| 1 |
Plan
ahead!
When you shop, try to base your shopping list around a planned
series of meals. That way, you lessen the odds of impulse-buying
food that you don't need, and that might go off. What's more,
planning ahead increases the chance that you'll deliberately
seek out a cheap meal.
Check
out The Fool's Living Below Your Means discussion board and
our Recipes and Cooking board for low-cost recipe ideas! Here's
an interesting, if quirky, post about menu planning, for example.
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| 2 |
Look
for 'reduced for quick sale' items
The exception to this 'meal planning' principle are meals
planned around 'reduced for quick sale' (RFQS) items. Get
into the habit of making the RFQS counters regular stops on
your shopping trips, and develop an eye for a bargain. Meat,
fish and most chilled or ready-cooked meals can usually be
frozen -- but so can bread, pastries and rolls.
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| 3 |
Stop
eating out
This one is a no-brainer and doesn't really need an explanation.
Dinners you prepare at home are significantly less expensive
than meals you pay someone else to prepare.
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| 4 |
Buy
generic
Generic and store-brand products are often processed at the
same plants as name brand products, but they are much cheaper
because they aren't advertised. A significant portion of the
price you pay for a name brand product is to cover the high
cost of advertising it in the various media. This is why name
brand breakfast cereals cost $1 or $2 more than the generic
brand and why Tylenol or Bayer pain relievers cost $3 or $4
more than the generic brand that isn't advertised. Stop paying
for all those television commercials and print ads and you
will save more than $500 per year.
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| 5 |
Cut
out the middlemen!
Farmers' markets offer good quality food at better prices
than you'd pay elsewhere. If you can't get to a farmer's market,
at least buy a sack of potatoes at the farm gate. (Hint: most
farms sell half sacks, too -- and if you don't pass many farm
gates, you'll sometimes see sacks of spuds offered for sale
at places like truck stops, country petrol stations and the
like.)
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| 6 |
Buy
in bulk
Bulk buying can offer genuine savings, especially if you share
out the produce among friends and neighbours. Sacks of rice,
for example, are absurdly cheap from Asian grocers -- simply
divvy up the sack to make substantial savings.
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| 7 |
Free
food
Food doesn't get much cheaper than free. Nettle soup is real
favourite in our household -- here's a short thread on the
subject.
Meanwhile,
TV chef Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall is a firm favourite on
several of our boards -- this is his nettle soup recipe for
those who like their recipe quantities a little more precise!
This detailed post gives lots of information about free food
from the wild in general.
Do a
custom search to search for free food...
Custom Search
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| 8 |
Buy
in season
There are times when the supermarket is practically giving
away fruits and vegetables and other times when they cost
a fortune. Buy fruits and vegetables in season and only if
they are reasonably priced. Learn to enjoy fruits and vegetables
that are available year-round at a low cost, such as bananas
and carrots. If you have the time, you can buy when produce
is cheap and prepare and freeze it for later use.
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| 9 |
Avoid
vending machines and bring your own snacks/drinks to work
You pay significantly less for the candy bars and soda pop
you buy at the grocery store than from a vending machine.
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| 10 |
Don't
buy what you don't really need
There are many products we buy because we love them, but don't
really need them. Good examples are soft drinks, sugary snacks
and other sweets. Giving them up will improve your health,
reduce your medical and dental-related expenses and fatten
your wallet.
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