Times are tough for a lot of us, and it seems like food can be quite expensive. I wrote a post on my food blog, Almost Frugal Food, about stretching my food budget. Now it’s your turn! Either share a post that you have written on the subject, by leaving the link in the comments below, or tell us: How do you get more bang for your buck at the grocery store? Do you use coupons? Shop the sale items? Garden? Or only go to discount supermarkets?
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I recently wrote about my conversion to using coupons. This is after swearing for years that coupons and I weren’t compatible! It’s called Coup-oning
I write a lot about this- I wrote a post a while ago that is a Step By Step Guide to grocery savings: http://www.artofthecoupon.com/step-step-guide-grocery-savings/
And I also recently wrote a post, The Truth about Saving Money With Coupons:
http://www.artofthecoupon.com/truth-saving-money-coupons/
Coupon Artist´s last blog post..Alternatives to Payday Lenders
My sister and I mostly save on food by shopping less frequently. For the last 1-2 years, I have been going grocery shopping once every 3-4 weeks (and have sometimes lasted 5 weeks). By limiting shopping trips, we cut down on “unnecessary” impulse purchases. We also learn to go without and wait until it’s time to shop when we run out of an item.
And coincidentally, we’ve just started a frugal cooking column and accompanying site to go along with our blog Pecuniarities. We’ve been living together since college and have spent years learning how to cook for 2 without wasting and decided to start Frugaltroph to share our hacks with our readers.
Our first Frugaltroph post which just went up today is: Cup-o-Cakes & Tup-o-Cakes: Easy, Frugal Portable Desserts, a way to save and have fresh cake for dessert or as a snack any time you feel like some or for school & sack lunches.
Penelope @ Pecuniarities´s last blog post..Business Decision: Turning Away a Customer
I’m using coupons; I have several stores in the area which double & triple coupons. I also allot a certain amount of $$ towards maintaining a 3 month food supply in my pantry; which I rotate to keep fresh. By doing so, I’m only having to buy meat, fresh produce, fruit & milk.
Meal planning has helped significantly, epecially on those nights when I’m sooo tempted to eat out!! It’s just the 2 of us (we are emptynesters) & it is so easy to grab a quick bite on the run!
I’m open to all & any suggestions on food management & savings.
We have a grocery budget of $ 350 bi-monthly. Usually I spend around $150. I am trying to get that amount down to $100. I have found that if I DO NOT go to the store EVERY. SINGLE. DAY. we will not DIE. We will NOT STARVE. Sure, I will go if we run out of milk (there are 4 of us here who drink it, 2 are munchkins).
I read a post somewhere about how ice cream was a treat when it was in one family’s home. I thought, “wow, what a GREAT idea!” With that being expensive to buy and make oneself, it’s just not worth it.
Garden. “Free food” (self harvested)like fish and clams. Boil bones for soup and stew. Buy in bulk – flour, rice, beans, cornmeal, etc. Cook a lot on my days off so I have leftovers for lunches. And mostly, and most importantly, Cook from scratch! No convenience foods.
It’s all about the unit price…and being flexible and willing to do a little cooking. I may feel like pork but if chicken’s on sale, I’m changing my plans. ;^)
I have a new system that is a bit more time consuming, but works best for me.
First, I write out a list of menus for the week and what my general lunch choices will be, then I shop online for the products as if I were doing at home delivery and I check for all of the deals, unit prices, etc because I find this much easier to do online than in the store. Instead of checking out, I print off the list and bring it to the grochery store. When there, I look for the marked down foods and remain flexible on my choice for meats. Ideally, I also hit a farmer’s market for my fruit and veg but this isn’t always possible so I have to stock up at the supermarket. I eat very well (3 meals a day that are balanced and always with a piece of fruit) and my budget is lower than ever. So, hope these tips can help someone else out!
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There's a good article in the NYT this week about using your freezer to cut down on food costs by eliminating waste. And the fuller your freezer is, the more efficiently it runs.
Unfortunately, I find myself going to more markets than ever before, buying what is better and cheaper at one place, and saving other things for other trips. I am a very busy person, and I used to try to buy everything at one or two places. Now I find myself going to Costco, Trade Joe’s, Gelson’s, Ralphs. It’s a pain in the butt, but it does make financial sense.