Save money on food
With the economy’s future so uncertain it’s always a great idea to look for ways to save money on groceries. I’m glad to say I can offer a few suggestions. The whole idea behind buying groceries is to feed your family a healthy diet. Fortunately, that goes hand in hand with saving money on groceries.
First, let’s clear the air about a few things. I don’t want you to give up all your favorite foods but you should think strongly about what it means to buy a lot of junk food for yourself and your family. Junk food is food you can eat right out of the box or the bag with no preparation. I’m thinking of cup cakes, donuts, chips, candy, etc. None of this stuff is healthy for you and to be honest it’s really expensive food. You can make a lot of these kinds of foods for less if you put your mind to it. But let’s not get ahead of ourselves.
If you have a lot of junk food in your pantry that means you and your family have gotten used to eating it. You’ll have to change your habits and that means finding easy-to-eat foods that are healthier and less expensive than the prepackaged hydrogenated oils, high fructose corn syrup, sugar, and other empty calories we should not be eating.
Great, Healthy Snack Foods that Cost Less to Buy
There are certain types of nuts, fruits, and vegetables that you can eat any time, anywhere, without having to prep them in any way.
Yes, I know some kids have allergies to nuts, although it may be possible to help them overcome these allergies by feeding them small amounts at a time so they build up a tolerance. Consult your doctors about ways to help kids grow out of their food allergies.
Now, for everyone else, there are certain times of the year when it makes great sense to buy nuts in bulk. I don’t mean a lot of little packages of salted peanuts. I mean the big canisters and plastic jars you can find in the bulk section of your grocer.
Now, you don’t want everyone dipping into and out of those jars all year long. So divide the nuts into reasonable portions, wrap them in plastic, and then put them into freezer bags. You can freeze most nuts for up to a year and they will be fine.
If you only have a small freezer then consider getting a vacuum sealer. That will help preserve your bulk nuts just as well as the freezer.
You can also freeze fresh fruits like grapes, blueberries, raspberries, strawberries, and blackberries. By themselves all these fruits taste great, make healthy snacks, and they can be used in a lot of different kinds of quick serve foods like breakfast cereals and yogurts. You can pack your fresh fruits in vacuum sealed bags to save space and extend their life in the freezer.
As an alternative, if you want to make the investment, you can also buy freeze-drying equipment and dehydrate your fruits so you can store them in a cool, dry place for years to come.
Fruits and nuts are nature’s candies and snack foods. When you buy them in bulk and get a discount you can save a lot of money by avoiding the needless purchase of unhealthy snack foods.
Use Coupons Wisely
Everyone has heard endless pitches about how great coupons are and how much money you can save with them. To be honest, I have never met an extreme couponer in my life. These are a rare breed of people who don’t live the way the rest of us do. And I don’t want a warehouse full of cheap merchandise I will never use.
But coupons can still be a great deal for you. My wife collects coupons in the store and holds on to them until there is a sale. She knows which items usually go on sale. She’ll also buy foods on clearance if she feels they’ll be safe to eat by the time we are ready to eat them.
Coupon + Sale + Clearance = Great Savings on Groceries
There are also occasional “10 for 10” deals that make good sense, although we don’t buy a lot of microwavable meals. We look for deals on frozen vegetables that can be used in a variety of dishes, fresh vegetables, and basic proteins like poultry, beef, and fish.
I hate to say it but my wife has found some great deals on turkeys that were just too good to turn down. If you have the freezer space you can buy turkeys really cheap and store them for future use. If you’re lucky and you like pork you may also be able to get some great deals on ham, too.
Use the Grocery Store App
A lot of grocers now give you an app where you sign up for weekly deals. You can save a lot of money off the shelf price if you just stay on top of these weekly deals. You’ll even get offers that don’t show up on the coupon circuit.
You will have to log in to their Website every week and check for new coupons. This usually only takes a few minutes and is a great pre-bedtime activity for people who lead busy lives.
Eat Smaller Portions
I don’t mean to sound condescending but a lot of us are overweight. My wife and I decided that instead of trying to diet we would measure portion sizes and stick to a routine of knowing how much we are eating. We have both lost 10 pounds so far and we discovered something else: our food budget goes farther.
Yes, we’re eating more leftovers but it’s food we cooked and love so we don’t mind. In fact, heating up leftovers every other evening saves a little time in the kitchen anyway.
Take a good look at yourself in the mirror. If you have packed on the pounds lately you can help yourself manage your weight, your health, and your budget just by eating the right amount of food. If you gradually reduce the portion sizes from what you are used to you can quickly make the adjustment.
You may not lose weight very quickly but you’ll stop putting on the pounds and you should see some savings at the supermarket.
In Conclusion
These are all simple, common sense ways to save money, eat better, and improve your family’s lifestyle. You don’t have to commit a lot of time and money to doing anything you don’t want to do. Best of all, you can continue eating many of the foods you enjoy.
It is an adjustment to cut candy, chips, and packaged cakes out of your diet but you’ll soon find there are alternatives you enjoy eating. You may even take up baking if you have the time, although eating a lot of sugary cakes and pies is not really good for your family.
Here are a few Websites where you can get some great ideas for eating well and saving money.