- 1). Plan ahead - meal planning is the best way to have dinner on a budget! Without planning you end up getting random things at the grocery store and you end up throwing food out that goes unused. Check out the resource section for a cheap meal plan.
- 2). Budget what you feel is realistic for your family to dinner on each night of the week. This will help you plan better as well as shop and look for deals in a whole new way.
- 3). Shop the ads. Start looking in the local ads of your grocery store each week. If you don't get a weekly ad, just go online - they are often there. Try to mostly stick to sale items.
- 4). Start clipping coupons. This takes a bit more time and effort, but it can really pay off. Need help getting started? Check out resource section for help.
- 5). Make a new dish out of leftovers. Or start eating leftovers :). If your family really doesn't enjoy leftovers, though, make something new. Roast chicken one day (recipe in resource section) and use leftover chicken to make a meat & potato quiche or chicken sandwiches.
- 6). Use less meat. Meat can get really expensive. Start using more lentils and beans that are great sources of protein. When you do buy meat, get "club packs" or whatever your grocery store calls the higher weight packages of meat. Then, freeze some of it for future weeks. This will save on the meat you do buy.
- 7). Cook more from scratch. This cuts costs so quickly and easily. Get some staples on hand - flour, sugar, yeast, baking powder, etc. This will help you when ready to make bread, biscuits, cookies, cakes, etc. When getting beans (see above) start buying them dry and soaking them. It all helps cut down on costs! See easy biscuit recipe in resource section.
- 8). Buy local. This helps cut down on costs, supports local farmers and gardeners, and connects you with your food. It's not always cheaper, but you are probably getting better quality with the food you do buy.
- 9). Freeze items or meals that you aren't going to get to before they go old. I freeze a lot of different things! The normal - bread, meat, etc. I also freeze fruit to use in smoothies, rice, leftover meals (sometimes), soups, etc. A lot of things defrost fine and can be added into another meal instead of going into the trash.
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