3 tips for saving money on groceries
1. Buy 3 meals at a time
If I buy more than this, I end up throwing food away. When you throw half your food away, you might as well have eaten out all week. It also takes a lot of time to put together a shopping list. In The Paradox of Choice, it makes the argument that you are less satisfied with food you choose in advance vs picking it out when you are hungry. I think 3 is a nice happy medium in between shopping when you’re hungry and planning for a week.
2. $4 a meal rule
If I spend more than this, I regret that I didn’t just go out to eat. I can eat a lot of tastey meals for under $5, and they involve no effort. When I say $4 a meal, I mean $4 a serving. If you make a 2 serving dinner that costs $6 and eat it twice, then that’s only $3 a meal.
3. Only eat left overs once
I’ve made huge batches of a soup and froze them in the hopes I would want to eat them again in two weeks. This takes too much time, involves too much prep work, and I don’t really enjoy the reheated food that much. By all means eat left overs, but only once.
Exceptions
This are tips, not rules. When you are celebrating, having people over, or just feel like buying some expensive groceries, do it up. Just follow these tips for most of your meals and you’ll save cash.
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January 17th, 2006 at 10:06 am
[…] When your living expense account gets it’s scheduled deposit, take a chunk of cash out. This not only saves on trips to the atm, but gives you a little reserve. You can physically look at your cash to see how much you have left. I grab money the next time I make a grocery trip. […]
January 17th, 2006 at 2:06 pm
So I can throw away the 2 quarts of turkey stock from Christmas dinner that I still have in the freezer? Sweet.
January 17th, 2006 at 2:37 pm
Shouldn’t this be three “days” at a time. Three meals at a time would have someone shopping daily, assuming you’re eating breakfast, lunch, and dinner.
January 17th, 2006 at 11:23 pm
Hi Michael,
I don’t like to plan my meals out by days, but by all means do what fits your lifestyle. I eat pretty basic things for breakfast. I keep granola or oatmeal at the office and just eat that. I’ll buy some other frozen / convenience foods or eat out for lunch. I say “meal” as in something I plan to cook or prepare.