Your grocery bill is one of the easiest bills to control, but learning how to obtain food for less is an ever-evolving skill. You won't succeed if you set out to feed yourself for $50/person/month right now! That's just not feasible. However, if you pick out 1-2 problem spots and work on them, you'll find ways to lower those portions of your food bill . . . then you can attack a couple more problem spots.
Some suggestions:
- Start with beverages. Years ago I read that 30% of the average grocery bill goes to buy beverages, most of which add little nutrition to the family's diet. I believe it: 12-oz sodas, juice boxes, energy drinks, even milk -- these things cost a fortune, and let's not even talk about alcohol! Iced tea and powdered lemonade are much cheaper than most other drinks, and water (tap water, I mean) is free.
- The supermarket is convenient, but you pay for that convenience. Look around for alternative sources. I shop at the farmer's market (in season), a beef co-op, a health food store (most items are super-expensive, but a few things are wonderful bargains), several ethnic grocery stores, the day-old bread store, Aldis, and a couple online sources. No, I don't hit up each one every week; rather, over the years I've kept records, and I know which stores sell which items cheapest -- so when I go to the Asian grocery store, which is a long drive for me, I buy plenty of won-ton wrappers, and freeze them; when I'm going towards the health food store, I take time to check all my spices because I know they're super-cheap there. I do not buy food at the Dollar Store or Big Lots because often that food is outdated. Except for baby formula, it is legal to sell outdated food, but I personally choose not to buy it.
- Don't feel the need to put out a huge spread every night. Every dinner doesn't have to include a meat, starch and vegetable. It's fine to have pinto beans and cornbread or other very simple but satisfying meals a couple nights per week. Even if you have company, a really good soup or chili along with a loaf of homemade bread or a pan of cornbread is a delicious dinner.
- Have soup for free every couple weeks: When you finish up your dinner each evening, and you find that you have 1/2 a serving of beans left, don't toss them. Instead, put them into a ziplock bag in your freezer. Keep adding your leftover veggies and that last bit of meat . . . and after a week or so, cook them up with a can of tomatoes or some chicken broth, and you'll have soup . . . for free! Okay, not quite free, but mostly from those last couple spoonfuls that would've gone into the trash. This soup is sometimes wonderful, other times not so great . . . but I've never had it come out really badly.
- Have one cup of chili or 1/2 a steak left over? Tomorrow night cook up a couple big fat baked potatoes, and serve them with those leftovers spooned over the top. Add a bit of vegetable and a some cheese, and it's a great meal. Similarly, add that little bit of leftover to a pasta salad.
- Instead of serving everyone a steak or a chicken breast, slice them thinly before serving -- do fan the meat out in an attractive way. Lots of time we eat what's put in front of us, even if half that much would've been satisfying.
- Cooking from scratch can be very cheap . . . or very expensive. Let's talk about cookies as an example: I can make a recipe of sugar cookies or oatmeal cookies for about $1.50; however, if I make something that includes add-ins, the price goes up fast. Chocolate Chip or Oatmeal Scotchies will run about $2.50, and if I make white-chocolate-chip-cherry-cookies, it'll be more like $5 for a similar-sized batch.
- Fresh fruits and vegetables can also be very cheap . . . or very expensive. Red Delicious apples in a bag are cheap. Individually chosen HoneyCrisp apples do taste better (and I am going to plant a HoneyCrisp apple tree this fall), but they offer no additional nutrition and cost much more. And pre-sliced apples in a Mickey-mouse shaped package are so ridiculously over-priced that I can't believe they're actually sold.
- Learn to preserve food when it's cheap. For example, bell peppers are rather expensive, so when you find them cheap at the farmer's market, buy a bunch, flash-freeze them, and enjoy them for several months. In contrast, unless you have unlimited storage space, do not waste your freezer space on bulky items like microwave pancakes.
- Invest in good, classic kitchen equipment. If you're going to cook, it's a worthwhile investment. It makes much more sense than buying an expensive power tool that you'll use twice and never touch again. I love my KitchenAid mixer, my crock pots, my good knives, and my Lodge Dutch oven. Lots more too.
The ways to save on your food bill are near-endless. Pick a couple ideas and start using them. Pretty soon you'll see a difference in your grocery bill.