Saving on Groceries— A How To Guide

2017 Newsletters, Budget, Shop Smarter

Food; this vital commodity often accounts for the largest part of our monthly expenses. Procuring enough food for both our loved ones and ourselves has always been one of the primary objectives of humankind.

While our ancestors would brandish their weapon of choice and venture into the forest to hunt wild animals or gather naturally occurring plants, today we mostly find the sources of our nourishment in specialized shops. Different products are available at different prices, to suit the needs of the entire population.

Completely removing the need for food is an impossible task. Just like a car won’t work without fuel, our bodies need the right amount of nutrition to function correctly.

Self-sustainability can help offset the cost of what you spend at the grocery store but, unless you own a large farm or ranch, producing everything you need to feed your family in its entirety would be a rather challenging endeavor.

However, there are several things you can do to save some money while you keep yourself well fed and healthy. In this article, we’ll explore some of the possibilities you are left with when shopping for groceries.

Plan Ahead To Reduce Food Loss And Waste

This might sound like the most obvious suggestion you have ever read, yet you would be shocked to know just how much food is left uneaten in our fridges every day.

Often done in a rush due to our extremely busy lifestyles, grocery shopping only rarely involves extensive planning.

With nothing more than a fuzzy idea of what we’re going to eat throughout the week, we enter the store and grab the first things that look or sound appealing. After all, we will have plenty of time to think about the menu once we get home.

Planning our meals in advance can significantly help when we want to save on food. Our next grocery run will have us pick up exactly what we need, leaving the rest on the shelves. The result is a lighter bag of food that will be used and not wasted, but that will not be the only advantage we are gaining.

Planning also allows us to diversify our food intake. Different meals and foods mean that our body will receive a larger range of nutrients and prevent us from getting bored of a particular food item.

For people who often have little time to follow a proper diet, creating a meal calendar can improve their quality of life, help them remain healthier and leave them with more money to invest in other activities!

Go For The Generic Brand Version Of Your Favorite Food

Have you ever stopped to read a label or the side of your favorite food’s packaging? Along with nutritional values, expiration dates, and recipes the product can be used in, you are likely to find an address or contact information for the factory or distribution center from which it originated.

Take a closer look, and you might discover something that has the potential to save you a fortune. It is extremely likely that your favorite products and their off-brand counterparts are a lot more similar than you think.

In fact, more often than not they both come from the same production facility. They might even belong to the same batch. The two boxes that you are holding in your hands contain, essentially, the same food sold at different prices.

When you’re buying something coming from a well-known brand, you are not only paying for the product itself but also financing advertisement and distribution campaigns. These expenses all weigh in on the final price.

Generic brand groceries are not so adamantly advertised and will, of course, cost less. When shopping, remember that although the box might be different, its contents are the same. As you are not eating the package but what is inside of it, generic brands are as qualitatively good as larger brands would be.

Prepare Your Own Food, Dressings and Garnishes

In Italy, home to one of the largest and most famous culinary culture in the world, there’s an old saying. “Anche l’occhio vuole la sua parte”, which can be roughly translated to “even the eye wants its part.” These words highlight how food should not merely taste good but also look appealing. This traditional wisdom might be the reason why elegant dishes include dressings and are often garnished with an array of different herbs, fruits, and other consumables. Sauces, spice mixes, and garnishes can be bought to save time. While this helps to ensure that your creation looks and tastes wonderful, it will cost you a pretty penny.

While many of us buy our garnishes, spice mixes, and even entire entrees premade, the truth is, most of these are incredibly easy to prepare ourselves. By looking up recipes on the internet and purchasing the ingredients separately, you could save quite a bit of money.

Additionally, preparing your food from scratch gives you the chance to know exactly what you are putting in each dish, creating the opportunity for a healthier version of your favorite dish and often cooking it yourself provides greater quantities of food, leaving you leftovers and saving you even more.

Experiment With New Recipes And Combinations

The worst has happened! You have bought more food than you could consume and your groceries are now slowly turning bad in your fridge. The stench of less-than-fresh fruit and vegetables welcomes you every time you approach your fridge.

As time passes, you find yourself wondering whether you should throw the whole lot away. But wait, there might be another solution to the problem. After all, you spent good money on those items and watching as they inexorably rot away both angers and saddens you.

It is this scenario that provides you with the opportunity to expand your culinary knowledge and add a few new recipes to your belt. You might even find a favorite dish. The principle behind this way of thinking is that while food in less than optimal conditions might not be suitable for some preparations, it can still be used for others. For example soups, in particular, are an excellent way to use up a large volume and variety of vegetables that may not be in their prime.

Let’s take an old tomato and a banana as another example. The former could be turning dark and soft and would look awful in a salad. The latter might start looking bruised and won’t be as appealing to eat fresh, as it once was. Neither of the above should be a good reason to toss your food away.

Your first step is to make sure that what you are saving is not rotten or otherwise unfit for consumption. Food that is old and unattractive is far different than rotten and moldy.

Next, press your unsightly tomato in a saucepan with a touch of olive oil, a few spoonfuls of ground meat and several slices of onion, and you have the base for an excellent spaghetti sauce. If you can’t use it fresh, simply pour it into a plastic container and store it in your freezer.

The next time you get home from work later than expected, you’ll simply have to defrost the sauce, boil some water, add salt, cook your desired amount of spaghetti, and pour your Italian creation on top of them. You will have saved time and money!

The bruised banana can make an excellent, sweet base for a smoothy or be used to make a hot fresh loaf of banana nut bread! If you don’t have the time to make it immediately, just peel the banana and freeze it in a freezer bag for later use.

Find The Deals

You should always keep an eye out for special offers. Food with a long shelf life can be bought when offered at a lower price, stored in a pantry or freezer, and consumed at a later date. This method lets you save some money and also ensures that you always have a small amount of food in your home in case of emergency.

Supermarkets and grocery stores might, from time to time, sell products that are nearing their expiration date at a much lower cost than what their original price tag says.

While these should be bought only if you intend to use them as soon as you get home, you will purchase an entirely edible piece of food while spending less!

It Is All Up To You!

There are a plethora of other ways to save money on groceries while you keep eating well and stay healthy. The way you manage and use your supplies, as well as how often you decide to go shopping, will affect the amount you end up spending on food every month.

A more cautious and planned approach to shopping, coupled with more reasonable expenses and attempts to save as much food as possible is a tried and true solution to saving money on your groceries.

Have some fun cooking together as a family!

Some of the best memories are made in the kitchen! Take some time this month to teach a child to cook, make a meal together as a couple, or experiment with new and tasty ethnic dishes. Use these cold winter months indoors to get cozy over a steaming bowl of homemade chili or practice decorating cookies with style. Here are some great places to get some new inspiration: