Eating on the Cheap - Top 10 Tips to Save on Grocery Bills

The economy is awful and that has a huge impact on so many areas including feeding the family. When money is tight and jobs are here today and gone tomorrow, the basics like food become a concern.

It’s not like you can just stop eating or ask your family to join in on “skip a meal” days. Well, I suppose you could, but that wouldn’t work out too well.

Here are some ten tips for making those food dollars go further. You can call this my meals on the cheap plan.

1. Shop the Sales

You really need to be a pretty decent cook and have a nice arsenal of recipes to pull off the sale shopping strategy. If it’s on sale and you don’t really like it, need it, or know how to cook it, then it’s just money down the drain.

On the other hand, if you’re fairly creative and have a lot of recipes (or are willing to look for them), then you can hit the grocery store and eye the sales and meal plan on the dime (or nickel).

If you can’t take advantage of general sales, do watch for those items that you use often. Stock up when those groceries are on sale.

We eat chicken pretty often, so I get quite a bit when it’s on sale. My Mom ended up paying $8 for a chicken last week. Wish she’d called. I’d picked up some a week prior running under $3 each. A week and a sale can make a huge difference.

2. Use Coupons

The actual cost of coupons do drive up the prices overall. You know that’s true. It’s really just advertising and a bid for your food dollars. Someone pays extra for the time, effort, paper, and processing. If you’re not cashing in on coupons, then you're one of those paying for others to get lower prices.

Avoid the impulse to buy just because you have a coupon. If you’re paying more for the snack bars with a coupon than those priced lower in general, then you’re not coming out ahead. If you don’t even usually buy snack bars and use the coupon, then you’re in double trouble if you buy them just because you get a few cents off.

Use coupons wisely for those items you do purchase typically and watch for those special double and triple deals, and you can cash in on the savings.

3. Don’t Waste Food

Intentions are good, but it’s not unusual for food to go bad in the refrigerator. You think you’re going to take leftover food to work or heat it up for dinner the next night or the night over. Suddenly, it’s a week later and the food goes out on trash day.

Freeze extra foods. Even if you do end up taking it to the work the next day or having a leftover dinner the next night, you can simply thaw out the saved food.

Tupperware Rock ‘n Serve containers are great for stashing foods for later in the week or for the next week or even month. Zip lock bags are also handy for leftovers. Use a Sharpie pen to label bags, because you may forget what you bagged.

4. Don’t Overlook the Extras

Yes. It’s much easier to buy a can of chicken or beef broth. It is, however, much more cost effective to strain broths, freeze, and label them.

Broths come in handy for many dishes and also can be used as the base for gravies or just to add flavor (like cooking potatoes in broth and water to add flavor).

5. Little Dabs (of food) Will Do You Proud

It’s really tempting to toss out those little dabs of corn, peas, beans and so on. After all, what can you do with a few spoons of this and that?

Again, freeze the small portions and use them. Every week or two, mix up a soup and see just how far those little packs of food can go.

6. Try Out Store Brands

I read somewhere that rich folks were more likely to buy store brands. Those in the middle class don’t want to look cheap and perhaps get substandard food items.

Most store brand foods are just as good as the brand names. There are exceptions. In those cases, most stores do stand behind their store brands. Save the receipts. If the food really isn’t up to snuff, take it back and get your money.

7. Buy in Bulk (but only if you can eat it all)

Generally you get better prices if you buy larger packages. There are exceptions. See if the store lists the price per pound and double check.

Also make sure that items you buy in bulk are ones that you’ll really eat. If the jumbo box of crackers go stale before you eat them, then are not such a wonderful deal.

8. Consider a Membership Food Club (again – only if you come out ahead)

Yes. You can get good prices at places like Sam’s Club. On the other hand, if the store is not convenient to your home and if you spend more on gas to get to one, then you may not come out ahead or even break even.

Many of the food clubs offer trials. If you don’t get information on trials, call and ask. Give it a try and see. If it does work out for you, the price of the membership can be well worth it.

9. Co-op (neighborhood purchasing)

Some communities offer co-op food buying. The basic idea is that you pay a set price along with others in your community. You get a range of products at good prices. It’s all divided out for the members. This works out well if you have a flexible household and do use the low priced foods.

10. Go Meat Free a Few Times Per Week (if you’re a meat eating family)

Meat is expensive. You know that if you’ve been to the store. Consider some pasta and bean dishes. They are filling and cost much less. You can add small amounts of meat to sauces if you have a very carnivorous family. A little bit of hamburger or chicken can go a long way if coupled with some of the less expensive foods that are also usually healthier too.