HealthWise Living

Posted By Brenda on March 4, 2009

Work that list for savings!

So you’ve decided that you need to spend less- whether your hours at work have been cut back, or you need to eliminate debt- one of the expenses that is variable is your food budget. More families are turning to preparing food at home rather than eating out. (Please note: this does not mean that I am saying one should never eat restaurant food; eating out can be a wonderful way to spend your leisure budget, like everything else it has its place.)

As with every other part of living, your success in saving money by cooking at home depends on your advance preparation. Trust me, it doesn’t take long, but time spent planning will reap worthwhile benefits in the check-out line.

• First, start with the weekly ad for your local grocery. If you don’t get the ad in your newspaper or mailbox, then look for it online (ex. Publix ). As you flip through the pages quickly circle (or jot down, if online) every item that your family uses, regardless of whether you need it this week or not- this is just to be able to see quickly what items that you use are reduced this week.

• The next step is to concentrate on the meat page (vegetarians, substitute your protein sources). What meats are on special that your family enjoys? Some weeks there will be seven or eight possibilities, other weeks only two or three.

• Now there’s the meal planning stage which is very important. Write down your dinner menu for the week based on which meats are on sale. Here’s an example. Let’s say that Whole Chicken, Beef Chuck Roast, Ground Turkey, and Pork Loin are on special. A sample menu for 7 dinners using these meats could include:

Roast Chicken & Potatoes
Jambalaya with Chicken (leftover from above), Red Beans and Smoked Sausage
Beef Pot Roast
Turkey Chili Mac
Pork Loin with Apple Compote
Pork (leftover from above) Fried Rice
Turkey Meat Loaf

• On those weeks when seven or eight of your favorites are on special, buy a little extra to freeze for the weeks when there’s only two or three to choose from. Or if you like having boneless chicken breasts three times per week, then when they’re on sale, buy two weeks’ worth.

• Be sure to ‘mix it up’ with the starches, vegetables, cuisines, and type of meal. Your family will enjoy the variety, rather than serving only pasta, or only soups all week! Use the produce and starches that are also on sale that week! I’ll be posting sample menus, with recipes, to choose from so you can save money while feeling like you’re dining at a variety of types of restaurants!

• After your dinner menu is set, then make sure you have every ingredient needed for the menu either on hand, or on your list. Then do the same type of procedure for breakfast, lunches, snacks and entertaining- planning meals using foods that are on special. Of course, you’ll need to buy some items at regular price, but the idea is to plan to use sale items as much as possible.

So now you’re confident that, for every meal of the week, you either have each ingredient on hand or on your list. (Imagine the freedom of knowing that you won’t have to ‘run out for a few things’ several times this week!)

• Now is the stage where you can start saving even more money on a regular basis. Looking over the items you have circled in the grocery ad, which items that you use, but don’t need this week, could you purchase now and store for later? (Make sure to never buy more than you can use before it goes bad.) As you are able to implement this strategy, you will see your grocery savings grow. Also, in an emergency, whether natural disaster or unexpected company, you will have food in your home to cover it! That’s a very satisfying feeling!

• What about couponing? Coupon clipping can increase your savings, IF and only if, using the coupon is less expensive than buying a cheaper brand and if used for foods you’d be buying anyway. Savings increases when coupons are used for items on special. For instance, if a name-brand coffee is BOGO (buy-one-get-one free) and you also use one $.50 off coupon, then each coffee costs you $1.80; the store brand at regular price costs $3.10 each. You saved $1.30 for each bag over the store brand price! That’s good couponing!

Imagine saving 20-30% every week over what you have been spending for groceries! Whether you use the savings to squeeze more out of your paycheck, pay off debt, or save for a get-away, the time and effort spent planning is definitely worthwhile. And you’ll never again be stressed by staring at an open refrigerator wondering what to have for dinner!

By Brenda

Category: Body, General, Good deals, Recipes
Tags: budget, coupon, grocery, meal planning, savings, shopping