Frugal Living: Saving on your food budget

There’s a lot of information on-line about saving dollars on your food budget by knowing your prices, shopping the sales and stockpiling.  Our very own hubpages have some of the best.  All of it is excellent advice however there are some veiled tricks that you need to be aware of so you can save even more.   

1. Buying larger packages can SOMETIMES save you money – although the food manufacturers are getting wiser so this isn’t as easy to figure as it used to be. Most people check the price per ounce, which can be effective, but frankly I find it more rational to check the price per serving (after confirming that the serving size is realistic for my family’s consumption). Buying a larger can of something that will go to waste because we can’t or won’t eat it all is wasting my dollars and my time.
2. Meat is another way to save money and buying for two is a whole different story than buying for a family of 5 or 6. Buying four chicken thighs at $2.79 lb versus 10 chicken thighs at $2.49 lb can rate you a large savings over time. But always remember to add the cost of re-packaging your food at home. Freezer bags can be expensive, a much cheaper route is to use foil and label the package (item, date, approx weight) with a grease pencil. You’ll always know what’s in your freezer and can plan accordingly.
3. Start a soup/stew container in your freezer. Throwing away any food causes your food budget to increase but throwing those leftover veggies in a container in the freezer and then using them in a vegetable soup or stew once a month is realistic and adds another dinner at little to no cost. I also have an onion/celery container in my freezer. Certainly salads and sandwiches, etc need these to be fresh but most of my cooked recipes call for either or both of these and throwing in frozen ones from my freezer is perfect. The unused fresh portions don’t go bad sitting in my crisper in the refrigerator. Just be sure to use it all in a two-month period and clean out the container to ensure safety.
4. Keep a list – oh, of course keeping a list of items to buy at the grocery store is important but if you’re stockpiling – keep a list of entrée items that are on hand. I do a once a month inventory of what’s on hand and options of main courses then tack it to my refrigerator. I can make a decision for what to have for dinner at a moment’s notice. Just be sure to cross off that main course once it’s used. As an example, quite often I will have 6 packages of chicken breasts in my freezer at any time, this means my list may have six to ten entrees that can come from those items – it might list 1. JSC chicken casserole 2. Smothered chicken 3. Italian grilled chicken 4. chicken fajitas 5. barbequed chicken 6.chicken stew and 7. chicken potpie. I calculate what the leftovers will likely be and plan an entrée(s) around those as well – thus more than 6 meals from those 6 packages. Using this method allows me to only buy meats as they come on sale yet we always have a wide variety of options available and can chose without me running to the grocery store.
5. Know which stores reduce their meat on the day of expiration. The expiration date on meat is the last date of sale – not the last date of use. These are usually highly discounted items and can be repackaged at home if the cut is too big. You’ll need to be flexible regarding when you shop since the stores usually mark these discounted items late on the day prior to expiration. You want to be first as many people watch for these sales – time your shopping for these deals to coincide with the meat department’s closing hours of operation. Just make sure to freeze it immediately or use it within the next two to three days to ensure food safety.
6. Know your cuts of meat – smaller cuts of meat are usually higher priced than the larger cuts. Have you seen the price of beef fajita meat? The last time I checked our store it was $4.99 a lb but I could buy the same type of meat in a larger form and cut it down myself at home for a whopping $3.79 lb. Pork tenderloins are another prime example. Usually – on sale – I can get them for $1.99 lb but boneless pork chops are $3.99lb – and boneless pork chops are cut directly from pork tenderloins. All you need is a good knife at home to cut them yourself.
7. Know your staple items and never pay full price. The best way to begin stockpiling if you are on a very limited budget is to know your basic items that cost the most and start with those. In my house the three basic items are coffee, mayonnaise and paper towel. Three times a year my local store puts my chosen brand of mayonnaise on BOGO. Since a quart jar usually costs $4.39 that means I’m paying $2.20, I buy enough to last six months. I haven’t paid full price for mayonnaise in 6 years. This of course, beats out the “sale” price of $3.99 or even $3.49 that is normally in the ads. Coffee is another one that comes around only about 3 times a year. The largest container is usually around $9 or $10. I BOGO it and never pay more than $5 or $5.50.
8. Take stock of disposable items. My mother is a huge believer in paper towel – it’s certainly more sanitary but also costly. I used to tease her that whenever she came for a visit I had to up my budget just to support her paper towel habit. We went through almost a roll a day when she was around. I have a myriad of dishcloths and always have two hanging in different spots in the kitchen – one is for hands and one is for quick clean ups. If you change them out everyday, you’ll find yourself using less disposable towels and actually looking for other ways to save on disposable items.
9. Know your recipe sites. When you find a good sale but you've never used the item before - especially meats and fruits, check out the recipe sites. Usually you can put in a couple of ingredients and it will come back with a host of recipes that will allow you to take advantage of the item. There are some sites that will also allow you to exclude ingredients so you can filter out those that you don't have the necessary ingredients for.
10. Know your neighbors. Friends tell friends and word of mouth is the best way to keep tabs on in-store specials and immediate mark-downs.

Good luck with your shopping, there are so many ways to save but just remember – the basic first tenet is to KNOW your prices.  Discount stores, dollar stores, etc. have to make a profit and some items can actually cost you more when bought through them.  We have 10 million facts stored in our brain, we only need about 100 of them to save really big on our grocery bills.  Happy shopping…

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