While coupon cutting is a very popular way to save on groceries and other items it is not the only way to save money on food. Other ways you can save are the following: cook too much and save some for later; know when and where the sales are; don’t spend large amounts of money on snack food. If you become addicted to certain types of snack foods, not only could it potentially become bad for your wallet, it could also eventually become bad for your health and you could eventually end up in a hospital room causing new sets of problems. Here is an explanation for each of these three recommendations:
Cook too much and save for later
One of the great things about most cooked foods is you can always cook some and whatever you don’t eat you can put it in the microwave later, according to Personal Finance guru Dave Ramsey. It is widely known and published that most restaurants and grocery stores will often give you excessive amounts of food and you should use that to your advantage. Depending on the food, in some cases you can even leave food in the refrigerator for a couple of days if you forget to eat it the first day.
The same thing can often be said when you go to certain restaurants. If you are at a restaurant that serves an unusually large amount of food and you know you are getting a meal you don’t have a prayer of finishing, there is probably no reason for you to get an appetizer or dessert.
Know when and where the sales are
This one can be determined with basic research. After determining what type of food you eat, it might not be a bad idea to compare grocery stores which you can use via the power of the Internet and find out when the best sales are. Then go out and take advantage of them when possible. Some grocery stores even have certain loyalty cards where you get special discounts and save on other items such as car gas.
Limit the amount of snack food you buy
Snack foods taste good for a reason. At the same time they can be extremely addictive causing you to buy large volumes of it and it can get expensive. The best way to deal with it? There are three options.
First, limit the number of snacks you buy. If you choose this route, to make sure you are using self restraint you may want to use that as an additional line item in the budget. And yes, that means if you run out of money then you don’t buy any more.
Second, don’t buy snack food at all, or if that’s too much of a hardship, choose foods that are more filling. Typically foods are more filling if they contain certain nutrients such as protein and fiber.
What one person finds filling may be different than what another person may consider filling so with this one you will have to figure it out and pick your spots.
So the best thing you can really do? Budget an amount, decide how many snacks you want and can afford and cook for multiple meals at once.