Best ideas for frugal food, whether at home or away

frugal food

Other than housing, food is probably our biggest expense. From grocery shopping and family dinners out at a restaurant, to school lunches and quick fast food meals eaten on the run on the way to soccer practice - we spend a LOT of money on food!

How can you cut the amount of money that you spend on food and still eat well? There are lots of ways to incorporate frugal food into your life.

Unless you eat out a lot, grocery shopping is probably a major monthly expense for you. Here are my best tips for frugal grocery shopping.

Meal planning ideas can help you to save money by using leftovers and using the food that you have on hand. Also see my frugal recipes for more inexpensive family-friendly meal ideas.

What are your favorite meals on a budget? Share them with us here!

Making your own can save you money - food that is more processed is more expensive. This can be as simple as buying block cheese and slicing or grating it as needed. You can bake your own cookies, cakes and other desserts. They will be so much tastier! And if you care about avoiding the additives and unhealthy ingredients that some foods have, you have the added bonus of knowing exactly what is in that cake or loaf of bread!

For example, instead of buying instant oatmeal, buy the regular kind and cook it yourself. It can still be quick and easy, and you can sweeten it to your taste with the sweetener of your choice (I have always found the packets of instant oatmeal to be way too sweet).

We make homemade pancakes from scratch, too - it is easy enough for my 14-year-old to do by himself, and cheaper than buying the mix. They are also healthier, since we don't put any artificial ingredients in them and use butter instead of hydrogenated oils. They are also quite delicious! And there is nothing like fresh hot homemade pizza at home made just the way you like it!

Be smart about saving with coupons . Get a better deal by knowing the ins and outs of using coupons.

Pack your own lunch and snacks . Buying snacks in individual serving sized packages is convenient, but a waste of money. For more frugal grocery shopping , buy the larger packages of pretzels, chips, cookies, etc. and pack them in zip-top bags each day. Your cost per serving will be a fraction of what you would pay for the individual serving packages.

Using a crock pot is a smart way to save money and time when cooking for your family. It is so easy to put the ingredients into the pot in the morning (or the night before) and turn it on. You will come home from work to a home made dinner all ready and waiting for you! What a treat! See my crock pot page for frugal recipes and tips for the crock pot.

Grow your own. If you like to use fresh herbs in your cooking, as many people do, you can save a substantial amount of money by learning to grow your own herbs. It is fun and easy and you will have fresh herbs on hand whenever you need them! (You can also save by preserving herbs to use in cooking year-round.)
frugal food

Join a Food Co-op. Many communities have food co-ops that charge a fee to join, but will save you a lot of money in the long run. A co-op is similar to a small grocery store and usually charges a yearly membership fee somewhere around $30. Then you can shop there at discounted prices. Some allow members to save more by volunteering in the store for a certain number of hours per month.
frugal food

Join a CSA. A community-supported agriculture program is typically offered to a limited number of members by a small local farm. It is like investing in a company except you are investing in the farm. The members pay to join early in the year - January or February. The farm then uses this money (typically from $400. to $700. per household) to pay for expenses for getting ready for planting. When crops start coming in in the late spring or early summer, each member family start getting a bag a week of fresh produce which continues throughout the summer and usually into the fall.

Going out to eat can be fun and relaxing, but costs a lot more than eating at home. You can often cook the same foods at home for a fraction of the cost - and often it is better tasting, too! There are times, though that you just want to treat yourself (and your family) and go out to eat. Here are some tips on eating out without breaking the bank.

frugal food

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