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Food is always a big part of our household budget, isn’t it? Since it is not a fixed cost but a variable cost, it has a very delicate nature; if you spend too much, your household budget will be strained, and on the other hand, if you can control the spending, you will have more money on your pocket.
“Cook at home instead of eating out.” is the advice we hear most when trying to keep food costs down. This is very true and effective advice; however, it has its pitfalls. Have you ever had to dump meat or vegetables because you couldn’t simply use them up before they went bad? Or Do you have seasonings that you bought for just one meal you wanted to try making and haven’t used ever since?
Even if you cook at home, the cost of food can end up being high if you cannot stick to the habit and use up all the ingredients.
And that was my problem in the past. Grocery waste was severe in my place. I was paying money for the food that I was not eating.
Through trial and error, I was able to come up with 4 simple tips that are still helping out food spending to this day. Today, I would like to share these tips with you.
Tip 1: Create a meal plan
Creating a meal plan helps both your budget and time. If you know what you are going to cook, you know what you need to buy, and you don’t have to worry about coming up with a menu every day. Once you have a meal plan, you can use it almost forever and just need to update it only when you feel like it.
I usually include a main dish, two side dishes, and a soup in one meal to balance the nutrition. I use this meal structure as a base to create a four-week menu so that a different meal is on the table every day for a month. If you write down all the dishes you can make, you can fill up a month surprisingly.
Making a menu plan is also a chance to add the dishes you have been wanting to make to your repertoire because you keep making it at least once a month.
It may be difficult to come up with a menu for a month at a time. In that case, you can start with one week and gradually increase it.
I use the meal plan for our main meals (dinner), but once you complete one, you can apply it to other meals as well.
Personally, this meal planning turned out to be the most revolutionary for me.
I attached the template below. I also put a few of my menus as examples. If you are interested, please feel free to download it.
Tip2: Shop once a week with a grocery list
Going grocery shopping once a week also saves you money and time. When you go shopping, bring a grocery list that prevents you from buying things you don’t necessarily need. If you already have a meal plan, you can shop even more efficiently because you know exactly what ingredients you need to buy. Shopping once a week also saves you money on gas because you don’t have to drive to the supermarket every day or every other day. And once you are done shopping, you can focus on other things for 6 days until the next time you go shopping.
My husband and I go shopping every Saturday. We consider it our weekly date and quite enjoy it a lot. We make our grocery list during a week as we notice we need something. It feels good to load up the trunk of our car with all the stuff we’ve bought. What’s even better is that we know that everything we’ve just bought is necessary and will be consumed in a week or two.
I also recommend using different places to shop depending on what you are buying. For example, my husband and I shop at a local market for fruits and vegetables, which are much cheaper than supermarkets; Costco for items that we consume all the time, such as meat, fish, eggs, and yogurt; and supermarkets for items that are not available at the local market or Costco.
Tip3: Freeze perishables
Freeze perishable items to make them last longer. Unless you are eating them fresh like salad, most items can be frozen. If sliced, even mushrooms can be frozen, too. Bread can be either frozen or refrigerated. I prefer refrigerated. By freezing ingredients, you don’t have to go back to the supermarket and buy small amounts several times a week. That way, you can save time and money on gas. Usually, large quantities are slightly cheaper, so you can save money there as well.
As I mentioned earlier, we buy meat at Costco. Now imagine how big chunks of meat they have at Costco. We cannot consume it before it goes bad, so we freeze the meat into small portions for use in cooking and freeze it. Then we have the meat for a month or two.
Tip4: Plan a monthly Eating out or order in Day
Even if you continue to cook at home with a lot of ingenuity, sometimes you might want a break. In such a case, set a cheat day once a month to eat out or order in. If you have a cheat day once a month, even on days when you feel a little less motivated to cook, you can think, “I can eat out or order delivery food in three days!” Having a meal at or from your favorite restaurant as a reward for a month of hard work will make you feel like you can do it again. Moreover, if you eat out or order in all the time, you’ll get bored, but if you eat out or order in only once a month, the taste will be even better. I think you will appreciate it more.
However, one thing to keep in mind is your budget, because if you go over your food budget for the month by eating out or ordering in once a month, you might end up falling behind. So, let’s place a value on the luxury of not having to cook, and enjoy eating out or ordering in.
My husband and I use apps and credit card promotions to eat out and order delivery once a month. Even at times for a little luxury, we are not afraid to cut costs! Apps like Rakuten or Uber Eats have promotions. Your credit card might have some kind of restaurant promotions, so why not check them out?
Food costs had always been a headache in our household. However, by using the four tips I introduced, we were able to reduce our monthly food costs by 40% and adjust our budget downward. The reduced budget on food was able to be allocated in other areas. I believe implementing just 1 of the 4 tips will make a big difference. I hope you will find it useful.
What do you do to keep food costs down?
Do you know an easy and long-lasting way to cook?
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