Cheap Eating Tips

Here are some of our super secret tips for saving money on food in general.

• Eat out less. Eating out is expensive. Even fast food will run you more per filling meal than anything we suggest here.
• Eat less meat. Meat is expensive and you really don't need to eat as much of it as you think. Carie was a steak-and-potatoes girl until she started cooking vegetarian meals with Vicky, and realized that cooking meat as a every-few-days treat or accompaniment (rather than main course) in meals saved her a lot of money and didn't go badly missed. This is also better for the environment, as meat (especially red meat) is more resource-intensive to produce than grains and veggies.
• Know your budget stores. Where you shop makes a huge impact on how much you spend for the same products. Sometimes you'll find your best prices for different types of items in different places (e.g. produce vs. meat vs. spices vs. ethnic foods vs. non-perishables...).
• Shop sales and use good coupons. Those annoying weekly mailers? Sometimes they have coupons in them or advertise sales on items you use a lot that can save you $$. On one grocery trip, Carie saved 50% off of $40 worth of groceries through a combination of coupons, sales, and saved store points. That's like a whole week of free food!
• Find a cooking buddy. This lets you buy foods (especially veggies and herbs) in bulk that you otherwise wouldn't use up before they go bad, share expensive spices that you don't use that fast, and cooking and eating with friends is more fun than cooking and eating alone.
• Plan meals. Then shop, buying only what you need to eat for the week/next few days. Then you don't waste money on spoiled or unused food.
• Grow your own food. Growing your own herbs (and, if space and climate permit, fruits & veggies) can save you a lot of money. Plus they look and smell so good.