Stretching Your Food Budget

Now, I don't claim to be an expert by any stretch of the imagination.  However, I have seen more then my fair share of lean months.  Back when dh worked at a private school his paycheck would only cover the mortgage, the car insurance and the life insurance.  I had to make everything else and if I had been sick or one of the children sick then my paycheck would be short.  In recent memory, I have had to feed four adults (my children are 19 and 21 now) on $50 a week.  Like everyone else, who has been to the supermarket recently, I have been concerned up the steady climb of prices and the smaller packaging attached to those price tags.  Most women, through choice or necessity, work outside the home now and don't have time for "cooking from scratch".  At church on Sunday I heard, "well of course you can do that (I don't remember what now) you stay home all day."  Now I am a SAHM due to my disability and in that I do have more time than some folks but there are things that everyone can do to save at the grocery store.

Some of these may be to simple for most of you but there might be someone who has not thought of it so please bear with me:

1.  Shop the outer rim of the grocery store.  This is where the healthiest foods are found.  Your vegetables, fruit, dairy, meat, bread.  Those food with more chemical additives are found in the middle.  

2.  Remember portion size.  We, as Americans, have lost track of what a true portion size really is.  This will save you money at the grocery store.  

3.  Buy family packs of meat when on sale and divide when you get home into meal size portions.

4.  Discover soups, stews and casseroles again.  A little bit of meat goes a long way in these.  Many soups are hardy enough for a meal.

5.  If you have teenagers or young adults, aka bottomless pits, serve starches with your meals to fill them up.  I try to have rice, potatoes, rolls or bread with every meal.

6.  Limit waste.  Sounds easy but I understand how things can be forgotten.  I have a CORD meal every week.  Clean Out Refrigerator Day.  Most of the time this is lunch or it is recreated into dinner.

7.  When you find a great sale -- stock up !!!!  I get what I think I will need in the next month or so.  I try to keep a little bit of money aside each week for this.

8.  Find out when they mark down meat and veggies.  If you are at work during this time see if there is a friend who could check for you and herself at that time.  I almost never pay full price for meat.

9.  If you have time use coupons.  I only use coupons on things I would normally buy.  Not all things are a good deal just because you have a coupon.  Especially if it just sits in the cupboard.

These are some things that I can think of right now.  I hope you find them helpful.