Tag Archives: food cost

When You Are Tempted to Eat Out…

One of the things I struggle with in my journey with frugal living is just how easy it is to go out to eat. Going out to eat can be fun, get us out of the house and prevent me from having to cook. Most of the time, we get excited to go out to eat, but by the time we get home, we are disappointed in the experience and the cost, and vow to stay home the next time. With very little exception, preparing meals from scratch at home will always be more frugal when you compare similar meals. … Continue reading →

Ways to Avoid Fruit Waste

Do you want an easy way to reduce your food budget by half? Stop wasting food. Believe or not, the average American household throws away half of all of the food that they purchase. It is easier to do than you might think. In a previous blog, Ways to Avoid Food Waste, I shared some ideas for reducing the amount of food that gets thrown out in your household. Now, let’s explore even more ways. Pretty soon, you can have an efficiently run food budget that will naturally reduce the amount of money you are spending on food. My children … Continue reading →

5 Ways to Save on Cereal

The cost per serving of cereal is absolutely outrageous right now. It can cost you $4 or even $5 for a box of cereal that may last you a single day. And the boxes are shrinking as the price goes up. Ouch. Here are some ways to save on cereal. Buy generic. While once in a while I do find an off-brand or generic cereal that I can’t stand, for the most part generic cereal is just as good as the name brand expensive stuff. In fact, in a couple of cases, I have found the taste to be even … Continue reading →

Sneaking the Leftovers

Using up your leftovers or having planned leftovers for meals is a great way to save money. You can use up all of the food you have through leftovers, especailly getting free meals. Also, cooking in bulk can save money and time. But not everyone is big on leftovers. Before I became frugal, I wouldn’t touch a leftover for my life. People who don’t like leftovers either avoid them because of some pre-determined idea that they won’t taste as good as the original or a feeling of being deprived, or a worry about being too cheap. Kids especially don’t like … Continue reading →

Six Reasons to Grocery Shop in the Morning 3

Just as the early bird catches the worm, the early grocery shopper can catch the best value for her money. We are in the home stretch now with this series that talks about the very real benefit of doing your grocery shopping in the morning. If you missed those earlier two posts, you can click here to catch up: Six Reasons to Grocery Shop in the Morning and Six Reasons to Grocery Shop in the Morning 2. Now, here are the last two reasons why you can positively affect your grocery bill by shopping early. 5. Have you checked out … Continue reading →

The Astronomical Price of Strawberries

Okay, by now I am getting used to the cost of food rising everywhere, but when thing rise more than 100 percent in a single week, it can be a bit intimidating. Such is the case of strawberries here in my local town. Exactly two weeks ago, I did some shopping for produce at our local farmer’s market. The prices there aren’t the best I can get, but I always know that the food is fresh and in good shape. Having to throw out produce from our grocery store lately, I figure extra price is worth not having any waste. … Continue reading →

Emergency Meal Stretching 2

We are talking about some techniques for stretching meals in an emergency, from hosting unexpected company to having to make due with the food resources that you have. If you missed part one, click here: Emergency Meal Stretching. Vegetables are a good choice when you don’t have time to really cook extra food. Canned or frozen, and even fresh, they are generally easy to prepare. You can have large helpings as a side dish or make the vegetable the main ingredient. And here is a trick to make it seem as though your meal is larger than it is. Offer … Continue reading →

Frugal Burgers

The pleasant weather outside brings lots of great spring and summer food, especially food cooked on the grill. One of the favorite types of grill food is the hamburger. It used to be that hamburger in itself was frugal, but that is no longer the case. Exotic ingredients and fixings, preformed burgers that have less actual meat in them and the rising cost of beef have all made having a burger almost a luxury these days. Here are some ideas on how to make your burgers frugal, and eat them frugally, too. Avoid the preformed burgers, especially the ones that … Continue reading →