Saving Money on Food Bills (Part 4)
October 28, 2008 | Leave a Comment
Planning ahead saves money on food bills
The old-fashioned approach to speading the cost of food over several meals is an art that has been lost or not handed down in many households. As the credit crunch and recession start to bite, however, saving money on food bills has become an essential skill in many households so that money for food can be allocated to rising fuel costs and other household bills.
A key skill in thriftiness is the planning of meals and the food bought to cater for them so that there is less wastage.
Going on the principle that food is generally cheaper if bought in bulk, buying that large joint of meat to cook for Sunday (as our parents may have done) then using the leftovers in sandwiches, and at least one other main meal can make significant savings. Boiling bones from the meat will also make a tasy stock for soup (providing the base for an additional meal). Often, when looking along the shelves in the supermarket it is easy to fall into the trap of thinking that a large joint of meat is not affordable….but when you do the mental maths calculating how many meals it will contribute to, you will often find that it will save money on your food bill.
Spend on quality items when it matters … the family rejecting inferior items will not save money on your food bills
There are many items for which it is easier to substitute cheap / own brand products without compromising on quality or flavour. Items like breakfast cereals, tinned baked beans, tomato ketchup, tinned sweetcorn and tinned tomatoes etc are not proportionally better for paying twice as much for them.
In my own kitchen there are certain ingredients I prefer not to compromise on….quality olive oil, balsamic vinegar etc can add a high quality flavour to cheaper ingedients so that the family do not notice the difference. However, cheap ice cream and cheap ham are often rejected by the family leading to food wastage and no savings on food bills as a result. Try items one by one with your family and reject the items they don’t like whilst adopting the ones that they do.
Grow your own food to save money on food bills
If you are blessed with a garden or at least room for some pots in a yard or on a balcony, beans and tomatoes etc are quite easy to grow. With larger plots of land more serious fruit and vegetable growing will become much more appealing to save money on food bills.
Likewise, those luxuries like fresh herbs that cost so much in the supermarkets are cheap and easy to grow at home. Fresh herbs can add that special flavour to cheaper ingredients that leave you feeling you have not compromised taste for price whilst saving money on food bills.
Saving Money on your Food Bill (Part 3)
October 23, 2008 | Leave a Comment
This post we will start to examine some of the kitchen management techniques that can make your food go further, save money on your food bills and save time on food preparation whilst not compromising on quality and healthiness of food at all.
Effective use of the freezer will help you to save money on food bills
Making effective use of your home freezer is a great way to save money on your food bills and save time too!
- Buy meat or fish in large quantities then divide it into portions for the family to get a cheaper price for bulk buying and a store of fresh meat / fish to see you through the month.
- Buying larger amounts of meat / fish / other ingredients means that you can cook twice the amount at a cheaper rate then freeze a portion for the family to use on another day saving money and time on food preparation as well.
- When you visit the supermarket later in the day, a good capacity freezer enables you to buy up as much of the reduced price produce as you can afford and fit in meaning savings for throughout the month.
- When what you have cooked just a little too much for the household, freeze a portion for the kids or an adult (for when a quick meal is needed) instead of piling up plates and being left with wasted food. This will give a convenient fall back meal when there is not enough time to cook and save money on food bills for those convenience meals from the freezer that can cost so much,
- If it looks like the household may not get through all the bread / cake / crumpets etc that are out of the freezer before they go stale, pop some in the freezer and this will save money on food bills for some carbohydrates and staple foods.
- Making large pans of fresh home made soup can be a great way to save money on food bills as it can be frozen in smaller individual or family portion sized containers and used later. Not only is it tastier and more nutritionally beneficial than packaged and processed soups, but, it costs a fraction of the price.
Credit Crunch Helpdesk will be pleased to hear YOUR suggestions on how money can be saved on food bills by using the freezer effectively.
Saving Money on your Food Bill (Part 2)
October 19, 2008 | Leave a Comment
With a bit of effort, time and pre-planning it is possible to shave up to 30% off your weekly food bill and still eat healthily and well. Here are some more tips for frugal shopping that will save money on food bills:
The cheapest time to shop
Supermarkets will receive deliveries each day. However, a major delivery is often on a Monday. As a result, shopping about an hour before closing time on any day of the week (but particularly on a Sunday) will mean that the reduced shelf will be well stocked.
Check packets of meat for any discolouration suggesting they may not be as fresh. Don’t buy meats that have a grey / greenish tinge to them as they may upset your stomach. With ready meals, check the seal on the packet is in tact. If it is, then make sure the selaphane lid is not blown at all (as this will indicate that bacteria is already breeding in the packet). If lids are level or slightly indented, these will be cheaper food items that will freeze well. It is recommended that you fast freeze them on the day of purchase and use them within a month if bought close to the sell by date and checked as described above.
Bulk purchasing of staple items saves money
This trick can be a bit more challenging if you have limited cupboard or storage capacity. However, if challenged for space a friend may be interested in sharing the cost of a bulk purchase. Ideal items are:
- potatoes (by the sack from a farm shop)
- rice in catering sized bags
- pasta in catering sized bags
- washing powder
- olive oil
- herbs and spices (those little jars in the supermarket only last 5 minutes)
Catering sized packs can usually be bought with at least 30% discount from your nearest cash and carry. If you do not have a business and do not know anyone who can take you on their business card to the cash and carry, it is worth setting up a cooperative of friends who buy bulk items and then sell them within the group. If you produce a letter head and a cooperative bank account’s details, then the group can invest money into the central kitty, buy bulk stock from the cash and carry and share it out fairly.
