• About
    • Penny
    • Hank
    • Juju
  • Contact
  • How To Start A Blog
  • Make Money Blogging
    • How To Make $40K Your First Year Blogging
    • Making Sense Of Affiliate Marketing
    • How To Monetize A Food Blog
    • Food Blogger Pro
  • Blogging Tips
    • Blogging Resources
    • Recommended Blogging Tools
    • Blogging Tips
      • More Quick Blogging Tips
    • How To Increase Blog Traffic
      • SEO For Health Blogging
      • External SEO Tips
      • On Site SEO Tips
    • Blogging Action Plan
      • Deciding Why You Blog
      • Types of Health Blogs
      • Important WordPress Settings
      • Blog Security
      • WordPress Plugins
      • WordPress Themes
  • Shop
    • Planner Favorites
    • Fitness Favorites
    • Kitchen Tools
    • Blogging Books

A Merry Life

Healthy Living & Budgeting Blog | Health, Wealth & Everything Else

  • Budgeting
  • Finances
  • Fitness
  • Food
  • Family Life
  • YouTube

How To Save Money On Food

December 17, 2014 by Mary

This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure for details.

In the past, each month I would check my monthly spending and realize I’d spent a lot of money on food. A lot. Way too much. Between groceries and eating out I overspent my food budget every month.

It was something that continually frustrated me because I overspent on food constantly. It wasn’t until I was forced to cut back that I finally took control of the situation and stopped spending a ridiculous amount of my income on food.

Eating on the cheap is totally possible but it does take some effort, just like eating healthy does. I was spending so much money on food each month because I wasn’t thinking about it. I was making healthy choices for food but I wasn’t making great financial choices. I spent a lot of extra money on convenience foods that were healthier but more expensive. Spending money on convenient foods and eating out really does add up quickly. It might not seem like much when you are spending a few dollars at a time but it’s something that snowballs quickly.

Now my budget is about half of what it used to be for food and I actually stick to it! It’s pretty amazing that I once spent so much on food when it was entirely unnecessary.

how to save money on food

Below I’ve collected some of my personal favorite ways to save money on food. Hopefully they can help you reduce your food budget too!

Tips to Save Money On Food

  • Commit to cooking more. Learning how to cook and preparing food at home is a great way to save money on food. If you know how to cook and do it often the savings will add up. Choosing to cook at home rather than get a meal at a restaurant saves me $5 – 15 dollars per meal in most cases.
  • Check out what you have in your pantry. Using what you have already will keep your grocery shopping list smaller. It’s also fun to create meals from scratch using what is available. I like to have “Chopped” nights where we pick pantry ingredients and make something using them. It’s not as weird as the show and usually turns out well!
  • Plan your meals around your cheap staples. Planning your meals helps you keep food costs down. Planning around cheap staples that you can buy in bulk like rice or pasta will make your costs substantially lower. There are many ways to prepare these staples so it’s not something you will get bored of eating.
  • Go grocery shopping once a week or less. The more you pop in the more you will buy the little add on items that add up. Every time you step foot in a grocery store you will have more opportunities to overspend. Stop that from happening by buying everything you need in one trip and sticking with what you bought. You can still have veggies and fruit that is good for your last day with proper meal planning.
  • Make a grocery shopping list. Stick to what you planned to buy and don’t deviate. Impulse buys at the grocery store used to cost me a ton of money every month. By making a list and forcing myself to stick to it I save $10-$25 per grocery store trip since I’m not grabbing whatever looks good. Having a plan and a list also means nothing goes to waste which will save you money and frustration!
  • Clip coupons and shop the sales. This isn’t as hard as it sounds and once you’ve done it a few times it gets even easier. When you meal plan and know what something regularly costs you will be able to take advantage of the sales and save money by buying items at their lowest price. Using coupons as well will just add to your savings.
  • Adjust how you think about food. For some people food is the ultimate pleasure and they live to eat. This can be an expensive way to live since you will spend more on food that you enjoy. Adjusting how you think about food and recognizing it as just fuel for most of your meals will help you spend less overall. You can still cook or go out for decadent meals but they should be an occasional occurrence instead of every meal.
  • Take advantage of free food. While I don’t do this in the extreme, I definitely take advantage of free food where I can. I attend several networking events and meetups that are sponsored in the form of free food. Several days a month I get a free meal by attending these events. Chances are there are some days where you can attend an event or get a meal at work for free. If you have the opportunity, take it!
  • Eat with others at home. Host and attend potlucks and dinners at friend’s houses. Spreading the cost and time of cooking between multiple people helps save money. Just remember that you don’t have to serve the best food ever – spaghetti or hamburgers works just fine when you are spending time with people you love!

