How to Save Money on Your Monthly Food Budget
If you're feeling the effects of the weak economy, and need to find ways to save money, saving on your food purchases is a pretty easy thing to do.
Next to the mortgage or rent, food expenses are the second largest expense in the average family's budget.
Follow the steps below, and you'll be saving a large percentage of your usual food expenses.
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Instructions
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Stop eating out. Eating meals out can cost several times what the average meal prepared at home would cost. Consider the fact that a plate of spaghetti at Olive Garden costs about $10. A one-pound box of spaghetti, a jar of sauce, and a package of meat for the sauce would easily feed a family of 5 to 8, and would cost about $6 total.
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Write out weekly dinner menus so that you'll always know what's for dinner. This will help you avoid the 5PM "I don't know what to cook" panic. This saves money in your household budget, because it will keep you from "needing" to pick up fast food on your way home.
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Plan your weekly dinner menu so that one night's left over ingredients can be used for the next night's meal. (For instance, the cheese and sour cream used to top tonight's chili can be used for tomorrow night's taco salads.) This saves money in your budget by eliminating waste. If you buy something and don't use all of it, that's like throwing money away.
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When you write out your weekly menu, write a companion shopping list, listing all the ingredients you'll need to make the meals that week. Don't forget to add breakfast and lunch items to your list. Doing this will help you save money because it will ensure that you will have everything on hand when it's time to cook. Running to the store for the one ingredient you forgot always turns into buying several other things you don't really need.
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Never shop without coupons. Keep your coupons organized so that you can easily access them when you're shopping. For better savings, stack your coupons when you shop. Using and stacking coupons for your groceries and toiletries purchases can help you save about 30-40% on your grocery bill. If your grocery store double or triples your coupons, it's possible to save over 75% of your grocery bill.
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Eat less meat. Meat is probably the most expensive grocery purchase. Eliminating or drastically cutting back on the amount of meat you eat will help you save a lot of money on your grocery bill. Consider using recipes that use meat as an ingredient, rather than as a main course. Sprinkle a little taco meat on tostadas, for instance, so that your meal is mainly beans, lettuce, and tomatoes, with meat as an accent.
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Grow your own vegetables. It's said that investing a mere $10 in vegetable seeds can yield approximately $2500 in vegetables each season. If you grow your own vegetables, you can start making healthier, low fat recipes that are vegetable-based, rather than meat-based.
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Buy store brand products instead of brand-name. You might even find that your family prefers the grocery store versions over the brand name you usually buy.
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If you buy juice, opt for the frozen concentrated versions over the versions in containers. Even when you compare the same pricier brand of frozen to regular, the savings are significant.
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Be prepared for "something came up" or "I'm too tired to cook" nights. Keep a reserve of quick, effortless meals on hand so that you won't be temped to order out when something comes up. Examples of these types of meals are frozen pizza, hot dogs, pre-made hamburger patties, or ingredients for grilled cheese sandwiches. These quick meals might not be packed with nutrition, but they are healthier than fast food, and they'll help you save money because they're significantly cheaper than take out.
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Comments
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rewrite810
Jan 21, 2009
Great suggestions...love the tip about planning to make use of leftovers! 5*
