What are simple ways to stretch your food budget without sacrificing quality?!
What are simple ways to stretch your food budget without sacrificing quality?
Do you often wonder how you managed to spend so much money on so little at supermarkets and grocery stores?
What simple ways can you do to get more for your food dollar?
1 week ago
Thank you all for great answers!
Here’s my strategy...
?Where possible I'd go to the street markets, fruit and vegetables are usually cheaper
?One thing I learnt is never go shopping on an empty stomach, you'd tend to buy more than you want to
?Think small - buy only what you use
?Make a list to prevent impulse buying; list according the way the shop is organized to avoid wandering around
?Cut out and store discount coupons and money back offers; make a note of bargains (e.g. 4 for 3)
?A calculator is handy to check unit pricing
?Buy loose seasonal fruits and vegetables rather than pre-packed ones
?Season your own rice, make your own sauces, back your own cakes, etc
?Sometimes less known brands that do the same job are cheaper
?Store food properly once you unpack the groceries - invest on air-tight containers and re-sealable bags - so that items will last longer
Answers:
1 week ago
Thank you all for great answers!
Here’s my strategy...
?Where possible I'd go to the street markets, fruit and vegetables are usually cheaper
?One thing I learnt is never go shopping on an empty stomach, you'd tend to buy more than you want to
?Think small - buy only what you use
?Make a list to prevent impulse buying; list according the way the shop is organized to avoid wandering around
?Cut out and store discount coupons and money back offers; make a note of bargains (e.g. 4 for 3)
?A calculator is handy to check unit pricing
?Buy loose seasonal fruits and vegetables rather than pre-packed ones
?Season your own rice, make your own sauces, back your own cakes, etc
?Sometimes less known brands that do the same job are cheaper
?Store food properly once you unpack the groceries - invest on air-tight containers and re-sealable bags - so that items will last longer
The simplest way to spend less on grocery without sacrificing quality; that is, no one in your family should notice that you are "saving" money on grocery, is to eliminate the unnecessary in your shopping list.
To do so, you need to know your purchase well. Keep your shopping receipts for a period of time and analyze them. You will see the pattern in your shopping. Or you can use online program (I like www.grocerysurf.com) that organizes grocery shopping based on your purchase to achieve the same goal with less work.
Source(s):
http://grocerysurf.blogspot.com/search/l...
shop around for the best deal.
look for specials.
buy in bulk if you can use it.
Start cooking at home with fresh veggis/ meat to slash your budget. Its healthy its fun.
buy seasonal vegetables, instead of
nowadays most vegetables are avaiable year round because they are grown in greenhouses. they do however get much cheaper when the vegetables season comes up. because they can then be harvested off the land (which is much cheaper ofc)
try to look for bargains, you can also try shopping outside of your area if you live in a rich neighbourhood. I sometimes go to the bad part of town to buy chicken by the kilo at the islam butcher. (the only downside is they dont sell pork there) its much much much cheaper than supermarket meat, and it is always good quality.
as for other stuff like herbs etc, go to a 'toko' and buy the exotic herbs in bulk, dont buy those little 20g packages from the supermarket. you can get a kilo of the same powder at a toko for the same price usually. especially for the more common exotic herbs like koriander, kurkuma, laos etc.
I go to ethnic markets , but there are a lot of them in Los Angeles. THe Fish is Cheaper in Asian markets, and are generally better in quality. I get Vegetables in ethnic markets because the standard supermarkets tend to gauge people on that . I also get eggs, but I won't buy milk in ethnic markets. The supermarkets were sues on both items for price gauging. Ethnic markets tend to have a high turn over in eggs, but I wouldn't say the same for milk. I sometime go to the farmers markets as well. Sometimes I have a friend take me to a club warehouse, but i tend not to like buying in bulk. I tried to get people to buy in bulk and split the items, but no one wanted the hassle. I would of gotten some of the food at the central market in Downtown LA. Also once in a rare while I'll go to San Pedro . It's where the fish wholesaler sell their fish to the restaurants, but you have to wake up at 4:00 in the morning. I some time go to stores lke Whole foods and Wild oats to buy items in Bulk. Most of the stuff in either stores are expensive, but some of the bulk items are economical. Some peole try growing some of their foods. Lastly I go to Trader Joes for some of my needs. Its a California store known for its oddness, but it has spread through out the country.
I've found that making a menu out for at least a week in advance can be very helpful when you are on a budget.
For example:
Monday: Beef tacos, make extra meat
Tuesday: Make some enchiladas with your leftover taco beef
Wednesday: Enchilada leftovers
You get the idea. Try to stretch things out and don't throw food away, there is usually another way to re-make it so it doesn't feel like leftovers every night.
When I was really young and poor, I ate vegetarian most of the time. Veggies are generally cheaper than meat.
Try buying things that require a little more effort to make, instead of pre-packaged rice a roni, make rice from scratch and add your own seasonings. Likewise, learn about sauce making (epicurious.com is a great place for info) make your white sauce yourself instead of spending three bucks on a jar of it. The from scratch thing only works if you use it all the time. It might seem initially expensive to buy the basics, but they will last longer than you think and generally it tends to be a lot cheaper in the long run. Do the math and make sure though, there are some products that it is cheaper to just buy the premade version.
Also, while you are shopping, look at the price per ounce/pound, not just the unit price. Sometimes things look pricier but are actually a good value because there is actually a lot more in the package.
Always buy the family sized meat packages. Separate the meat immediately into portion/meal sizes, wrap in plastic, and store in freezer bags in freezer. Make sure you date everything, both so you know how long it has been in your freezer, and so you will know the product info in case of a recall. Pull the meat you want for tomorrows dinner while you are cooking tonight's so that it can thaw safely in your refridgerator as opposed to all of the other less desirable methods.
A good cookbook for learning the basics; A Taste of Home.
Contains sauce making tips, baking info, and most of the basic recipes people here in the US use.
Happy cooking
Shop in an Oriental Super Market, fresh food at cheaper prices.
or
Just get friendly with lots of people and hopefully you may score dinner at least once a week?
I would never have survived if it hadn't been for some canny (clever) shopping habits.
Keep it simple
Buy basics, not ready mades.
Buy larger quantities - usually cheaper. divide up, pack and store or freeze otherwise you defeat the object by eating all in one go.
Buy seasonally, if that applies to where you live.
Take advantage of special offers, bargains and seasonal items.
Wholefoods go further than refined foods.
avoid purchasing hot dogs, pizzas,and non vegetarian food.buy a lot of vegetables and leafy vegetables which are cheaper. eat fresh fruits and wipe out junk foods from your memory. drink milk instead of coke and other poisonous cool drinks.
If you have a farmer's market in your town, the veggies, fruit, meat and fish are always really fresh, cheaper than grocery stores and often more selections, especially organic, are available. I live in Atlanta, there are many great markets here, the best of the best is the Dekalb Farmer's market... they have baked goods, a wide selection of dried items such as unusual beans, grains and flours, not to mention a remarkable selection of dairy products, wines and beer, all at prices that can't be beat elsewhere in the city because they buy in such volume.
The best thing of all is that there are so many interesting people from all walks of life shopping there. I have met some really interesting people there!
salmon is just my third fave fish. tuna is the best and marlin is second
Compare the stores for different sales and buy things that are ON sale. For example..I had to go to Rosaurs today to get some food for dinner and I also bought some things I needed that were on sale..such as ketchup (7 for 7 dollars..I only bought 2 though)
Also, buy fresh veggies in the amounts that you need for the week. Buy in bulk if you need it. Buy things that you can freeze and use over several weeks.
Those are a couple of my suggestions.