These could help: - Ask for discounts for anything that's about to expire even you intend to use it immediately. - Eat more rice. And beans. They're cheap. And will save you a lot of money. - Waste less food. If you don't plan to eat leftovers this will drastically reduce the amount of food that will be thrown away. - Substitute pricey ingredients with cheaper ones all the time. - Visit the farmers markets more often if you can.
Another way to reduce your grocery bill is to go shopping later at night when much of the food that is close to expiry will be greatly reduced in price. I was able to pick up an entire carrier bag of bananas for £0.05 just last week because they had been sat on the shelves too long. It was an excellent bargain and, considering I was planning on buying bananas anyway, I just got more for way less money than I would have spent. I made the rest into popsicles and banana bread!
Don't shop when you're hungry. Avoid the junk food aisles. Make a list and stick to it. Try store brands. Watch the sales and use coupons. Buy in bulk where feasible. Check out discount stores. Don't shop every day (you'll usually end up adding things besides the things you actually need, thus spending more). Try to shop for the week or month instead. Make foods like soups and stews that allow meat to stretch further. Plan at least a few meatless meals each month.
Eating more rice. That was the fashion in 1973 when the Philippines was suffering from recession. Actually there was also rice shortage but meat and fish are more expensive so mothers would tell their children to eat more rice and just a bit of meat or fish. It also came to a point when potatoes, which were cheap then, was encouraged to substitute for rice. My best best is to minimize leftover and wastage of food. That's why we already have an estimate of how much meat we buy for a particular dish like 0.6 of a kilo and not more than that otherwise there will be leftover.
I for one have spent way too much money on groceries the last couple of months. I actually created a budget spreadsheet of the money I spend and it is way too much. Starting in April, I am really going to be cutting back on spending that is for sure. I always look for sale and discounted food at the store before I make a purchase in order to save some money. I just purchase 2 bags of small potatoes for $1.00 each because they were considered blemished.
Purchase what you will use before it spoils is the best way to save money. If you have left overs that may not be eaten before they spoil freeze them for another time. Reduce the amount of snacks you purchase, things like soda, chips and cookies.
I don't like the waste less food point all the time, because a lot of families end up exasperating health issues, or causing themselves health issues when their kids do not want their food, and so the parents will eat the left over food, so as not to have wasted money buying the food.
Thanks for the tips! My doctor and I were talking about loosing weight and she said it's all about intake, so the less you eat the better it is for your health and you'll loose weight too. So less intake means you'll be spending less for food too which is another way to save money. I love Mexican Spanish Rice and refined beans with cheese though so I do like your suggestions a lot. I buy on sale too, so this is a big money saver. Safeway has weekly sales and so do other stores like Walgreens, CVS, local supermarkets like Don Quiote & Times. You save a lot when there are food sales. We have open markets and farmers markets too locally, with fresh veggies for health and many of the veggies and fruits are cheaper than supermarket prices. Thanks again!
- Cut your portions in half, especially with expensive cuts of meat. For example, instead of making one large chicken breast for yourself, butterfly it into two. Same goes with ground beef - if you normally make 1/4 burgers, use half the amount per burger - you can always bulk up the burger with veggies instead, lettuce, tomatoes, onions, etc... - Include more potatoes in your meals. They're inexpensive and filling. Plus there are tons of different ways you can prepare them to keep them interesting: baked, mashed, fries, potato salad, casseroles, au gratin, etc... - You can get good prices on large bags of frozen vegetable medleys at warehouse clubs and restaurant supply stores. Try to opt for frozen in place of fresh wherever you find it acceptable. Veggies such as corn, broccoli, carrots, green beans, artichokes, peppers, and more are usually much less expensive frozen and the quality is generally just as good. - For meats, try comparing prices at smaller local grocers, butcher shops and such vs. the big chain grocery stores, which are typically more expensive. - Avoid the expensive gourmet name brand tomato sauces, which often cost $5-$6+ per jar, and instead make your own from a can of crushed tomatoes. Or even try out some of the cheaper store brand varieties which often sell for around $1-$1.50 per jar instead, to see which ones you like. - Look through your shopping list, and highlight any processed items, and see if you can make them cheaper from scratch instead. - Buy as many items on your list from the $1 stores as you can before hitting up the grocery stores. But be careful, some items such as canned beans, are usually less than $1 at the grocery stores.
