Some best ways to save money

Save Money by Reducing your Food Bill

A relatively painless way to save a ton of money is to learn how to cook, and to reduce the amount of food that you throw in the trash. The average family eats out way too much, and also throw way too much away!

If you find that your money kind of slips through your fingers and you’re not sure how it happens,it’s probably because you’re spending too much on food. Lots of people are in the same position. Money kind of disappears but they have no idea how.

More Money Saving Inspiration

These tips about saving money on food really only scratch the surface. For some serious inspiration, you’ll need to check this out: Top 25 Frugal Living Blogs to Follow in 2018.

Top 6 Tips for Saving Money on Food

Here are a few tips that my family of four uses to drastically cut our food bill. All our friends and family members are impressed by how little we spend!

Tip #1: Never Throw Food Away

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This one isn’t easy if you have kids, but it is indeed possible. I have two kids (8 + 10) and we throw almost nothing away.

We do this by starting with very small portions. I usually serve plates to everyone with a meagre portion. Before you get a second of serving of something, you have to finish everything that you already have on your plate.

The rest of the food is left on the stove in pots, so you have to actually get up if you want more. I always say, “Only take a little bit. You can get more if you want later.”

At first it was a bit of a struggle, but now the kids are used to taking two or three smaller portions, instead of one massive plateful. They also are very conscious of not throwing anything away.

Food in trash = money in trash.

Tip #2: Love the Leftovers

Embrace the leftovers. They are your best money-saving friend! We all take leftovers for lunch, even the kids. I heat mine up in the microwave, but for the kids, we put theirs in thermoses. It stays warm enough. They also eat some things cold.

We save a ton of money by not buying “kid lunch” stuff. It’s healthier to just eat whatever we ate for dinner the night before too.

Another thing we do is have leftover fiestas. Every 3–4 nights, we take out all the leftovers from the fridge and put them on the counter. Everyone helps themselves.

It’s also the perfect time to cut up fruits and veggies that have started to see better days. Put them in the centre of the table for people to graze on. You can have ranch dressing or hummus as a side, if your family doesn’t like them plain.

Tip #3: Cook from Scratch

Prepared food is expensive, and it’s also not that healthy. It’s far better to cook from scratch.

No time? Make time. It’s the one thing that’s going to save you thousands, and thousands of dollars over a lifetime.

Look on YouTube for “How to cook…” Start with one new thing each week. Easy ones are pasta and sauce, omelettes, fried rice, baked chicken and steamed veggies.

Tip #4: Go Vegan most of the Time

In our house, meat is only a special treat, probably 4–5x a month. The rest of the time, we eat vegan. Believe it or not, the kids don’t mind! They’ve just gotten used to eating this way and willingly eat a nice variety of fruits and veggies without (too much!) complaining.

Dried beans and tofu are very cheap, and also very healthy. They are great as meat substitutes in old favourites (pasta sauce, tacos, shepherd’s pie, burgers, etc.) or as dishes in their own right.

Tip #5: Restaurants are only for Special Occasions

Restaurants are also a very special treat in our house, maybe once a month. Sometimes not even that much. We often prefer to celebrate birthday’s, etc. at home by cooking a really special meal that the birthday person requests.

Our family spends around $50 on a meal out. We also spend about that much on fruits and veggies for the week. You be the judge what’s the better value!

Tip #6: Start a Garden

Many people have gardens, but they don’t take full advantage of it. We’re very dedicated to eating every single ripe thing that comes from it. Yes, that may mean eating salads every single day for an entire month. Or, green beans every night for a week.

Of course, reduce the amount of food you buy at the grocery store, and try to live mostly off of what you produce in the garden.