Reduce Your Grocery Bill

When there is simply not enough money to buy what you need, you must have a game plan. Here are some tips to aid you in feeding yourself and your family. When things are really tough, keep these tips in mind.

1. Couple coupons with sales. But don’t buy something just because you have a coupon, and always price other items against what the coupon/sale item will cost. You may be surprised to find that another brand is still cheaper.

2. Use coupons at the dollar stores, if allowed.

3. Only buy in bulk if you will actually use the food, and if doing so will truly save you money.

4. Grow your own organic herbs on a sunny windowsill year round. Start with organic seeds from a trusted company.

5. Plan to begin gardening as soon as possible in the spring. Start plants indoor. Use cold frames constructed from found materials to start your garden earlier and keep it going later. Again, use organic seeds from reputable companies, and don’t use anything other than organic soil/compost in your garden. This commodity is easily made by you, on your own property, through composting.

6. Accept any and all food offered to you.

7. Get a list of food cupboards in your area and visit them as often as you can in order to stretch your food dollar as far as possible.

8. Make slow cooker meals using cheap cuts of meat. The vegetables you use do not have to be the freshest. You won’t even be able to tell when eating it.

9. Fruit that may not be the freshest can be turned into sauce, such as apple, strawberry, or pear sauce. Peel, if desired. Cut off bad parts, and chop. Put in a sauce pan, along with some water, and cook down. Feel free to leave some chunks. You made need to add water a couple-few times before the sauce is ready.

10. These fruits can also be used to make homemade breads and muffins, pancakes, waffles, and cakes.

11. Less-than-fresh fruits can be peeled and chopped, and placed in a freezer bag. Mix and match this fruit to be used in smoothies.

12. Less than fresh vegetables such as carrots, celery, and broccoli can be cut into chunks and placed in freezer bags as well. Later, throw these into the slow cooker with some meat, or into a roasting pan. No need to thaw. You can also create casseroles with these vegetables. Mix and match at will.

13. The same can be done with meats which, when numerous types are combine and added to vegetables, make a great soup.

14. Don’t refrigerate leftovers unless you’ll really eat them before they go bad. Freeze them instead.

15. Find out when your grocer marks down meats, seafood, and produce. Buy what you can on these days. Do the same with bread items.

16. Shop the Oops! Rack at Wal-Mart and other stores.

17. Pick through the discount carts throughout the grocery store.

18. If you know someone with fruit trees who does not eat any or all of the fruit, ask if you can cart the fruit away if you take the ones that fall from the tree. This way, they don’t have to worry about cleaning up the mess.

19. Go through the recipes you’d like to use during the coming week, and change them to utilize foods that are cheapest at the store this week.

Feel free to share your ideas for saving money on food in the comments section below. Also, visit the Frugal Recipes: Spending Less to Eat Healthy blog for cooking ideas.

Shannon