15 Ways To Save Money On Food

People who do not know how much they spend on groceries each month are twenty times more likely to be over their heads in debt than those who know exactly how much they spend on food each month. Those struggling with debt are always surprised that when they keep a record of every food-related purchase made for a month, including dining out, fast food stops, vending machines, etc., and realize just how much they spending. The fast food lunches and Starbuck coffee purchases really add up. This money could be better used to pay down debt instead.
If you kept a record of every penny your family spent on food, including dining out and fast food purchases for two months, you might be surprised to discover just how much youre wasting on unnecessary items, too, such as prepackaged or ready to eat meals and such. It is recommend that you keep a record of what your family spends on food for a two month period so you can determine how to reduce your monthly food budget.
Of course, everyone has to eat, but there are ways you can reduce your food budget significantly. Tips are as follows:
1. Stop eating out This one is a no-brainer and doesnt really need an explanation. Dinners you prepare at home are significantly less expensive than meals you pay someone else to prepare.
2. Dont buy frozen meals If you empty the contents of a frozen dinner onto a plate you will quickly realize that you are getting very little food for what you are paying. Do you realize you are paying $300 a pound for that tiny bit of veggies on the side? If you lead a busy lifestyle, set aside a weekend afternoon to make your own frozen dinners and meals prepared from scratch.
3. Dont buy pre-cut meats You are paying a premium for the supermarket to cut up your meat and chicken for you. Doing the cutting yourself will save you about $1 per pound or $223 per year for the average family of four.
4. Compare supermarkets Dont shop at the closest supermarket just because its more convenient. Driving a mile or two down the road can save you as much as $50 per week on groceries. You might find that products you routinely buy at one supermarket are priced as much as $1 or $2 less than they are at another supermarket. One should also compare the unit prices on the store shelves to find the better bargain. For example, many people assume you get a better deal if you buy more product, but often the unit price reveals that buying the 8 oz. instead of the 12 oz. is more economical.
5. Buy generic Generic and store-brand products are often processed at the same plants as name brand products, but they are much cheaper because they arent advertised. A significant portion of the price you pay for a name brand product is to cover the high cost of advertising it in the various media. This is why name brand breakfast cereals cost $1 or $2 more than the generic brand and why Tylenol or Bayer pain relievers cost $3 or $4 more than the generic brand that isnt advertised. Stop paying for all those television commercials and print ads and you will save more than $500 per year.
6. Buy day-old bread The bread at the day-old bakery is almost as good as the bread in the supermarket, yet it is half the price of fresh. Visit a day-old bakery and stock up on bread and other products you can freeze and use later. How much you can save depends on how much bread you consume.
7. Buy in season There are times when the supermarket is practically giving away fruits and vegetables and other times when they cost a fortune. Buy fruits and vegetables in season and only if they are reasonably priced. Learn to enjoy fruits and vegetables that are available year-round at a low cost, such as bananas and carrots. If you have the time, you can buy when produce is cheap and prepare and freeze it for later use.
8. Use more nonfat dry milk Nonfat dry milk is cheaper than regular milk. Use it in place of or combine it with regular milk to reduce the cost of your overall milk consumption. Your savings will be significant if your family consumes a lot of milk each week.
9. Pick your own fruits and vegetables Find out if there is a food co-op in your area at www.localharvest.org and pick your own fruits and vegetables, which can be purchased at a fraction of what you pay at the supermarket.
10. Dont eat meat every night Fixing vegetarian casseroles and such several times a week can save the typical family of four about $3.00 per meal or $15.00 per week or about $800 a year. Vegetarian-based casseroles, stews, soups, bean / rice dishes, and omelets are good substitutes for meat-based meals.
11. Brown bag it at work This is one of the easiest ways to save money, as brown bagging it is about one-third the cost of eating lunch at an inexpensive restaurant.
12. Dont buy what you dont really need There are many products we buy because we love them, but dont really need them. Good examples are soft drinks, sugary snacks and other sweets. Giving them up will improve your health, reduce your medical and dental-related expenses and fatten your wallet.
13. Avoid vending machines and bring your own snacks/drinks to work: You pay significantly less for the candy bars and soda pop you buy at the grocery store than from a vending machine.
14. Use coupons Coupons can save you money, but too many people buy products they dont really need or use just because they have a coupon. You might be able to find coupons for products you do use online by visiting Yahoo.com and typing coupons in the search form. Of course, the down side about finding coupons online is that you must register and disclose your name and contact information in order to get the coupon and free sample. (For this reason, you shouldnt give them your real e-mail address unless you want to receive dozens of spam e-mails every day. Use a free Yahoo e-mail account to register. Also, take into consideration what they might do with your telephone number before you register, perhaps sell it to telemarketers). Good coupon websites: CoolSavings.com Coupons.com StartSampling.com. There are literally dozens of websites you can visit and register to receive coupons. Often, you can register to receive coupons and free samples just by typing the name of the product in the URL locator, such as www.tide.com; www.dole.com; www.pepsi.com, www.pampers.com, etc.
15. Leave the kids at home Caving in to pressure from crying children begging for certain cereals, snacks and toys adds, on average $6 to $20 to the weekly grocery bill. Leave them at home and buy only what your family needs.