Everyone is looking for ways to save more money at the supermarket. If you are like most people, you are already clipping coupons and reading the weekly store circulars to plan your menus. These days, that just isn’t enough. You have to think outside the box and find other ways to get your grocery bill down.
If you want to save money this week, don’t go to the grocery store, instead use up all the things that you have in your pantry and freezer. Get creative; try some new recipes and don’t waste a thing. Everyone has things in their pantry and freezer that will be wasted if not used soon. Not wasting anything will save lots of money.
When it comes to baked goods, check out the ones that are baked in store. It is often cheaper to buy your hotdog or hamburger rolls from the store bakery then to buy national brands. When it comes to cheese, get a little workout at home and grate your own instead of buying the bagged brands. Especially if you use a lot of cheese, this can be a big savings, over $1 per pound.
Before you go shopping, take stock of what you have in the house. If you have some vegetables or fruit that are getting near their expiration date, design a meal around using them. Add one of the meats that is on special this week to whatever vegetables you may have leftover.
These days, everyone’s lives are so busy that it is a great time saver to resort to buying a rotisserie chicken in the supermarket. It makes an easy and inexpensive meal. Make it go even farther by turning the carcass into a delicious soup or a chicken broth that you can use in other recipes.
Hit the day old stand at the market. If you know what you are making for dinner you can pick up vegetables and fruits that need to be used immediately for less than half the normal price. If you make apple pies or apple sauce this is a great place to get your apples at a much lower price.
Use lower price cuts of meat and cook them longer in your crock pot for delicious and inexpensive meals. You can also try replacing some of the meat with canned beans such as kidney beans. This makes your food more nutritious as well as less expensive.
Bulk buying is not always the best buy. Before you buy that pound bag of pecans or walnuts think about how much you actually need. Buying things that are perishable in bulk can end up costing you money. If you only need a cup of pecans for your recipe and won’t be making this recipe again for a while, it may be a better buy to just buy what you will use for one recipe, especially if they are on sale. If you must buy in bulk be sure to freeze what you aren’t going to use right away.
Hopefully some of these hints will help you to save money at the supermarket. Just remember that with the money you save, you will be able to do something special for yourself and your family.