Food Management - Ways Of Saving $$

With the current state we are in prices are steadily rising at the grocery store.  Couple that with the occasional shortages on certain items and shopping for groceries can often be downright frustrating.  By the time you get to the register to check out the last thing you want is to be shell shocked by the total bill and to feel anxious about your budget.

 

In spite of everything I've still been managing to keep our budget in check, but I do have to work a little harder in order to do so.  I plan a lot more than I have for quite some time.  I scour the ads thoroughly to capitalize on sales and loss leader items.  I search through scads of digital coupons to help me shave off extra money from the purchase price and I take advantage of free offers and special pricing offered to me by the stores because I have one of their rewards cards.

 

Along with a strict budget and careful shopping I am making sure that I get the most mileage out of the food I buy.  I bulk cook even though it is just three of us.  We use the leftovers for another supper and to keep us in lunches throughout the week.  I don't waste anything.  I cook up chicken and turkey bones for broth, save the bacon fat for cooking and save the beef fat to make suet cakes for our chickens.  We give our stale bread and kitchen scraps to our chickens and what they can't have ends up in our compost.

 

I regularly clean, sort and reorganize our pantry, the refrigerator and both freezers.  This allows me to routinely keep tabs on what is in there and rotate items so nothing expires or freezer burns.  It also keeps it fresh in my mind what we have on hand so I can add items we are low on to the shopping list and not buy what we have plenty of already.  It is very easy to over buy something simply because you aren't sure that you have it in the first place only to discover you already did.

 

Additionally, I meal plan, meal prep and I investment cook in order to make the best use of the food I have on hand.  Meal planning and prepping is geared to items I already have so I don't need to make a special shopping trip.  I keep a perpetual shopping list running at all times so I replace items as they are used in order to keep from running out and again not have to make a special trip to the store.

 

I hope this information helps you as you continue to navigate this topsy-turvy world we currently find ourselves in.  I'm not about to tell you I'm an expert or anything, but I will happily share what I do to save money and manage our resources as best I can.