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8 Ways to Save Money on Food Expenses

Do you want to save money on food expenses? Food of all varieties is the #1 area that my clients have ‘holes’ in their wallets or are just not aware of how much they truly spend.  It’s also an area that you have a lot of control over, differently than say your rent or utilities.

If you’re trying to save some money right now (ahem, inflation) or simply want to spend more money on other things – this blog is for you. 

“I’m calling to tell on myself. I went out to eat 30 times last month and spent $1,140.62 on food.  Just wanted to see what you had to say about that Coach.”

This client didn’t need any scrutiny from me. He was aware he went a little overboard.  Is it going to wreck his finances?  No.  Are there small changes to put into place in order to have a better month?  Yes.  That’s where my follow up call focused.  Food happens, and it adds up fast.

Let’s dive into the 8 ways that you can save money on food expenses.

1. Grocery Budget

You knew I was going to go there.  You’re going to need to set a limit, or budget for your groceries.  Let’s call it a boundary.  It’s not a goal.  It’s your STOP spending when I get to this amount limit.  

Start by looking back over 2-3 months of grocery expenses.  Review your statements, add up all of those weekly or bi-weekly trips and the last minute dash in to get 2 things, turned 12 trips too. What is that amount?  Is that the amount it should be?  Higher? Lower?  Set the limit.  Call it out.  Write it down.

Look ahead to plan for events and celebrations.  What do you have coming up on your calendar?  

Are you hosting your nieces and nephews and promised a sundae smorgasbord as well as a full service brunch the following day?  

Having friends over for a BBQ?

Going you out of town for a week?  

Your activities will drive your budget needs.  Maybe it needs to be higher/lower based on the monthly activities.

2. Envelopes

I’m a big fan of using cash for groceries. The envelope ‘method’ can also be applied to online purchases too – I’ll get there in a minute.

Cash is finite.  You only have so much of it shoved into that envelope once you’ve set your budget limit. So, you know what you have left week after week.  And when you run out – you’re done shopping.  It’s hard to argue with, it just is.  That makes it simple to stay in line with the budget.  Not necessarily always easy – but simple.  

Do you do grocery pick up instead? This can be a great savings method too if you tend to be one of those that adds to the cart at every end cap. You can still participate in the envelope method.  Set your limit, and put your receipts into your envelopes, keep an outside tally of how much you’ve spent until you get to your budgeted amount.

3. Meal Planning

Just like making a plan/budget for your money in advance is important – making a plan for your major meals also helps keep you on track.

Decide your timeline.

Some folks do this a month or quarter at a time.  I applaud them.  I’m simply not that kind of gal.  I can handle a week at a time, nothing more – nothing less.  In addition, dinners are the only things on the meal plan.  Breakfast and lunch is DIY around here, making sure that we have a few basics to choose from.

Start by looking at your calendar.

Check to see what you have going on.  Are you hosting that BBQ on Friday?  You and the hubs out for a dinner date Saturday?  Jordan has late practice on Wednesdays. For me, that translates into figuring out my game plan for BBQ needs for Friday, Saturday being a pizza night for the kids, and Wednesday being a simple meal night for sure.

Shop from your freezer and pantry first.

This is a great tip to save money on food expenses. I like to start with the proteins.  What kind of meat do we have?  What meals can we build off of the proteins in the freezer?  We typically always have ground beef (thanks to my cattle ranching parents) frozen chicken breasts and usually one other item – we’ll rotate purchasing steaks, salmon, or pork regularly.  Now, build your menu off of those items. 

Next up head to the cupboard and pantry, scope out the fridge.  What are you complimenting your protein with? Do you already have potatoes or rice?  Great. Veggies still fresh in the fridge for Mondays’ meal?  Done. What else do you already have available?

Consider Meatless meals.

I hear this is a thing.  It’s not my thing, but it could be yours.  Proteins are typically the most expensive part of the meal – could you have a meatless meal per week?

Know Your Abbreviations

We love abbreviations, don’t we? Something about a short acronym makes things easier to remember and fun-ish.

BFD – Breakfast for Dinner: Breakfast food is relatively inexpensive and quick.  Pancakes and sausage?  Done. Waffles and bacon? Crowd pleaser.  Omelets and hash browns? Love it.

FFY – Fend for Yourself: This could be leftovers; it could be mac and cheese.  It might be cereal.  You can’t dictate here…it’s fending for yourself.  So, look the other way – within reason and let it be.

Theme your Days

A friend of mine has themed days; making it easy for the kids to get jazzed about what’s on the menu and take less brain power to consider what’s for dinner.  You can make it fun to save money on food expenses!

Here’s a sample.

  • Meatless Monday
  • Taco Tuesday
  • Rice Bowl Wednesday
  • Italian Thursday
  • Fish Friday
  • FFY or OUT Saturday
  • Cereal Sunday

4. Grocery Shopping List

Make a list and check it twice. 

