How to Save Money While Feeding Your Family
There is an old saying from the great depression “Use it up wear it out, make it do — or do without.” While you can apply this to many things such as clothing, towels, toys, and more, you can’t exactly apply it to food.
Feeding your family can be more expensive than you would like, and it can seem impossible to cut down on the food budget. However, it is possible to feed your family on just a few dollars a meal. Read on for tips and tricks to save money while preparing meals that aren’t just cutting coupons.
Buy In Bulk
Whenever possible, buy your food in bulk. That includes everything from cheese to cereal. Many foods (like fresh fruit, chicken, and cheese) you can freeze, while others (like flour, rice, and oats) can be put on the shelf for months.
Pay close attention to the price-per-unit to make sure that you are getting the best deal. Never buy something in bulk that you haven’t tried before, as you don’t want anything to go to waste. However, don’t buy everything in bulk all at once, as you can end up using your entire budget and not be able to buy perishables.
Make a Little Extra
Instead of making just enough for dinner that night, make enough to freeze for a future meal. If you can snag some of the ingredients on sale, this cuts down your meal costs even more. Just make sure that you date the meals and put them in a freezer-safe container so that they are not ruined by freezer burn.
Grow Your Own Food
Whether you live in the suburbs or in a big city, you can grow a small garden to help offset your food costs. A cucumber seed costs about $0.25, and each plant can yield 12-20 cucumbers, while if you go to the store, each cucumber will cost about $1 each. If you’re wondering what you can start planting in your garden now, check out this blog.
Make It From Scratch
Instead of buying expensive pre-made food, make it from scratch. Make your meals, baked goods, desserts, etc. from a recipe rather than buying a premade mix or even already made goods.
To give you perspective, a can of Pillsbury rolls costs about $3, while you can make your own rolls for less than $1. While it may seem difficult to find the time to make homemade bread and meals, most of the time is spent letting the dough rise, and if you have a breadmaker, it will be quite quick and easy.
Plan Ahead
It seems like a silly suggestion, but planning ahead is the best way to save money while on a budget. Instead of wandering the grocery store, putting anything in your cart that looks delicious, you have a list of things that you will need for the meals that week.
Try to use the same ingredients for multiple meals, so that you can buy a larger quantity and save money. Make a list of everything that you will need, and then only buy those things at the store. It requires a lot of willpower, but you can do it.
Drink Water
While it’s not as tasty as milk or juice, drinking water can save you a lot of money, and it’s good for you too. If your family really cannot stand the taste, purchase bulk mixes of juice such as Tang, powdered lemonade, Kool-Aid, etc. If you can, though, get them to drink water, and save juice for special occasions such as Sunday dinner.
Buy Generic
Name brand products such as flour, dairy, salad dressing, etc. can cost almost twice as much as generic brands. You should always buy generic cleaning products, snack foods, pain relievers, water, beauty products, and prescription drugs.
For the most part, generic works just as well as their brand-name counterparts (paper goods and batteries being one of the few exceptions).
Check Online
There are some foods that you can buy online, especially with Amazon’s new feature — Amazon Pantry. With online shopping, you can compare prices across different sites from the comfort of your own home, and watch your total add up right before you, so that you can easily stay within your budget. You can also watch sites for sales and promotions to save a few extra bucks.
Category: Family Finances
