22 Jan

20 Easy Tips for Reducing What You Spend on Food

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If you are the type of smart person that budgets your money and pays attention to where you spend your income then you are probably well aware of the fact that a large percentage of your paycheck goes to putting food into your body. We certainly have to eat and we don’t want to scrimp so much in this area of life that our bodies suffer. But that doesn’t mean that we need to keep forking over fistfuls of cash to keep ourselves fed each day.

If you would like to spend a little bit less of your money on food so that you can use it for something else, start testing out these 20 easy tips for reducing the amount of funding that you’re spending on the food that you buy at the grocery store as well as the food that you buy at restaurants and other places outside of the grocery store.

10 Tips For Reducing Your Grocery Bill

The majority of people who are interested in being frugal are spending a bulk of their food money at the grocery store. This is smart because it keeps food costs down in comparison to dining out. However, it’s easy to overspend at the grocery store as well. Here are ten easy tips for reducing your grocery store bills:

1. Do not underestimate the value of using coupons. Coupons seem like something old-fashioned that our mothers clipped out and used but the smart shopper is going to realize that coupons can still be used today when shopping for groceries. Pay attention to both the printed coupons offered at your store and the coupons that you can print out from the Internet. Just make sure that you don’t purchase anything with coupons that you wouldn’t have purchased anyway.
2. Know what is cheapest where. The main key to keeping grocery costs down is to really get to know the costs of the most commonly-purchased food items at different locations near you. For example, your favorite vegetables may be cheapest at the local farmer’s market but the milk there may be expensive. You may discover that the corner store near you actually has really cheap milk but you wouldn’t want to get your meat or cheese there because that’s overpriced. Make a list of those things that you buy most often and the stores that you shop at most frequently and start noting what’s cheapest where.
3. Go vegetarian. The fact of the matter is that most fruits and vegetables are considerably cheaper than most meats and dairy products. You don’t have to give up meat entirely but start supplementing a few of your week’s meat meals with vegetarian dishes and you should find that your grocery bill goes down considerably.
4. Buy fresh. In addition to buying produce in general, you should make sure that you’re buying fresh produce. Try to make it so that at least fifty percent of what you purchase at the grocery store is fresh rather than packaged or frozen. This should significantly reduce the amount of money that you’re spending on groceries (and the challenge will also be likely to introduce you to some new foods that you didn’t know you could love!)
5. Buy only groceries at the grocery store. Many of us find it easy to just pick up what we need at the grocery store and that doesn’t always mean food. We buy our toilet paper, deodorant, batteries and light bulbs at the grocery store as well. The problem is that this usually isn’t the best place to get those items. Get those from discount stores, dollar stores and online outlets that offer them at a much cheaper cost and leave your grocery store shopping just for the purpose of buying food.
6. Stop paying for brand names. There are some items that you just may not like the generic brand taste of but for the most part, you can go generic. Don’t pay money for nice packaging or a specific name. Pay money for the food that you’re going to be putting in to your body.
7. Stop looking at sticker price and start looking at price per. The sticker price on one item may be cheaper than the next but if you take a look at the fine print you’ll find that the “cheaper” version is actually costing you more per ounce or per pound than the item that initially looks more expensive. (This is why people who buy in bulk save money.) Get in the habit of looking beyond the big price and down to the actual cost of what you’re paying for what you get.
8. Buy long-lasting items only when they are on sale. If you know that your family always eats a lot of pasta and that the pasta you buy lasts forever (or almost forever) then you can stock up on lots of boxes of it when it’s on sale. Don’t, however, make the mistake of stocking up on sale items that you don’t actually eat frequently or that you wouldn’t have bought if they weren’t on sale. Do this only for long-lasting items that are staples in your family.
9. Allow yourself one or two indulgences and be aware of what they are. Indulgences are expensive – cookies, crackers, alcohol, great cheeses, special breads … these things are great to enjoy but they’re hard on the grocery budget. Choose one or two special items that you want to spend your money on and then agree with yourself not to waste your money on the others. Be aware of what these items are so that you can continue to make limited choices in the future. For example, if you normally buy the fancy cheese but you’re in the store and you really want the cookies, let yourself indulge in the cookies this time but skip the good cheese.
10. Stick to a grocery budget. Determine what a reasonable amount of money is to spend on groceries each week or each month and then make sure that you stick to that amount. When it gets down to the wire is when you start buying the beans and rice and other inexpensive foods. Living this way for a couple of weeks will make you more aware of what you’re spending and eventually you’ll find yourself easily sticking to your food budget without sacrificing in terms of nutritious meals.

