10 Tips For Saving Money On Food
According to an article by US News & World Report released on October 18, 2023, the USDA recommends a moderate-cost grocery budget for a household of four to be around $302 a week and a low-cost budget to be around $243 a week.
Do you know if you fall into either of these budgets? Are you below the low-cost budget (they refer to that as a thrifty plan) or way above the moderate-budget (referred to as a liberal-budget)? Do these amounts surprise you? Do they seem too low or too high to you?
If you’ve never tracked your food spending I cannot recommend it more. Having an idea of what you actually are spending on food every week or every paycheck can really give you an idea of where all your money is going (Hint: right in your mouth). I urge you to give it a try for one month.
Save every receipt from your grocery store, out to eat and carryout trips and throw them in a shoebox or a bin.
Go old school and just add them up on a calculator at the end of the week or pay period.
You just might be surprised at how much you are actually spending on food. The last time I tracked ours for a week it was a grand total of $500! Granted it was Thanksgiving week last year and we were hosting (and yes, we went way overboard) and seeing those numbers add up actually made me sick to my stomach.
Aside from housing, food is one of the largest portions of any households budget, but that does not mean you cannot still change your spending habits on groceries. I have found a few strategies that I am sharing below that have saved me money every week and with food prices so high we all need some relief in our wallets wherever we can get it.
1. Take inventory of what you have BEFORE you go shopping
My number one tip for saving money on food is pretty simple - take inventory of what you have in your pantry, fridge and freezer before grocery shopping! This will prevent any duplicate purchases and allows you to have a clear picture of what have available to work with when meal planning and shopping.
Download my Inventory, Meal Ideas and Grocery worksheets here.
2. Use any produce up that might be going bad soon
Keeping with the use what you already have on hand theme, shopping your cupboards is a great way reduce food waste and therefore wasting money.
Challenge yourself to make a Kitchen Sink Soup or Salad. See if you can come up with a new family favorite by using up those last two dry carrots rolling around in the crisper drawer and that bag of green lentils on your shelf (you were never quite sure what to do with) to make a delicious curry.
I have a really good Cauliflower Chickpea Curry recipe that can be adjusted to add just about any produce you need to use up. Using what you have allows you to get pretty creative and I have been known to make my pantry, fridge and freezer ingredients stretch another full week without having to spend a single dime more on food, while coming up with some really interesting combos!
3. Freezing produce is also another way to avoid food waste
Don’t have a meal planned already that you can use something about to go bad in? Freeze it. I’ve had success freezing most produce.
My favorites to freeze are:
Bananas (they get sweeter the browner they are) - peel first and break apart.
Avocados - you will definitely need to remove them from their skin and take the pit out. If I know an avocado is going to turn quick (IYKYK), I dice it up and put each half in individual freezer bags so I can later take out only what I need.
Lemons/lime juiced into ice cube trays.
Fresh spinach - [life changer alert] I love to throw my bag or plastic tub right into the freezer as soon as I get home from the grocery store and NEVER throw out any slimy spinach ever again!
Broccoli, cauliflower, carrots, onions and bell peppers - just cut into bite size pieces and toss into a freezer bag. These even make good soups in a bag to throw in your homemade veggie broth!
Produce scraps - as you are chopping vegetables, throw the scraps into a freezer bag (check for those pesky produce stickers) and after a couple of weeks you’ll have an amazing stockpile of veggies to make your own veggie broth. You will not want to include any cabbage or broccoli scraps as those tend to make your stock bitter.
I do not recommend freezing lettuces (iceberg, butter, spring greens) and I haven’t had any luck with fresh tomatoes. It is usually better to cook them down or roast them first before freezing.
4. Make meals from scratch
Do what our grandmothers (and most of our mothers) had to do. Cook at home.
Growing up in small town Iowa meant limited options for eating out. There was John’s I-35 Restaurant and the Happy Chef. Occasionally, we would go there with my grandparents but it was a rare treat. When we got into our teens my grandma would take us to the “big city” (Ames) mall to buy us shoes or clothes and a Hardee’s big roast beef sandwich with the agreement that we didn’t tell our grandpa. As a family of five, the only time I can honestly recall that we went out to eat all together was when my parents held my little brother’s birthday party at Pizza Hut.