Those are just a few of the the ways I now save money on food and keep my budget under control. It’s great to spend less money on food because it gives you more money to work with in other areas of your life. I’d much rather feel secure in paying my bills and having extra money to save than eating my way through my paycheck!

Share this:
Share on Facebook
Facebook
Tweet about this on Twitter
Twitter
Pin on Pinterest
Pinterest
Share on Tumblr
Tumblr
Print this page
Print
Email this to someone
email

Filed Under: Finances, Food Tagged With: eating out, food, groceries, grocery shopping, meal planning, money, money saving tips, money tips, restaurants, savings, shopping, spending


« Last Minute Christmas Gifts: FREE SHIPPING on Fitbit Gifts
Winter Light Therapy: NatureBright Light and Ion Therapy Lamp »

Comments

  1. Jen@jpabstfitness says

    December 17, 2014 at 1:23 pm

    I set one day for grocery shopping and if I forget something, we don’t have it…it’s way too easy to go for 1 thing and walk out with 10.

  2. Candaycakes says

    December 17, 2014 at 6:06 pm

    I hate grocery shopping! And when I cook I am usually the only one that enjoys it. I am making it my mission in 2015 to track all of my food consumption with a food log to experiment with how different foods make me feel. Part of this will be meal prep and learning to make healthy meals and freeze or refrigerate them. Let’s make an ultimate food prep list next! ;) Great list BTW. I can always use a reminder of things I should be doing.

Trackbacks

  1. abcdefood Survey says:
    December 17, 2014 at 5:04 pm

    […] I love grocery shopping but I never go grocery shopping without a list because I prefer to save money on food. […]

  2. Grocery Shopping Without A List says:
    December 17, 2014 at 6:41 pm

    […] will save a lot of money by planning […]

  3. Sam’s Club Grocery Haul says:
    January 27, 2015 at 2:51 pm

    […] It was really just about walking around and seeing what is available for future trips to scout out how to save money on food. I’ll definitely be going back with my mom and already started my list for things to buy next […]

mary Welcome to my journey to improve my health, wealth, and everything in-between!
Join me as I learn and share helpful tips and tricks I find along the way.
  • Bloglovin
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • RSS
  • YouTube
Ebates Coupons and Cash Back

Popular Posts

weight loss gift ideas healthy chocolate protein pancake recipe how to start a blog how to make money blogging

Search

Recent Posts

  • Whole30 Reflections 1 Year Later + Recipes I’m Loving
  • 10 Reasons To Get Out Of Debt
  • July 2019 Online Income Report
  • Should You Go on Vacation While Paying Off Debt?
  • How Much YouTube Paid Me For 2 Million Views

Top Posts & Pages

  • Apartment Essentials For Single Ladies
  • 50 Fitness Motivation Quotes For Your Motivation Board
  • Diet Tips For People With Kidney Stones
  • Healthy Eating Challenge Snack Ideas
  • DIY White Painted Dresser
  • Advocare 24 Day Challenge Healthy Recipe Ideas
  • Weight Loss Motivation Quotes
  • Kale & Mozzarella Chicken Burgers (Burgers by AmyLu) Review
  • What Is A Good Body Fat Percentage?
  • What I Learned From Playing Volleyball

Categories

Disclosure!

Note: Affiliate links may pop up on the site when I'm recommending something. They are free for you to use, but they help support me by giving me a small commission of any sales. It's like leaving a tip for good service while buying something you'd purchase anyway. Thank you for supporting A Merry Life!

Copyright © 2021 · A Merry Life - Healthy Living & Weight Loss Blog. Tasteful Theme by Restored 316 Designs

A Merry Life (amerrylife.com) is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com.

This site uses cookies to give you the best experience on the website. By continuing to use this website, you agree to their use. OkPrivacy policy