Adjusting Your Grocery Budget: A Habit-Changing, Money-Saving Guide

With rising food prices, you may have started to truly pay attention to what you are purchasing. You may have already selected your food budget for the week. If you shop by just picking up the "usual" familiar products, you must stop. Shopping this way may result in you gasping at the checkout counter, pausing, then reading your receipt and trying to figure out what went wrong.

Budget

Know exactly what you can comfortably afford to pay for food. Knowing that your food budget for the week is $ 100, will give you a great starting point. However knowing the number is not enough. What you could purchase for $100 a year ago, is certainly not the same amount of food today. Grocery budgets are being stretched by the higher cost of food staples such as fish, meat, vegetables, rice, and milk .

Chop

Don't pay others to do what you can do with a little bit of elbow grease. Consider slightly changing your staple purchases. If you regularly only purchase sliced or seasoned chicken breasts, consider purchasing a whole chicken. When you are deciding which cut of meat to buy, always look at the small print on the price tag. You are looking for the lowest cost per pound. While at the market, pick up large size freezer bags.

Prepare

Spending a few minutes when you are putting away your groceries, can help you save money. Before you put the meat away, create meal sized packages. For example if you purchased a large package of ground beef, divide it equally. Chop chickens, slice fish, and larger cuts of meat into meal sized servings. If you had to purchase a considerable smaller amount of meat, then usual make each freezer bag slightly smaller. Take out the meat a few hours before your meal to let the flavors marinate while the meat defrosts.

Season

After you have placed all of your meat into freezer bags, select the seasoning or marinade of your choice. Add and shake gently the seasonings throughout the freezer bag. Use a permanent marker to write the date on the front of the freezer bag. If you are not a veteran cook, and need a bit of taste insurance while preparing family meals. Do not try to skim seasonings out of your budget. Spend a few dollars on a full size seasoning marinade, or dry spice mix that can be used on more than one dish.

Grate

Purchasing shredded cheese, is not always a bargain. A 10 ounce block of cheddar cheese can be purchased for under $2. The smallest package of shredded cheese available in my local market was $2.79 and was 8 ounces. The dollar tree has a 4 ounce bag of cheese for $1, but this really is not a savings. Cheese graters are not expensive. The Dollar Tree carries several styles of graters for $1.

Freeze

Milk and bread are great items to freeze and always have on hand. Spending a few extra dollars on inexpensive bread, and extra milk may help. Having an extra jug of milk could help you whip up quick breads, prepare hot or cereal, or add milk to a recipe. Most importantly it may help you not have to make a quick trip to the grocery store. Consider purchasing a half gallon or quart sized container, if buying a full gallon stretches your budget.

Recipes

If your family is accustomed to meat, try to have some at least once a day. Trying new recipes is a great way to stretch smaller amounts of meat. Try side items that include different foods for your family. If your family is resistant to your new recipes, stick with the vegetables and starches they do like. Your family may like pasta, potatoes, and refuse everything green. That is okay. There are so many pasta recipes and different ways to prepare potatoes.

Spending a little bit of extra time preparing your food can help your food dollars go farther. Decide on a budget. Choose whole nutritious foods within that budget. Experiment with your family on acceptable recipes and family menus.