We all want to live within our means and finally have the chance to stick to our budget. Unfortunately, it can feel almost impossible to establish a budget and not go over it week after week. You have all intentions to spend a certain amount of money and then you get up to the checkout counter and find you’ve spent too much. Living a frugal doesn’t mean that you have to skimp on quality and portions, but what it does mean is that you need to be smarter about your shopping.
When you stop spending so much money on groceries and food, you’ll have the extra money you need to start saving and building a bank account for true emergencies. All too often, people live paycheck to paycheck because of the way they spend their incomes. It’s true that you can’t skimp on bills and rent, but you need to become wise to the fact that there are ways to cut back on groceries without ever going hungry.
Dining Out: The Dilemma We All Face
It’s easy after a long day of work to stop by the local fast food joint to pick up a meal for the whole family. You might think this is a quick and relatively cheap way to get out of cooking, but it can otherwise be the downfall of any frugal budget. The money you spend on fast food and restaurants can be used to buy double the amount of food from your local grocery store. Even something as simple as going out to eat at your favorite restaurant once a week could be doing a number to your finances. Restaurants, in particular, are incredibly expensive. The price you pay for one meal is often what you’d spend on a family of four when cooking at home. Also, you’ll need to give a tip to your waiter, which is another added cost that takes away what you’d be able to spend at the supermarket.
If you dine out a lot, the key is to cut it down and start making your own home cooked meals more often. Let’s say you run through the drive thru three or four times a week, try cutting it down to only once a week and then work on eventually eliminating it altogether. Another benefit to cutting out the eating out is that you’ll get away from unhealthy foods and additives. You can never be sure of what a restaurant or diner is using to cook the food and your whole family is consuming a ton of oils, fats and butters that are sure to wreak havoc on their health.
Benefits of Cooking Your Own Homemade Meals
When you begin cooking your own homemade meals at home, you’re going to find you save a lot of money and have better control over how dishes are prepared. For example, instead of frying up chicken wings as you’d find in many restaurants, you can choose to grill or bake them for a healthier protein option. Also, cooking your food at home saves a ton of money and allows you to stick to your budget. You are in full control of what ingredients you wish to use and what dishes are ideal for your loved ones.
How to Save Money on Groceries
Even cooking at home can be expensive if you’re not careful of where you’re buying your groceries. It can be all too easy to find the convenience of going to the grocery store right in town, but you might not realize that you’d save hundreds just by traveling a little further and going to a different store. Ads and weekly flyers on sales will give you some insight into which supermarkets are having the best deals on any particular day. Don’t hesitate to visit several stores to take advantage of their sales instead of buying everything in one store. Coupon sites are essential for saving money and buying top brand items at a lower price. Coupon sites offer updated savings that you can print out and use at virtually any store.
Keep in mind that just because you have a coupon for something, it doesn’t necessarily mean that you’re getting the cheapest price for that product. Let’s say that you have a coupon for $1 off a name brand pasta and you go into the store and notice that the store brand pasta is actually cheaper than if you were to use that coupon and buy name brand. In many cases, store brand ingredients are a go-to when looking to save money and oftentimes, the quality of the food is just as good as what you’d find with name brand items.
The type of product you’re buying will also play a role in whether or not you’ll stick to your budget. For example, instead of buying canned beans, purchase a large bag that you can cook yourself. In general, if you have to spend more time preparing an ingredient to get it ready for cooking, the cheaper it is going to be. Convenient ready-made foods are great for when you’re in a time crunch, but they’re not necessarily ideal for when you’re on a tight budget.
When grocery shopping, make a list of necessary items and meals before you get to the store. Once you’re in the store, stick to that list and avoid deviating from it. One of the most problematic issues shoppers face is that they get attracted to buy products they don’t need. It’s a pretty interesting marketing trap that a lot of stores set for people doing their regular shopping. You may have it on your list that you only need to buy one type of cookie for your kids and when you’re down the aisle, there are signs for new products, “Try This!”, improved formulas and delicious pictures on boxes.
Sticking to a budget is difficult, especially if you’ve gotten in the habit of overspending at the grocery store. However, it is possible and doing so will help tremendously when you consider your finances and being able to finally save some money.
