To survive you need food and it is clearly one of the biggest and most noticeable monthly expenses. Cooking at home only keeps a check on the spending and never stops it.
Agreed, eating out can be expensive but the choice of your craving to consume something specific decides the expense. If your diet is entirely towards eating something that is organic and healthy then you might end up spending more money at the grocery store.
Changing your diet plan by starving or fasting to prevent your food bills can lead to other health-related issues. The craving to eat more is always unhealthy and that is where you need to control your emotions and mind. Read on to know how you can maintain your food bills within limits.
Socializing Saves Money
According to a study by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Americans spend, on average, around 6% of their budget on food while others spend 5% of their disposable income on dining out which makes your food budget 11% of your overall income.
A smart way of saving money on food is to socialize and mingle with friends to reduce your food bill. You can schedule the cooking and trade-off to cook with friends, maybe nights. The idea is to cook one large meal for more people each week than to cook continuously for smaller meals on a given day for you.
The important thing to be noted is cooking requires groceries and buying these in wholesale or bulk through a farmer’s market solves the problem.
The current pandemic expects you to work out the best possible way of saving some bucks. With unemployment at an all-time high and never-ending job loss, it is advisable to join hands and survive the COVID-19 situation. Using a subscription-based emergency fund by you and your friends is a great way to keep food bills under budget.
So, cooking together is a feasible option.
Plan Your Lunches
Stop going out for lunches and hence save more on a weekly and monthly basis.
Leftovers are a great alternative to repeated cooking and lunch savings. If you are unable to finish your breakfast then wrap it and eat it for lunch. Don’t starve yourself by skipping your breakfast and lunch because you will get hungry fast and eat more than what your body can digest.
Regular Cooking At Home
Avoid eating out and instead invest time in learning new dishes, recipes, and cooking tips. The internet is flooded with tons of videos on home cooking. Subscribe to a cooking channel on YouTube and try out various cuisines in the comfort of your home.
You can slash your food bills with immediate effect by strictly following the plan. Fix a menu for your dinners and have fun while cooking and let your friends and family give feedback. Work on how you can make it tasty and delicious.
A frugal option would be to cook meals that need freezing which will help you in preserving it for a day or two, or maybe the rest of the week.
Plan Your Menu
Planning your menu meticulously can help you keep your monthly food bills within your budget. A pre-planned menu already in place helps in avoiding unnecessary visits to groceries; last-minute decisions to order food from outside, and hunger that may force you to pounce on whatever is available at your home leaving nothing to eat later.
A well-established menu means you don’t have to go under stress in deciding what you have to cook and eat every day.
Coupons, Discounts, And Selected Stores
Coupons are a great saver for purchasing groceries under a tight budget. Download the best app for groceries and save on your spending. Using a coupon when you actually don’t need to purchase will not save money. Coupons must be used at times when the spending is regular to retain some money than usual.
Be careful about discounts in a grocery store as it is normal for the stores to lure customers. You don’t buy something because it has a discount on it but you should buy it if the item is unavoidable and on your list.
