Let’s face it, keeping our bodies fed and nourished can be an expensive task. Here’s some of my top tips on how to save on your food bill!
According to balancingeverything.com the average American couple spends $684.40/month for food. That’s a lot!
With marrying young and my husband still in school we had to make some big budget moves. Spending that much on food was just not an option! Unlike many other billing areas, the food department is one in which you can have a lot of influence in, use that to your advantage! Knowing how to save on your food bill acting upon it can save you thousands. I’ve managed to keep our food bill consistently below 60 euros/week for two people or 320 euros/month and this has greatly helped us advance towards our financial goals.
After over a year of working to keep our food budget low, I’ve come up with some practices and tips that have greatly helped me to achieve my goal.
Buy inexpensive meat options
I almost always have only chicken and ground beef on my grocery list. These are some of the least expensive meat options and are so versatile. Prepared meats like sandwich meat, sausages, ham etc. are generally more expensive. They are also filled with a lot more additives and preservatives. I will occasionally buy a more expensive meat like a roast for example but it is reserved for special occasions or if we are having guests. The other option that I will sometimes do if I want some variety is I’ll just lower the meat portion if it is a more expensive piece.
When possible, I also try to incorporate a couple vegetarian meals throughout the week to lower the heavy meat bill.
Don’t buy high quantities of snack items.
This covers a large genre but its really quite basic. Avoid buying breakfast cereals, granola bars, chips and other prepared snack items. These are so expensive and really add up. If possible, make snacks at home, they will be healthier, way less expensive, and will probably keep you full longer too! Having three solid meals a day will also greatly reduce any need for snacking.
Cook at home
This is by far my number one tip, followed by meal planning. I cook 98% of my meals at home, consistently. We rarely go out for dinner, because of the huge added expense. When I mentioned how I keep our weekly grocery bill under 60 euros a week, this is how. If you don’t know how to cook, then I say this gently: learn how to cook. It is just an essential life skill that will save you crazy amounts of money and be healthier for you. Don’t think about making 5-star meals, just start with really easy and basic meals. A good way to start is by searching on Pinterest for easy meals.
Meal Plan
Make your meal plan for the week and then shop specifically for those meals and you will save so much on groceries. When you go to the grocery store without a plan you end up buying way more than is necessary and all those extras just rot in your fridge. Every time you have to throw out food, visualise throwing out money, because that is quite literally what you are doing.
Here’s a guide to making meal planning easy!
Make your own bread products
If this is an option for you, I would highly encourage making your own breads. It is actually such an easy process and requires very little hands on time. It is of course, also healthier and cheaper.
Choose your grocery store
Food prices range depending on what store you shop at. Pick a discount or cheaper store like Aldi to automatically save on your groceries.
Buy store brand items
Many shopping centres have their own brand line on items like canned goods and dairy or flours even. They are usually one of the cheapest options so I’d recommend grabbing those above a name brand!
Buy inexpensive or in season fruits
I love fruit, they are just so tasty, delicious and… expensive. That last point is what gets me. Although I highly encourage getting in the recommended fruit portions a day, go for inexpensive options like apples and bananas. Those raspberries, blueberries, and peaches are so delicious, but way more expensive and can easily crash your budget.
The other option is to buy fruits in their season. They will be much cheaper and tastier as well! Growing up my family would buy large quantities of fresh strawberries and blueberries, and sometimes peaches when they were in season and freeze them. We could then enjoy ‘fancy’ fruit all year long!
Consistency
If I could only pick three tips to incorporate they would be: cooking at home, meal planning, and consistency. Consistency is really the key to how you will continue to save money on your grocery bill after the January new year’s resolution phase wears off. Start small and be consistent with just cooking one or two meals from home a week and then slowly move forwards from there. Before you know it, your food bill will automatically be going way down without you even be conscious about it!
Now its your turn! Take these tips on how to save on your food bill and get started!
