With the price of everything getting higher and higher all the time, we have to find ways to say money even on necessities like food. There are some simple strategies you can employ to save money on food.
1. Buy off brands. Read the labels and ingredients and compare off brands to national brand items. You will see that many contain the same things. Often times national brands make the off brand products also. They use this as a means to make more money. You are getting the same quality item that they have paid less to package basically.
2. Check out store brands. Store brands are often even cheaper than off brands. Most big grocery stores have their own brand of everything. Buy some and see if you like it.
3. Eat leftovers. People make too much food sometimes, or a family member isn’t as hungry as usual, and you have leftovers. Don’t throw them away! Store them in the refrigerator and eat them the next day. You can use leftovers as snacks or lunch meals. This is an easy way to save money on food.
4. Clip coupons. Clipping coupons out of newspapers is a great way to save money on food. Some stores even have double coupon days. Take advantage of every sale and coupon trick out there!
5. Join a wholesale club. If you have a big family you can save lots of money by joining a wholesale store. They sale many bulk items. Buying in bulk will cut down on gas expense along with food expense. It’s a win win situation.
6. Buy cake and cookie mixes instead of individual snack items. You can prepare a baked good and serve your family for a few days for less money than buying a box of snack cakes or bag of candy. While all of these are sweets, baked goods are usually more nutritious than processed snack items.
7. Don’t buy junk food at all. This is a sure fire way to save money on food. We don’t need junk food anyway, so cutting it out of the food bill is not only cost effective but healthy!
8. Eat out less often. Pick a set number of times to eat at restaurants during the week. This will help you save money on food tremendously. It is a lot more expensive to eat out than to buy something to cook at home. Everyone wants a treat now and then, just make sure eating out doesn’t become the norm.
9. Check dollar stores. Sometimes dollar stores have food items. Make sure the dates are still good and buy some to see if you like it.
10. Read price stickers carefully. Stores will try and trick you sometimes. They’ll have an item with 40 of something marked the same price as an item with only 20. It’s the same product, just in a different package. Look around and check thoroughly before buying.
Use these few suggestions and you are sure to save money on food. Your dollar will go a lot father and will have money to do other things with.