I didn’t even go out to eat on my own until later in my teenage years once one of my friends had a car. The point is I can probably count the number of times I ate out before I became an adult on two hands and even as Little House On The Prairie as it all sounds, to this day, I don’t like spending money on restaurant food.
Eating out costs money, and so much more today then ever! It can cost an arm and a leg just for two of us to go out to dinner. I still much prefer making my own meals in my own home. Cooking from scratch at home allows you to have control over the cost and ingredients. They don’t have to be fancy, ingredient-laden, recipe-based meals. Some of my favorite home cooked meals are the ones I throw together from things in my fridge and pantry (see tip #2). I have gotten pretty good at cooking up $4-$5 dinners for our whole family to enjoy.
If you are looking for some inspiration for budget friendly meals, this blog post is a great place to start. Also check out my other budget friendly meals.
5. Buy in the bulk section or from warehouse stores
Sometimes less is more but in regards to saving money on groceries your family eats everyday, buying in bulk or grabbing ingredients from the bin section can definitely save you money.
Always compare the price per unit on the store shelf tag. If a 1 lb box of pasta for $1.92 may seem like a better deal than the 2 lb one for $3.20, take a look at the price per ounce. The 2 lb box might be a whole lot cheaper in the long run, especially if pasta is something you go through weekly.
6. Buy already frozen fruit and produce
Buying frozen fruits and vegetables can be a budget-friendly option that allows you to enjoy a variety of produce year-round while minimizing food waste and saving you money.
Frozen fruits and vegetables have a much longer shelf life compared to fresh produce. This means you can buy them in bulk when they're on sale without worrying about them spoiling quickly - double bonus - reduced food waste!
They are also often cheaper than their fresh counterparts, especially when they're out of season.
As well frozen fruits and veggies are arguably healthier as they are typically frozen at peak ripeness, locking in their nutritional value. Frozen produce also doesn’t lose nutrients during transport, while sitting on the store shelves and then while sitting in your fridge or on the counter over time. This means you're getting a similar nutritional content as fresh produce, but at a lower cost.
7. Meal prep ingredients
This has been a game changer for me since going whole food plant-based. I have prepped meal ingredients on rotation every week and even if I can’t dedicate one day a week to prepping all of our ingredients, I try to best use the time I am in the kitchen.
If I’m already making a meal I double it if I can to have extra for leftovers and freeze the extra. If I am going to be using the oven anyway, why not throw in some potatoes on a baking sheet? If I’m going to be taking the time in the kitchen to prep a meal I might as well pull the InstantPot out and cook up a batch of whole grains.
Having prepped, ready to go ingredients reduces the urge to grab fast food or run to the grocery store hungry.
8. Bulk up your meals with inexpensive produce
Produce like carrots, potatoes and cabbage are some of the cheapest you can get pound for pound over any other vegetable so they are generally the more affordable options compared to other ingredients.
They also provide substance to meals without adding significant costs by increasing the volume and bulk to meals, helping you feel fuller and more satisfied without having to rely on additional dishes.
These hearty vegetables can serve as the foundation of a meal, allowing you to extend a meal to feed more and are incredibly versatile and can be used in a wide range of dishes: soups, stews, stir-fries, casseroles, salads, and more.
These hearty nutrient rich vegetables also tend to have a longer shelf life compared to more perishable produce.
Some of my favorites ways to use them are:
My Cheezy Cabbage Bake
A carrot stew over a baked potato
Air fried potato wedges wrapped in crispy romaine as a meal all on their own!
9. Buy beans dried and cook them from scratch
They are cheaper by the pound and taste so much better than canned.
Additionally, dried beans are often available in larger bulk quantities, resulting in lower price per units, further reducing the cost per serving.
Beans can be cooked in bulk, seasoned to your taste and then frozen in individual portions so they are easier to throw into soups, stews, taco and side dishes.
10. Consider removing meat, dairy and animal products from your diet
This has been our biggest money saver to date. See my post here where I shared what going whole food plant-based saved us on groceries.
Plant-based protein sources such as beans, lentils, tofu, tempeh, and seitan are generally cheaper per serving compared to animal protein sources like meat, poultry, and seafood. Incorporating these protein-rich foods into your meals can help reduce overall grocery costs.
If you are not ready to completely go plant-based, including a meatless Monday or favorite plant-based recipe into your weekly meal rotation will definitely save you money over time.