10 Tips For Reducing What You Spend On Food Outside of the Grocery Store

Although it is really important to reduce the amount of money that you are spending at the grocery store, you are probably well aware of the fact that the bulk of your excess food spending actually happens when you buy food at places other than the grocery store. Here are ten easy tips for reducing what you spend on food at restaurants and other spots you might find yourself at:

1. Significantly reduce the number of times per week or month that you eat at restaurants or fast food places. The number one thing that you can do to save money on food is to stop eating at restaurants. You don’t have to quit entirely but work on cutting back by at least fifty percent, if not more. So, if you normally eat out three times a week for lunch and two times for dinner, cut that back to eating out just 2-3 meals total per week. Try to decrease from that as time goes on.
2. Order appetizers as entrees. The appetizers at most restaurants are significantly cheaper than the entrees and they are usually enough food to satisfy the average person. If you find that they aren’t enough on their own then you should supplement your calorie intake by eating a small snack before the meal or carrying a protein bar with you to have after the meal.
3. Drink water. Stop spending money unnecessarily on juices, sodas and fancy alcoholic beverages when you’re eating at a restaurant. If you’re going out for drinks, skip the meal and spend the money on drinks. Otherwise enjoy your meal and just drink water.
4. Order stronger alcoholic beverages. When you do go out for drinks, you want to pay attention to your total alcohol cost. Many people make the mistake of just ordering beer because it’s cheaper than alcohol. That’s true unless you’re the kind of person that drinks five or six glasses of beer for every one alcoholic drink that you’d get. Get one great strong drink and enjoy it. Better yet, carry a flask from home!
5. Start sharing meals. This is particularly a good idea if you’re the kind of person who can’t go to a restaurant without getting an appetizer, an entrée and a dessert. You probably don’t eat all of that food in one sitting (or you don’t need to anyway) so start sharing it with others at the table. It helps if you have a dining partner who is also interested in saving money.
6. Take half of the meal home with you. If you must go to restaurants and order a lot of food, at least make it a habit not to waste what you’re buying. Take half of that food home with you to have as a meal the next day so that you’re cutting back on what you need to buy in terms of groceries for the home.
7. Do not pick up the tab. This is a big problem for a lot of people. They go out to restaurants or bars and they feel this strange urge to pick up the tab. Don’t do it. Another problem comes when everyone puts their tab on the same check and then tries to figure out the cash amount they owe; many people end up spending more than their fair share to get the bill covered. Only pay for what you order. It’s not your responsibility to spend your food money on anyone else that chose to dine with you.
8. Play the “if this then not that” game with yourself. You know, you really want to spend the $5 on that fancy coffee so you tell yourself, “okay, I’ll spend the $5 on the coffee but then I won’t go out to lunch tomorrow, I’ll just bring my lunch from home”.
9. Skip the snack bar. Most people spend a lot of their food money on eating out at restaurants. However, that’s not the only place that money gets wasted on food. A big culprit is the snack bar. If you’re the kind of person who gets popcorn at the movies and a hot dog at the game, you’re the kind of person that is wasting way more money than you need to be. Stop saying that it’s part of the experience and start sneaking in your own snacks instead.
10. Stick to a dining out budget. Figure out what you currently spend on dining out. Set a goal to spend a reasonable amount less than that amount next month. Then make sure that you stick to that budget. For example, if you usually spend $300 per month on dining out then you could set a goal of spending no more than $200 on dining out. If you run out of that before the end of the month, skip the restaurants and fast food joints until a new month begins.