but in reality it was all these smaller items that really added up and were the bulk of my expenses. I can get 5 packs of meat for $19.99 at Save-A-Lot, and 5 packs of fresh veggies at IGA for only $9.99. Pair that with a sack of potatoes and some garlic and onions, and some fresh herbs, and that's about $40 of my budget. However, when I look at what I was spending on lunch meats and cheeses, I'm actually spending more on those than the fresh meats and veggies. I go through about 2 tubs of Parmesan/Romano cheese alone in a given month, since I use it so much on pasta. Then once you figure in all the sliced cheese I use on sandwiches and burgers, along with a few packs of lunch meat, I'm easily at or over $40 right there. Those tubs of grated cheese alone are like 6 bucks a pop, and lunch meats are around $6 a pound as well. And even though bread and eggs may seem cheap on their own, I go through a lot of those as well - usually a carton of eggs a week, and several loaves of bread as well as packs of buns too, so those all add up.
