12 Ways to Save Money On Food!

12 Ways to Save Money On Food!

Prices at the grocery store just keep getting higher and higher all the time.  If you're feeding a family it can get very expensive to feed your family each week.  Here are some tips on how to save cash on food costs:

Sales and Coupons

This is an obvious one, I suppose, but worth mentioning.  You don't need to be into extreme couponing to save money on your grocery bill with coupons.  Just use coupons for the things you need.  Don't buy something just because you have a coupon for it.  Pay attention to the weekly sales at your local supermarkets.  If you have a coupon for an item that is already on sale, then that's the time to buy that item.  Make sure that it is something you need or will use, though.  I plan all my dinners for the week around what meats are on sale at my favorite local supermarket that week.  We save a lot of money, just by sticking to that rule.  Only buy meats that are on sale!

Take Your Lunch to Work 

Even if you get your lunch off the dollar menu everyday, it's still going to be cheaper to bring your own lunch, if you can.  Plus, you don't have to spend half your lunch break waiting on your food to get to you, which means more time to eat!

Make Meals at Home

There has to been some debate lately, with the rising costs of groceries as to whether or not it is still, in fact, cheaper to make your own meals at home rather than eating out.  There was a study done a few years ago by a finance website called Gobankingrates.com that found that the price of eating out vs. making a meal at home turned out to be about the same.  This study only tested this out for one person buying one meal, not a family of four.  I still believe that making your own meals at home is far less expensive than eating out if you have a family to feed.  It's definitely much healthier for your family to eat home cooked meals rather than fast food.

If you do go out to a restaurant, try using coupons or discounts and order a special, if you can.  Also, dry drinking water instead of soda.  It's healthier for you and you can avoid the ridiculous up charge restaurants tack on to their soda.  If you have kids, keep in mind that lots of restaurants have a Kids Eat Free day, or at least part of the day, on Tuesdays.

One other thing I want to mention is how much money you can end up spending on snacks when you have kids.  Our family could easily spend at least $50 a week on junk if we bought everything we wanted and the kids wanted.  I've saved money by making my own desserts at home.  Instead of buying cookies, you can just make a batch of cookies using stuff most people already have in the pantry.

Morning Coffee

I don't really drink coffee, myself, but my husband can't live without it.  Not only does he drink it in the mornings but the rest of the day as well.  If you're a big coffee drinker, you know how much you can end up spending on coffee.  Some coffee chains, such as Starbucks and Einstein Bros., offer discounts if you bring your own travel mug.  Some chains also offer discounts if you buy their store chains refill mugs.  Better yet, you can brew your own coffee at home.  According to Lifehacker.com, you'll save an average of $1 per 16 ounce cup of coffee if you brew your own rather than going out for coffee.

Plant a Garden

If you have the space, I strongly encourage growing a garden.  Even having a small garden will save you cash and the food just tastes so much better.  If you live in an apartment or your yard is too small for one, you can still save money by growing your own herbs.  Most of the herbs we use the most in our everyday cooking are very easy to grow in a small area.  You can also freeze your herbs and keep them fresh for later use.

Buy Store Brands

When it comes to most store brands, I can't tell the difference between the generic and the name brand.  Great Value at Walmart is particularly good.  A study by Consumer Reports found that you can save 15-30% each grocery trip by buying store brands.  That totals out to be as much as $1.176 per year on average.

Buy Bone-in Chicken & "Family Pack" Meats

 

We all know that buying a whole chicken is less expensive than buying any parts of the chicken cut up, such as boneless skinless chicken breasts, etc.  Buying bone-in breasts can save you lots of cash.  For a family of four, buying bone-in meats instead of boneless can save an average of $613 per year.

'Family Pack' meats cost much less per pound than smaller packages.  You can also look for special grocery store meat products.  Our family rarely buys hamburger meat.  Instead, we buy Boston Burger, a 80% hamburger 20% sausage mixture, at our local supermarket for way less than the cost of hamburger.  It tastes the same and it's perfect for making meatballs.  Also, for all you seafood lovers out there, you can save by buying from the freezer case instead of at the meat counter.  This can knock up to 40% off of the cost.  This is true for most any meat, but especially for seafood.

Buy Whole Instead of Pre-Cut Veggies

This is pretty self-explanatory, but avoid salad bar veggies at the grocery store, unless you need a very small amount of one particular item.  Buy whole carrots instead of baby carrots.  Baby carrots are just whole carrots that have been shaved down to their middles. Also, don't buy celery hearts, salad mixes, etc.  I want to also mention something I saw in Wal-Mart that blew my mind.  They had 'Ready to Bake' potatoes for sale.  These were just individual potatoes wrapped in some kind of fancy foil.  Please, please don't ever buy this product.  It makes my heart sad.

Drink Less Soda, Or Stop Entirely

I, myself, have struggled with this one.  I admit it. I'm addicted to caffeine.  It got to the point that all I was drinking was soda.  I would go through two 12 packs a week.  It was out of hand.  I'm happy to say that I've cut down to one can of soda a day now.  It's just better for you not to drink a lot of soda, and better for your wallet too.

Eat Leftovers

You can turn almost any meal into delicious leftovers with the right kind of imagination.  If you have a microwave at work, take them to work and heat them up for lunch.

Know the Right Way to Store Your Food 

I'm going to go more into this topic in an upcoming post.  Knowing the proper ways to store the foods you buy can extend their shelf life in your pantry and you won't have to buy them as often.

Buy Fruits and Veggies in Season

Fruits and veggies that are in season are always cheaper because they are in abundance at that time.  Check out local farmer's markets for deals on in season fruits and vegetables.

Buy in Bulk

If you don't mind paying for a yearly membership, shopping at warehouse stores, like Sam's Club or Costco, can be a great way to save on groceries; especially if you have a large family.  If you don't want to pay those membership fees, you can buy non-perishable food items in bulk online, on sites such as Amazon.

Hope you liked my tips!  Bye, for now!  I'll have a new recipe for next time!