Let's face it, we all would love to save money on groceries so we can spend our money on things we really need or want! So here are the tricks I use to help us save $$ on our groceries!
Our grocery budget is 150$ every two weeks, with this we feed my husband, myself, our daughter at home as well as her school lunches, all our daycare children, either lunches or snack every weekday, plus all our company, we have company 2 to 3 times a week, our pantry is full our freezer is full, our cupboards are full! We try to avoid processed foods whenever possible as well.
1- Make the most of your food, 1 whole roasted chicken can last for a few meals if you use it right, roast the chicken, slice up some potatoes and carrots, meal 1, take the remaining meat off the bones and make a chicken sandwich, wrap etc, meal 2 and lastly through all those bones etc in the slow cooker with some water, let it cook on low overnight and in the morning your home smells awesome and you have an excellent broth, just drain out all the bones etc now you have free broth for some chicken soup, meal 3. Winning!
2- Try to make your meat go further for example, when I am making a chicken casserole or a chicken spaghetti I only use one large chicken breast for my whole family, chop it up small and then there is always chicken in every bite, I have even done this for company and no one had any idea. using less meat saves you a lot of money! We also mix our ground beef with ground Buffalo or ground Deer meat whenever possible, it tastes awesome, this is also something I have served many times and no one had any idea there was anything other than beef in the dish, money saving big time!
3- Use your slow cooker, I can buy cheap cuts of beef, let them simmer on low all day and for supper we have a fall off the bone awesome roast and it cost a fraction of the price, love it! Also if you know you have a awesome slow cooker dinner home you are way less likely to grab take out or even stop at the store, which saves you money, big time!
4- Making lots of the same meal, at once, I figure if I am already in the mess I better make use of it, everytime I make lasagna I try to make 6 or 7 at a time, it is not that much more work to make 1 then it is to make 7. I love to make a big batch of soup and freeze the leftovers, I freeze them in little containers for school lunches or in larger ones for a quick lunch for the family, it saves you time and money!
5- When the farmers markets open or your Garden is ready, buy all the in season fruit and veggies you can, from here you can take them home and freeze them or can them and they will last you all year, they are in season so they will be delicious and you saved money, have you ever had to buy an out of season tomato? The prices are high, But who needs it when you have canned fresh tomatoes waiting in the pantry!
6- Meal plan, meal plan, meal plan! Planning your meals ahead of time means you won't be buying groceries you don't need or that you might waste. Once you have planned your meals (I do 2 weeks at a time) then you make your grocery list, everything you need to prepare those 14 meals is on that list, so no late afternoon runs to the store saving you time and money!
7- If you are shopping at Safeway or Sobey's make sure to sign up for Airmiles, many other grocery stores offer free customer cards, make sure you sign up for them, they are full of savings and cost you nothing! Just this month alone I used my Airmiles to save 60$ on my groceries, that is now money in my pocket! Awesome!
8- Only buy groceries that are on sale, my meal plans are planned around the sales flyer, what is on sale is what we buy, if it's not on sale, sorry try again next time. Some things like eggs and milk rarely come on sale, so I just make sure I am getting the best price I can for them. We save a ton of money shopping this way!
9- If you live in a city where there are several stores close together it may be worth it to stop in at another store and get a good deal, but watch how much gas you are using, saving 50 cents on peas isn't worth 2$ in gas :)
10- Stick to your list, we try to only ever buy what is on the list, impulse shopping can cost you a lot in the end, also never go shopping hungry, your cart will be filled with junk!
11- Try out off brands, almost every store has their own brand and these items can be hit and miss, some of the items are awesome, others not so much, but you never know unless you try!
12- Eat your leftovers! It makes me crazy to see leftover thrown in the trash, if eating the same meal twice bores you turn it into something new, what was ham last night can be a panini today or ham soup etc, you get the idea, never waste food!
So those are ways we save money on groceries! It can take a while to get used to all these changes but before you know it, it becomes part of your life and is very easy to keep up! Best of luck and let me know if you need any help with your meal plans I am happy to help!