I will often times bulk up my ground beef with oats. Bulking up your ground beef doesn't work for everything, so you have to be careful with what you decide to cook with it. I have found that you can take and double the amount of ground beef that you want to use for burgers by adding rolled oats to the mix. Rolled oats will absorb the fat that is cooked out of the meat so they dont really seem as greasy. If you are fixing tacos, or a stroganoff, then i would only use about half of the oats that you would use for burgers. Oats are cheap, and you will definitely save money on your groceries, as meat tends to make up a good portion of the average grocery budget.
These are all great tips so thanks for sharing but I would disagree a little bit in the case of eating more rice. I don't think it's very healthy to do that as it can cause diabetes later on since the carbohydrates it provides turn into sugar, so even if you save a bit now you might end up paying more in medical bills later on. There are healthier versions of rice though so I guess those would be okay. I think black rice and brown rice are relatively healthier though I don't think they taste as good as regular white rice.
Well, I have to agree with that. One cannot become a human garbage disposal in order to avoid waste. The key is to have fewer leftovers to begin with by making less or making smaller portions per person. Sometimes, it's helpful to make smaller main courses, and add cheaper sides. Kids are more likely to eat the side dishes anyway, or at least it often seems that way to me. I hate to waste. I also love to save money. I don't want to create health problems in the process of either. Like with most things in life, there needs to be a good balance.
I agree. I have family members with diabetes and diseases like that, and when the kids don't want their food, those family members would rather eat the foods that are unhealthy and leftover, rather than just throw them away, regardless of the health implications that that will eventually spell. I blame the way they were raised. Rich people are less likely to think in a lackful way to the point that they are willing to risk their health just so as not to waste food. Smaller portions is the key.
I kind of cringe when I see people resort to eating stuff like Ramen noodles because money is tight. You can easily cook regular pasta and make an equally inexpensive dish that's much healthier for around the same price. Ramen noodles are fried and who knows how long ago they were packaged, I can only imagine the oil in them going rancid after some period of time. Plus that seasoning packet is loaded with salt and MSG. It would be much healthier to just cook up some regular pasta, with a little oil, fresh garlic, and perhaps some frozen veggies. Even if you like the seasoning packets, why not instead make your own broth from scratch with leftover bones and veggies? Or pick up a jar of Better Than Bouillon brand stock base, which has no MSG and the first ingredient on many of their products is actual meat such as chicken, instead of salt and MSG. I can pick up a 12 pack of fresh chicken thighs for under $4 at any of the smaller local grocery stores near me. That comes out to about 33 cents per meal for fresh chicken. Pair that with something like a baked potato, which is also super cheap, and some steamed frozen veggies, and you're not much more expensive than a pack of Ramen noodles. Or you can cut up the chicken and make chicken fried rice from scratch, also super inexpensive and much fresher. Chicken fajitas would also be inexpensive and much healthier.
The farmer's market thing really kills me, because I know we could get a lot of delicious, organic stuff for a lot cheaper. There's one in my city every weekend, but it's quite a distance away from where we live, out in the sticks. I'm desperate to go, but the taxi fare would be a killer. I really can't wait to have a car so I can get out there as and when I want to. I've heard very good things about it, too
One thing you can do to lower your shopping budget is to make the food that you have already purchased last longer lol. That way when you are doing your shopping, you won't always need a massive bulk shop, because you are freezing the food you have cooked before, and eating it accordingly. When you have meals frozen, it stops you spending so much on fast food too.
Yes, use rice and beans as extenders to ground meat. Your meat will go much farther and you will probably be healthier as well. Make sure that you give some of these ideas a chance when you are cooking, and you will probably end up saving money. Most people know about these things, but sometimes we forget.
I also shop often! I go to one market in the morning when I go for my morning walk and see what is in the clearance bin. Then I go to another market near me when I go for evening walks and check out their clearance bins. I am saving on food and on a gym membership with all of this walking. The market is about 1 mile away from me so I get a 2 mile walk each trip and save on food.
Just buying what is strictly necessary and always on sale, that is how I do it. For example, my favorite local supermarket has sales every Wednesday. It is the markets day so every food and vegetable is considerably cheaper than other days of the week. So I will just go pretty much every Wednesday to the supermarket to get those. I will also keep my m eyes out for buy two get One free kinds of sales. I'm not sure if other supermarket has this as well, but the supermarket I go to has a shelf with really good prices for products that will go bad soon. The products are not yet expired, so if you are going to consume fairly soon they are definitely worth it. This is the only supermarket I have ever seen this, and it is very worth it so it always make sure to look very closely at this shelf.
