The food/grocery bill can get way out of hand at the rate my kids eat. This is a quick overview of 6 strategies I consistently use to keep it down!
1. Inventory your fridge, pantry, and freezer BEFORE you meal plan. Every time. Every single time. See this post for more details on how I do this.
2. Go ad shopping. I do it the old fashioned way - pulling them out of the newspaper. See this post for more details on how I ad shop.
3. Now it's time for some brain power. Look at the foods you have AND the foods that are on sale. Be a meal ninja and make a list of meals you can make with those ingredients.
4. Many times, I shop at multiple stores to get the absolute lowest price for my groceries. Ordering online and pickup makes this so simple . . . I order ONLY ad items from these stores, pick up, and go into Supersaver, the store that consistently has the lowest prices on non-ad items.
5. Within the first couple of days, chop up foods like fruits and vegetables so you are more likely to use them. The same goes for prepping foods. Roast some vegetables at the beginning of the week so you can easily throw them with a meal later.
6. Limit eating out or challenge yourself and family to a No Eating Out Month. See how I did that in January! Fast food is such a money trap. Think about this: you take your family out to eat and spend $40 . . . think of how many groceries you could have bought for that that would've lasted many more days than just one meal.