You decided your major meals.  You shopped from what you already have. Now, make a grocery shopping list based off of those meals, and what you’re missing.  By all means pick up the basics that you’re out of.  Don’t forget your staple items for lunch and breakfast.

Shopping off of your list, and just buying what you need helps to decrease waste considerably.  Think about all the food that goes to waste because you just couldn’t eat all of those veggies in time.

And before you leave, take a quick pic. Snap a picture of the fridge and pantry.  This will help you with the – “are we out of ketchup” conversations – that you have with yourself, or you text back to your fam, or you add buy 2 get one free to the cart with the ½ full bottle still at home.

5. At the Grocery Store

Don’t shop hungry.

Or tired.  Or moody.  Is that just me? Take yourself a nap, grab a snack THEN head out to the grocery store.  Stick to the list.

Go alone.  Or not. 

If you need an accountability partner to ask you if you REALLY need that second bag of pretzels, that aren’t on the list – take one.  But if you’re better focused just solo, insist on making the trip solo. My youngest goes with me about half of the time; either pushing the cart while I mark off the list, or vice versa.  She keeps me honest.

Consider Off Brands

Don’t be afraid to try the store brand item.  Remember, with name brand stuff – that mark up in higher price point is not often because the item is superior in quality or taste – it just needed marketing dollars.  Admittedly, not all generic brands are equal, but I bet you’ll find plenty that will save you a bit while not sacrificing quality or taste. 

6. Meal Prep

What can you prepare in advance that will make eating at home easier?

I’m not one of those cook for one day and then don’t cook again kind of gals.  In fact, it really hasn’t been that long that I’ve been consistently cooking a few meals a week.  Ask my husband.

What I DO like to do is prep a few basics.

Protein Balls – My favorite 100 calorie snack to complement my coffee in the morning or the afternoon that is a well-rounded burst of protein, carbs, and fats.  I’ll be sure to share the recipe.  A batch of these will last my oldest daughter and I the week; the other two aren’t big fans.

Veggies/Fruits – We all are far more likely to eat the celery if it’s cut and ready to go.  Same with the bell peppers, and strawberries.  Taking 10 minutes to cut up the fresh stuff for easy snacking makes it far less likely that I’ll be trashing half of a bag or container.

Snack Bags – When my kids are in school, this is a must.  We pre-portion out goldfish cracker or pretzels, raisins or craisins, nuts, etc. Just a week’s worth for the two of them to have easy to grab items for their school lunches.

Hard Boiled Eggs – Alone I eat about ½ dozen a week, so this 10 minute task helps to make this little protein gem easy to grab and go.

7. Cooking

Double it.

Making a lasagna?  Double that recipe.  Waffles?  Same.  Chilli?  You know the drill.  Save yourself some time and energy and either shove it in the freezer for a future week’s meal or use it for lunches or a second meal that same week.  We don’t really want to spend more time in the kitchen than we have to, right?

Bake once for the week.

Want something fun and delicious while trying to save money on your food expenses? Skip buying the baked goods, and do a little Betty Crocker once a week at home.  Bust out that old cookie jar and fill her up.  One homemade dessert item can last you for a week.  Make it a fun family tradition, take votes or turn on who’s baking or who gets their favorite item made.

Lower your expectations. 

Yep, I said it.  All of your meals don’t need to be gourmet.  They don’t all need a filet mignon, or 4 courses of variety on the plate.  They need to be edible, mostly – and fill your belly – nutritious most of the time.

That means that sometimes soup and sandwiches are a-okay. And make peace with that FFY scenario.  Choose 2-3 meals that you really want to go bigger on, and let it be okay that BFD has a place on your meal plan. This is not a cooking competition.  And we all know that the 12 minutes it takes for your family to eat doesn’t do the 90 minutes of prep and cooking that you did justice.  Go easy on yourself.  Take it down a notch at least half the time.

8. Restaurants

Primarily, I wanted to focus on ways to use your grocery money well – but we all know that eating out at restaurants, ordering delivery, drive-thru, etc. adds up especially fast.  If you’re like me, you ENJOY eating out and having someone else cook, clean and enjoy different scenery and often different cuisines or varieties than the home cooking offers.  

I say, KEEP restaurants or dining out in your budget.  It’s fun, it’s entertainment, it’s date night.  But I caution you to set yourself a limit.  Decide in advance how much you want to spend on restaurants per month, then stick with that number.  That number could get you out twice to a nice dinner as a family, and a few deliveries or it could cover Subway and Papa Murphy’s twice a week.  You do you, and what’s right for you and your family.

We all have to eat, and hopefully do it in ways that nourish our bodies and our souls.  It doesn’t have to cost you an arm and a leg to do it. I hope I was able to inspire you on ways to save money on food expenses this month!

Our family of 4 budgets $700 per month for groceries on ‘normal’ months.  More than you do?  Less?  Follow me on Instagram as I showcase some behind the scenes of our grocery spending in July.

Sarah is a Ramsey Preferred Coach
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