How to Stretch Your Grocery Money and Eat Better

It seems like most people are trying to save money on the food they buy in any way they can. Grocery prices are sky high and expected to rise even further. The end of abundant and artificially cheap food prices seems to be in sight for westerners now, like it already is for the vast majority of people around the world. So, when you need to reduce your food budget, let the ideas in this article get you started.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

1. 
   Breakfast at home.

   Cook your food yourself. The less you eat at home, the more you pay for food. It's that simple. Eating out is a luxury, and one many of us can no longer afford.
   
   Cooking is a basic skill and you don't have to be a gourmet cook to prepare enough simple, tasty, cheap, and wholesome foods each month to make a huge difference in your grocery budget.
   
   Buying and cooking real food; vegetables, grains, and legumes, as well as fruits, and eating at home for most of your meals means money in the bank.
   
   To keep food costs down it's wise to use meat as a condiment, like much of the people in the rest of the world do. Base most of your meals on rice, potatoes, or pasta, with just a bit of meat to season it will save you a lot of money and is healthier for you too.

2. 
   Red Potatoes

   Drop the frills and the empty calorie foods. There is a price to be paid for the convenience of food that is prepared by someone else.
   
   If you don't want to waste your money buying foods that supply little if any nutrients for you and your children then cut out the chips, the sugary cereals, the sweet treats that are loaded down with preservatives and additives.
   
   Chances are you'll lose some weight, besides all the money you'll be saving.
   
   Treats and snacks that are healthy for you are cheaper and if you need a dessert you can make your own cookies and cakes that are better tasting and healthier than anything you can find on the grocery store shelves.

3. Avoid food waste. Chances are, if you're like the average American family, you and your household are throwing out around thirty percent of all the food you buy each month.
   
   To put this into perspective, for every hundred dollars your family spends on food, around thirty dollars worth of that food gets thrown away each and every month.
   
   I can't afford to throw away thirty percent of my grocery money each month, and I doubt you can either, so plan to use up each and every bit of food you buy each month. Leftovers can be frozen for another nights meals or for work lunches.

4. Use coupons only if they actually save you money. Personally I seldom use coupons because they aren't usually for any of the foods I buy each month. You just don't see many coupons for rice, or beans, or fresh vegetables, for example. Most coupons seem to be for prepared foods that I seldom buy anyway so coupons are not something I use very often.
   
   I also make my own cleaning products and personal care items for the most part, so, again, I don't use coupons for something I'm not going to be buying.
   
   Every family is different though, and your family may save a lot of money using coupons. If that's the case, then by all means, use them and save.

5. 
   Red lentils

   Bulk up. Buy food in bulk and stock a food pantry in your home. This is a savings for you in both money, and your time and energy.
   
   One of the secrets of cooks who can consistently prepare meals on very little money is having a pantry stocked with basic foods and baking supplies, enough for weeks of meals, if not months.
   
   People in the past always had food put by for the lean times, and we need to go back to that practice, for our budgets sake and for our peace of mind.

6. Stretch expensive foods like meat with other, cheaper, ingredients. For example, hamburger can be stretched with grated potatoes or other vegetables, or oats, or lots of other things. Hamburger patties are delicious with these added ingredients and so is meat loaf.
   
   You can also stretch eggs by using cake recipes that don't require any eggs.
   
   There are lots of ways to stretch expensive foods, including simply using less of them in your recipes. Use less meat than a recipe calls for, or less cheese. Most recipes can be adapted this way and will still be delicious while saving you money.

Tips & Warnings

• Eat real foods for the majority of your meals, not expensive processed, prepared, meals.

[jswana]

on 11/22/2009 Well you said it best. thanks for sharing how to stretch your grocery money and eat better. jswana 5*

[vallain]

on 11/21/2009 It's sad to see people's grocery carts full of junk food, then they wonder where their money went. Cooking from scratch is healthier and cheaper.

[makaksa]

on 11/14/2009 Good points in stretching grocery money.

[jenng]

on 11/14/2009 great article on How to Stretch Your Grocery Money and Eat Better 5*

[Alrady]

on 11/11/2009 great article. I now people that are now raising chickens for eggs and extra meat. we have een making los of soups and shredded meat dishes to save money. I try to get 2 meals out of 1... we are also buying bulk when on sale... cooking 2 chickens and freezing the extra stuff. seal a meal helps.