Frugal Foodie

Ryan and I pride ourselves on our ability to live frugally. I choose to live this way because I like controlling how and when I spend my money (yes I have control issues ;-) Ryan (being a financial analyst) is really focused on saving for the future, so living frugally is a priority for him as well. Food expenses can be a huge drain on any one's budget. Considering how much we appreciate food and love to eat, being frugal in this area is a big focus for us.

Below is a list of things we do on a regular basis to save money on food, without having to sacrifice quality or taste. Some of these ideas might work for you and others might not. Some ideas might be new, others you may be doing as well. These are just things that we do that work very well for us.

1. Menu Plan - This is the number one tactic I use to save money when it comes to food. I grocery shop weekly and I always make a list ahead of time with 5-6 planned dinners before I step foot in the store (we then decide what meal we want to eat each night). This allows me to ensure everything I buy has a pre-planned purpose, hardly anything is wasted and there are far less trips to the store for little forgotten things throughout the week. Think you don't have time to menu plan? Leave a note pad on your coffee table and do it during commercial breaks when you are watching TV.
2. Use your rewards card & read the weekly specials - my grocery store allows me to manage my rewards account on line. It keeps a list of things I buy often and tells me about coupons. It also provides me with a copy of the weekly specials which I often use when meal planning. The biggest perk I get from this card though has to do with gas savings. I watch that very closely and have saved a lot on gas from using this program. (p.s. I hear the Kroger rewards program is great and you can even load coupons electronically on your card. My grocery store hasn't done this yet, but I'm optimistic!)
3. Coupon carefully - couponing seems to be a way of life for some people. Sure those people on extreme couponing are saving some serious money, but do you see the food they buy? Gross! It's often overly processed, filled with preservatives or shelf stable junk. The thing to be careful about here is not falling into the trap of buying things you normally wouldn't because you have a coupon. I always make my grocery list first, then go through my coupons to see what matches my list. I rarely go to the store with more than 2-4 coupons each week. The other thing is that we eat a lot of fresh produce and there are generally not coupons for the produce section which leads me to my next money saving tactic....
4. Buy produce from the salad bar - I make a big salad for dinner usually once a week. I often use spinach as a base and when buying a prepackaged bag or box I used to spend $3-4 per bag. Ryan and I might use half of that for our salads so then I am left trying to figure out how to use the rest of it before it goes bad. I recently started buying the exact amount of spinach we will need from the salad bar and it costs me less than a dollar! Love it.
5. Grow your own - We bought our house last March and with the move and getting settled, we were unable to plant a garden. However, we have been planning since last summer to get a good garden going this spring. We are going to grow things we eat often to save some serious dough. We started composting last year so we have some great soil to use and we will be making a rain barrel to save costs when watering the garden.We are anticipating some big savings on produce and fresh herbs. We also have some good friends who are starting their garden this year too and will be growing fruits & veggies slightly different than ours so we can trade any surplus!
6. Balance the cost - If we know we want to go out for a nice seafood dinner or a steak dinner one night, then we will simply plan for a less costly dinner another night. We hardly feel deprived and this keeps the food budget in line while still allowing for splurges.
7. Cut back on Meat - I'm not saying we cut it out completely, but reducing how often we eat it and the amount we eat has saved us loads of money and allows us to buy better quality meat (not to mention the health benefits!!). Being flexitarians, we eat vegetarian meals about half the time and when we do eat meals with meat, we eat less meat. For example, I may buy a pound of turkey sausage and use half for one meal and half for another instead of using the whole pound for one dinner. (i.e half for beans & rice and then other half for homemade pizza - this is where meal planning is critical!) I know if you are feeding a larger family, this might not work, but just cutting back the meat portions overall will make a difference.
8. Eat out strategically - I love to cook (obvi) so we eat dinner at home about 5-6 times a week. However we do love to eat out and try new things so I am always on the look out for deals from groupon, living social & restaurant.com (not kidding you, we currently have 6 gift certificates each for $25 that we paid $7 for total).
9. Brown bag it (when it makes sense) - Taking your lunch each day can save you a ton of money! In my last job I used to bring my lunch about 4 days a week and eat out once. However, at Capital One we have so many cafeterias and an AWESOME wellness program in place where healthier food actually costs less. I often get a soup & salad or soup & sandwich and my lunch costs between $3-$4. With lunch costing that little, I definitely buy my lunch most days here. Ryan on the other hand loves leftovers and will usually eat whatever he finds in the fridge.
10. Potlucks with Friends - we are lucky to have a close knit group of friends who are also very frugal minded. We very often get together for Potlucks or dinners at home. This allows us to enjoy a night with our friends without spending a fortune. Plus it doesn't hurt that our friends are awesome cooks! =)

That's my list of the most frequent ways I save money in the food department. What other ideas are you using to save money on food? I seriously LOVE getting a good deal on anything so I am always on the look out for ways to save a little cash!!

Happy Eating!