Cooking from scratch rather than buying ready cooked saves money
Ready meals are exorbitant and probably only make sense if you are cooking for one or two and using these for convenience occasionally. Cooking can be a creative joy if you give time to learning how. Cooking from scratch is essential to save money on food bills for a family.
Home cooking is also healthier and fresher as well as saving up to 50% on the cost of the same meal. Easy adjustments to make:
- use a breadmaker to cut costs of loaves of bread…it’s fresh, tastier and cheaper than a lot of packaged bread too.
- If you can’t bear the thought of cooking everything from scratch, ready sauces then adding fresh meat and vegetables will save money on your food bill.
- Making your own pizza dough then using passata, herbs and lots of fresh topping makes a delicious healthy meal at a fraction of the cost of bought pizza’s and the whole family can enjoy designing their own pizza….quite a fun family event is our household!
Buying exact quantities saves money on food bills
Pre-packed meat, fish, vegetagbles and fruit are rarely in the exact amount needed to feed your household. There are inevitably too many or too few pork chops in one pack, or a tray of minced beef makes just too much bolognaise (so everyone eats too much so as not to waste it or it gets wasted left on the plate).
This is where getting to know your butcher and fishmonger means you can buy the exact amount needed for the family or a specific recipie saving money. Likewise, buying loose fruit and vegetables means counting how much will be needed between shops then not being left with limp broccolli or appleas that have gone soft.
Saving money on food bills in this way is also kinder to the environment as food thrown away creates methane as it degrades and this affects global warming. Likewise, less packaging reduces our carbon footprint as well.
Plan Ahead to Save Money on Food Bills - Part One
October 11, 2008 | Leave a Comment
Frugal food shopping is a rapidly returning art as we all start to feel the pinch of recession. However, whilst our parents may have been well versed in this art, there are many who are not because they have never needed to be whilst cheap and plentiful food was available alongside cheap credit if the cash was not available for that week’s needs.
Top Tips for Saving Money on Shopping
- Plan your shopping list for the week ahead. Only buy the items that you need to deliver this menu. This will save money on those impulse buys that bump up your food bill and are not really necessities.
- Get to know your local butcher and fishmonger. Seeking advice on preparation methods and recipies will build a relationship that may mean a few extras get thrown into your parcel as well.
- If you have room to freeze meat or fish this can be a great way of saving money due to discount for larger quantities.
- A slow cooker can be a great investment if you are planning to buy the cheaper cuts of meat to save money. These cuts typically need long, slow cooking to make them tender and bring out the flavours.
- If it is possible to get to your supermarket in the early evening, you will find a lot of bargains on display. The store will need space for the next day’s delivery so they will mark down the price on a lot of food so as to clear the old stock. Trial and error will be needed with your local store to see what time the best bargains are put out….but the payoff is significant savings on all sorts of produce - much of which you will be able to freeze or use up within the next couple of days.
More money saving tips on shopping will follow soon….
Saving Money on Shopping
October 9, 2008 | Leave a Comment
Rising prices of food and the financial squeeze of higher fuel prices and increased interest rates the credit crunch are making the challenge of feeding the family on a budget increasingly challenging. None of us want to increase debt or reduce savings any more than we have to when dealing with the day to day costs of running a home …..so where do we start with meeting this challenge?
Top Tips to Save Money on Shopping
- Don’t take the kids with you when doing the daily shop. Chances are they will slip all sorts that you don’t need into the shopping basket or pester you to add unnecessary items costing you more.
- Once you have decided what you can afford for that week’s food etc, remove your debit and credit cards from your wallet and take the cash with you instead. It will keep you focussed as you walk around and you can’t spend money you don’t have with you. It is also a good way to raise awareness of how much you are spending each week.
- If the store you use has a loyalty card system, make use of it. many of these schemes give you cash back for groceries…giving you a chance to save up vouchers for Christmas or other special occasions.
- Evaluate buy one get one free deals. Will you consume all of the items before they expire or go off? The life of some fresh products can be extended by using correct storage in your fridge or Stayfresh Longer Bags. If you can get through all of the items in the deal without wastage, they can be good value for money.
- Supermarkets place the most profitable items at eye level to encourage quick sale due to convenience. Train yourself to find the item you need then look down to lower shelves and find the cheaper alternatives. Often these are just as good at a fraction of the price.
- Supermarket own brands are often just as good as the famous brand names. Items like baked beans, sweetcorn, tins of tomatoes etc are not discernably better if you buy a well known brand….sometimes the own brand item is even nicer! Try one or two own brand items per week on your family and see if they can tell the difference.
Please post your own observations on ways to save money on shopping and share them with our readers.
Loose Vegetables Save Money
September 5, 2008 | Leave a Comment
Buying vegetables loose instead of pre-packed can save money.
As the credit crunch bites into household food budgets it is important to consider how the money we spend on food can stretch further without compromising on quality and taste.
Apart from the adverse impact upon the environment, packaged vegetables tend to cost more that loose vegetables. In addition, if you live in an area where you pay by quantity for refuse collection, you need to keep the rubbish to a minimum….a thin plastic bag to collect your potatoes or tomatoes etc in (as opposed to a plastic tray and film cover or thick sellophane bag) takes up a lot less space in the bin.
“How else can I save money on fruit and vegetables?”
Buying from a fresh produce stall in your local market can also make significant savings. You may have to watch out for the odd damaged item being slipped into the bag (unless it is a self service stall) but, if making casseroles and soups, this can be a cheap way to get delicious, quality fresh produce into your freezer. How much more delicious would a fresh tomato sauce base made from extra ripe tomatoes be (often at 20% of store selling price at the end of the day) rather than jars of pre-prepared tomato sauce bought for so much more?