10 Simple Strategies for Saving Money on Food

10 Simple Strategies for Saving Money on Food

Food is a necessary cost – you can’t avoid feeding yourself and your family!  Here are our Top 10 ways to cut some of the cost and put some of the money back into your pocket every week:

1. Plan your meals. It’s sad when your groceries spoil before you have time to eat them! Try to only buy what you plan to eat/cook in the next few days. Throwing away food is like tossing money in the trash!
2. Buy in bulk. Sometimes you can find a fantastic deal on something you eat often, like hamburger or chicken.  You can purchase the item now, divide it up into meal-size portions, and freeze it in freezer-safe plastic bags or containers.
3. Freeze some leftovers. Some cooked food items freeze very well.  For instance, mashed potatoes, cooked meat, lasagne, and many soups freeze & reheat well.  If you end up with a lot of leftovers after a meal, determine what you’ll eat in the next few days and freeze the rest before it goes bad.
4. Use Coupons.  You don’t need to become an extreme couponer to save money with coupons.  Take a few minutes to glance at the coupons you get with your grocery & drug store receipts and keep the ones for items you normally purchase.  Check the coupons in your wallet before hitting the checkout & you’ll save a bit here and there!
5. Enroll in discount programs.  Almost every store offers rewards or special discount programs.  You can save money on gas, groceries, and items at the drug store!
6. Make your own coffee. Gourmet coffee at the drive-through might be tempting, but you’ll have more GREEN in your wallet if you take a few minutes to brew your own coffee at home & pop it into a travel mug. Depending on where you get your coffee, you can save well over $1,000 per year just by brewing your own.
7. Bring your lunch.  Sometimes lunch-time meetings can’t be avoided, but on many days you can save money by simply packing your own lunch.
8. Prepare more meals.  Takeout food and restaurant meals are a nice treat, but can be costly when they become the “norm.” You may be spending upwards of $50 each week on what would cost you $10 in ingredients to make! When you cook your own meals at home, you also control the ingredients & nutritional value; a “win-win” for your family!
9. Grow your own veggies.  You don’t need a giant yard to grow your own vegetables.  Try a simple container garden on your deck or in your back yard and experiment with growing some of the veggies you normally enjoy eating!  Tomatoes & peppers are easy crops for beginners.  Learn more about container veggie gardening here! 
10. Use apps to get cash/gift cards back. There are several free apps, like Ibotta, that can get you cash/gift cards back after your purchases!  Here is an article about 6 such apps.

Open a Savings Account

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