How To Save Money On Food

Whether you’re a singleton living off takeout or a mom feeding a growing family, food is something we all have to spend money on, and many of us could stand to spend less than we currently do.

Save Money on Food in Some Easy Ways

Create a Grocery Budget

The first step to saving money on food is to think like a Boy Scout (i.e. “Be Prepared”). Setting up a monthly or weekly grocery budget will help you stay on track and keep your spending in check.

Want proof? One woman managed to get by on a mere $4 a day, while another feeds her family of five for only $64 a week. They manage these feats by knowing how much they intend to spend before they ever set foot in a store and developing clever ways to make their goals happen.

Plan Your Meals

Planning your meals for the week enables you to shop only for the ingredients you’ll use that week, reducing food waste, cutting meal prep time and saving you from that dreaded moment in front of the fridge where you ponder what on earth you’re going to make that night.

Use Coupons

This is Savings 101, but you’d be amazed how many people skip it. You don’t need to spend hours each week clipping and organizing like the overzealous savers on Extreme Couponing; all you need is this simple, efficient system.

Make More Meals at Home

The more you cook from scratch rather than buying premade and prepackaged convenience meals, the more you’ll save.

If you don’t like cooking every night, invest in a slow cooker and make a big batch of something over the weekend, then store it to reheat over the course of the week. Brown-bagging your lunch and brewing your coffee at home will also cut back on your costs.

Grow a Kitchen Garden

You can save a ton by growing your own produce — but make sure you know which produce to grow, and which is actually cheaper to buy from the grocery store. Here’s a breakdown of the most and least cost-effective veggies to grow yourself.

Regrow Your Veggies

It sounds like magic, but it’s not: You can actually regrow certain vegetables you’ve already used, getting the most bang for your produce buck.