We All Need To Eat: 10 Ways To Save
We All Need To Eat
From what I have read food should only be 10-15% of your weekly budget. I guess that should vary some depending on how many you are feeding and if you have toddlers or teenagers. In my house it also depends on whether it is my husband or I doing the grocery shopping.
Ways to Save
A biggie that I am learning is the fact that Menu Planning is important. It makes the week much easier knowing what is planned and preparing ahead for meals. I am working on eating healthier to improve my health. I have learned food expenses should be more whole not processed foods.
1)There are some foods that you can save money by buying generic brands. Some things though we splurge on name brands for the taste or texture difference.
2) It saves a lot of money to buy an item and shred it yourself instead of buying pre shredded. Convenience is costing us a lot.
3) I have been trying to eat more fruits and veggies instead of crackers and chips. I feel better and it saves money.
4)If you want to buy organic. The veggies and fruits that you want to buy organic are the dirty dozen. These are apples, bell peppers, cherries, cucumbers, peaches, nectarines, raspberries, strawberries, celery, pears, grapes. I will be honest here and say I rarely spend extra on organic.
5) When buying produce fresh and then frozen are best. Canned is always the last option for us. Though we grew up with a lot of canned foods and like the taste and texture plus the added convenience bonus. We are trying to get away from the more processed foods.
6) Some healthy treat options for my kids are popcorn and I am trying cocao instead of chocolate bars. I have to be dairy free for health reasons and am looking for ways to make better choices than those in my past when it comes to my eating habits.
Making desserts from scratch instead of buying a bunch of prepackaged cookies etc.. Cooking from scratch can be fun and taste good.
7) One way they say to save more money is to use less meat. Have more meatless protein meals. There are so many meals that can be made with eggs or beans and lentils. We have chickens so currently have plenty of eggs to use to create a variety of meals.
8) Making pancakes from scratch instead of buying pre-made mixes does not take much longer and it does save money. It is also healthier. We have found some of the pre-made mixes already have dairy added in and with dairy intolerances we started making ours from scratch.
A penny saved is a penny earned so the old saying goes.
9) We have regrown veggies from our veggie scraps on our windowsills.
10) Garden harvest: Make it last longer by freezing, canning or dehydrating.
Bonus: I use several shopping apps to either earn points or earn cash back on my shopping. Shopkick, My Points, I can print shop online or print coupons from Swagbucks.
I also take advantage of clipped or printed coupons on products I buy regularly such as my Canyon Bakehouse Gluten Free Bread.
But remember don’t buy things just because they are on sale or because you have a coupon.
11) In addition to food it saves a bundle when buying generic paper products, staples, organizers etc… Often there are cash back options in the shopping apps as well.
Resources:
https://www.everydollar.com/blog
https://rsmom.com/2019/08/09/tips-to-stop-overspending-at-the-grocery-store
Another great resource is Cara Harvey’s courses, One of her courses is a mini course Kick Debt to The Curb in 5 Days.
Good tips! Thanks for sharing at Farm Fresh Tuesdays, see you next week!
Melissa | Little Frugal Homestead
Great post with some helpful tips. As someone who lives alone, I actually find it extremely difficult to do a low food shop – mainly because I’m still not used to cooking for just one. However, what I tend to do is buy meat and vegetables to make a pot of something, then separate into plastic tubs and freeze. I then defrost to either take to work with me for my dinner, or to cook for my tea. And, because the portions are smaller in one tub, I end up with about 4 tubs from a full pot.
Yesterday, I did bolognese, goulash, chilli and lasagne. That means I have pots for the next 2 weeks, at least. Obviously I vary so I’ll get a full month to 6 weeks out of what I made yesterday, and my shop only came to £40 (including £10 on cat food).
you have a wonderfull blog , and I visit it everyday to see if you post something new, thank you!
I like to save .I really try my best and some really do make a lot of progress .These tips are very useful. I use most of them myself thanks for sharing.