Recently we have been keeping track of every dollar we spend at the grocery stores in an effort to know how much food is costing us. We were awestruck! Think on the north side of a thousand dollars per month. Outrageous doesn’t even begin to describe the feelings that went through us as we soberly looked at the numbers. Now it is one thing to have a large family, six or more people, that you are feeding. Then the numbers don’t seem so bad. But there’s only two of us! There’s some dogs and cats too, but we should be able to feed a whole zoo full of animals with a thousand dollars per month. It is time to do some serious cutting of the grocery bill.
1. We will stop eating out. You can’t go anywhere, for any meal, without spending ten or twelve dollars per person. That adds up very quickly when you start buying lunches every day or having that glass of wine with dinner at a restaurant. Four to six dollars for a glass of common wine? Come on now, you can buy a decent table wine at the grocery store for the price of two glasses in a restaurant. So, that’s the first thing that we will do; we’ll eat at home for all meals – no matter what. If we will be away from home for the day we will pack food in a cooler, coffee in a thermos, and we’ll sit at a park bench. Fresh air is good for us anyway.
2. Leftovers are on the menu. Yes, I know that most people don’t like leftovers, but these are trying times. Really, there’s nothing wrong with leftovers. In fact, certain dishes actually taste better the second day. Try your spaghetti with red sauce the second and third day after it is made. It’s good the first day, better the second day, and great the third day. Once you get used to having the same meal a few days in a row, you will stumble upon one of the best known secrets of smart cooks: make your food in larger quantities. Making a double batch of something takes no more time and not really twice the ingredients. You can make food in a large container and refrigerate it for use for the whole week.
3. Smaller amounts of food at each meal. We eat too much anyway. And, it is time for that reducing diet that we’ve been putting off for so long. Read the labels on the food packages to determine how much a "portion" is supposed to be. You will be surprised (I know I was) at how small is the amount of food. Hey, if I wanted a kid’s meal, I would order one. A three course dinner can be held in the palm of your hand. I guess that works well for someone who is on the go all the time. Talk about fast food!
4. Cut out the expensive stuff. Meat and dairy products are two categories that can save you a lot of money. You don’t need either meat or dairy to be healthy, and these are expensive areas of the food purchases. We have learned to eat fresh fruits and vegetables and cereal grains. We can even make pizza with sun dried tomatoes that tastes like pepperoni. Not really, but if you drink your cheap wine first, you will swear that there is pepperoni on the pizza. Buy the store brands. The name brands are just more expensive, not better food products. Store brands cover just about any item that you can think of on the store shelves. You can save at least fifty cents out of every dollar just by going for the no name, plain box items.
5. Time to start the commune. Hippy or not, combining your grocery shopping with your friends, neighbors, or family is a good idea. By carpooling, all of you save on gas and wear and tear on the car. Buying the larger quantities of food and sharing will allow savings, too. The larger the size, usually the cheaper it is when compared to the smaller packages of the same foods. Sometimes you can make a deal with the grocer to buy things by the case, or by the pallet. This will save even more money. If the grocer doesn’t have to stock his shelves, he may pass along some of the savings to you.