Secret to Wealth...Go Ahead, Tell Your Friends

Here it is.  What you have always wanted to know.  The secret to the wealth that we are all searching for.  Spend less. There you go.  Please tell your friends.

Often times this is easier said than done.  So here are some of my favorite tips to help you spend less on groceries:
Avoid prepared foods. Any successful frugal person will tell you that prepared foods are budget killers.  They are overpriced for convenience.  Any step that someone else does for you will add cost.

If you buy a tub of prepared coleslaw at the grocery store, it will be overpriced.  Buying pre-shredded cabbage and some coleslaw dressing in a bottle will be cheaper.  But think of how much cheaper it would be to buy a head of cabbage, mayonnaise, and vinegar. Do you buy prepared apple pies?  Try a frozen crust and a can of apple pie filling.  But your most frugal option would be some flour, sugar, and apples.

Every step you do yourself will make it cheaper.  To start, just try cutting out one step per meal and start seeing the savings add up.
Buy in bulk. This is not a foolproof option.  Sometimes buying in bulk can actually be more expensive.  You should always compare unit costs.  Nowadays, most stores put that right on the shelf price tag.  If they don't, do the math.  Your cellphone probably all ready has an application to do this for you.  If not, just take the item price and divide it by the unit (ounce, pound, gallon, etc.).  There you have your unit price.

Also, only buy in bulk things you know you will use before they go bad.  You won't save much if you are throwing out food.  Freezing is an option for many perishables (never freeze potatoes or flour-based dishes, they just turn to muck). You can buy some Rubbermaid containers to make portions easier to store.




 

Buy up good deals. If you find something for a great deal, buy lots of it. Even if it is only a small amount you are saving, every little bit adds up.  Odds are, you have plenty of storage in your house: cabinets, closets, garages, containers slid under your bed or couch.  Go ahead and be a little unorthodox.  No one will know but you.  Again, only buy things that will not go bad or that you will use before they expire.

Use meat as a condiment. We only need two to three ounces of meat per serving.  That is a ridiculously small amount when you think about it.  An average chicken breast should feed three people.  In our house, we basically use meat as a condiment.  I buy a pound to a pound and a half of hamburger and divide it in two.  We use one half for Beef Stroganoff and another half for homemade Sloppy Joes.

A great way to stretch your quantities is to add lentils to your meat.  It tastes great with almost any protein and it is usually less than a dollar a pound.  Add 1/4 cup to your hamburger to stretch it.  Also, lentils are a complete protein, which means you are not sacrificing any nutrition.

The idea is to make a lot of little changes.  It may help you to write down dollar figures of how much you are saving per month or year.  When you keep track of your spending down to the penny, it is easier to see where you need to make changes and where you are seeing progress.

Stay tuned for more frugal grocery ideas and recipes!