Low Price Cooking

When talking about saving money on food one of the first things you need to do is to check your current spending habits and budget.  Sometimes just making some simple adjustments to what you buy on a regular basis can be all that’s needed to cut some expenses and save yourself some dollars.  This might mean eliminating some items completely from your grocery bill or changing the actual item you buy.  There are many meals that one can make for less than five dollars or so if you just adjust a few of the ingredients or items you’re using right now, switching to a cheaper brand or adjusting your recipes slightly.

Let’s look at what we’re talking about here.

BEING BRAND LOYAL

How often do you grab for the same brand of cereal, salad dressing, dairy product or anything else simply because it’s the brand you’ve always bought and not because you’ve really compared it to other brands that are on the shelves?

Being brand loyal is fine if you’re really stuck on the taste of a particular item or if it is the best bargain but sometimes we just get into the habit of grabbing for a particular item without ever comparing.

Remember too that there are new brands of items being produced and manufactured all the time so your brand may have been the best bargain a year ago but might not be so today.  Take the time to check and compare what else is on the shelves and what else is being offered before you just automatically grab what you’ve always purchased.

SALES THAT AREN’T REALLY SALES

There are a few things that might qualify a “sale” as not really being a sale or not really being worth your while.  Let’s look at those here.

Buying too much of any item.

Purchasing ten bags of grated cheese for $10 is a good deal, if you’re going to eat all that cheese before it goes bad or have room to store it.  But if you buy $10 worth of cheese and wind up throwing out half of it because you never got around to eating it you’ve really done nothing but waste $5.

This is true of so many things we purchase at the grocery store - we get caught up in sales or bulk items and buy huge quantities of something because it’s cheaper overall, but then wind up tossing out a lot of unused food.  In cases like this it really is just a waste and not really a bargain.

Priced up to price down.

Would you believe that sometimes stores will mark up the price of a product just to mark it down and call it a sale?  The sales price is just as much and sometimes even more than the original price of a product.

Don’t make the mistake of being lured into buying something just because it’s on sale and for no other reason.  It’s important to check the actual prices of something rather than just thinking that a sale means a better bargain.

CONVENIENCE STORES

On the American television show “The Simpsons” the name of the local convenience store is the “Try ‘N Save.”  The irony is not lost on many people who know that you just can’t save money at convenience stores no matter what.  Why is this?

The biggest reason that things are more expensive at convenience stores is their size.  Because they don’t have a lot of refrigerated space, shelf space, or room to store items they need to then get things in and out very fast.  This means that they are always paying distributors to truck in their items.  Imagine having to pay a delivery person four times per week as opposed to once per week the way larger grocery stores can.  Of course they’re going to need to pass that expense on to the consumer.

Virtually everything you buy at the local corner store is going to be at least half over again, if not even double the price of a supermarket.  So while you may grab a loaf of bread or gallon of milk every so often from these places, don’t make a habit out of it.

PREPARED FOODS

Purchasing prepared foods that are already cooked or baked means your budget is going to go through the roof as well.  Remember that those foods aren’t prepared by magic; the manufacturers need to pay someone to do the actual cooking and baking of these things.  Obviously that cost is going to need to be passed on to someone, and that someone is the consumer.

Sometimes you might want to buy something prepared because it’s a special occasion - no one thinks that you should be able to make a sheet cake for 50 on a moment’s notice - but usually buying your own items and preparing things yourself is going to be the better way to go when it comes to minding your budget.

Prepared foods also mean those that may not be cooked but that are cut up or otherwise ready for the consumer.  It’s usually cheaper to buy a whole ham and slice it yourself or a whole chicken and cut it up yourself as well.  It may take some know-how to do these things but usually a good set of knives or kitchen utensils is all that’s needed to prepare your own items in this way.

WANTS VERSUS NEEDS

We all wish we could have the best of everything, from the car we drive to the clothes we wear and yes, the foods we eat.

Gourmet items are tasty and satisfying and can be great for a treat but too often we get stuck in the thinking that we absolutely must have the most expensive of everything and anything all the time.  Imported beers and cheeses, expensive cuts of meat, and fancy desserts become staples for us and we don’t think about how much they’re costing us over the price of more standard fare.

This is true not just of the types of foods we eat but the actual food items as well.  A nice dessert is great every once in awhile but why do we need one after every dinner?  Must we finish every day with a glass of wine or cocktail?  A fancy coffee beverage every day can really add up when you’re talking week in and week out.

When talking about being able to prepare meals for just a few dollars remember that you need to include everything that you eat and drink.  What good is it to have an affordable meal if you top it off with a five dollar slice of cake or three dollar mug of coffee?

Don’t confuse your wants with your needs.  Everyone deserves a treat now and again and there’s nothing wrong with an occasional indulgence but when every meal starts to look like Thanksgiving dinner or you start thinking that you absolutely must have the best of everything no matter what, then you’re never going to get your grocery bill under control.

PORTIONS OUT OF CONTROL

No one likes to talk about their weight and of course no one likes to be told that they need to lose some.  But it’s a cold hard fact that obesity is an epidemic in the U.S. and is starting to affect many other countries as well.  While it is of course a complicated issue with many contributing factors, one of those factors is the increasing portion sizes that we see in so many meals today.

Eating is a comfort and a joy but it’s also an expense that needs to be considered carefully, especially when we treat it as a hobby.  We might not think of our eating as being that way but really, how much food does one person need to be healthy versus how much they actually eat?  Chances are the two numbers are very dissimilar.  And when talking about a family’s grocery budget, the amount of food that one purchases of course needs to be figured in just as much as what you purchase, where you purchase it, and so on.

Cutting your meals down to the bare bones is a quick and obvious way to reduce your grocery cost but of course that’s not the only thing we’re going to discuss in this book.  Everyone could save money at the supermarket if they ate nothing but a banana and slice of bread every day but that’s not a healthy alternative either.  However, you do need to be balanced in this regard and consider how much food you serve your family and what everyone is just used to eating.

TOSSING OUT LEFTOVERS

How often do you scrape plates right into the garbage disposal without giving a thought as to what you’re throwing away every single day?

And if you take the amount of food you toss rather than save and multiply that by as many meals as you do this with each week, you see that you may very well be putting a week’s worth of dinners or lunches in the trash every month.

This doesn’t mean you need to use food that people have picked at or that really should be put in the garbage; no one wants you to do anything that is unhygienic or that would turn your stomach.  But when talking about reasonable portions this too can mean just serving what you need for that particular meal so that nothing goes to waste.  And when you do have a few spoonfuls of a certain vegetable or mashed potatoes or something else, you can make good use of these so that they add up to a meal or two down the road, saving yourself some money in the long run.

Remember that preparing meals for just a few dollars each means making the most of the food you do purchase and a wise shopper will be sure to do just that, not letting anything go to waste.

BEING HONEST WITH YOURSELF

These are just a few of the common ways that people waste money on food every week and every month; for yourself and your family you may need to take a long hard look at how you shop and what your own eating habits are.  Don’t be offended by these things if you realize that your portions are out of control or if you toss a lot of food out because it’s left over; remember that we just want to help you make some positive changes but often those positive changes mean taking control of the mistakes and poor decisions you’re making right now.  So be honest with yourself and what’s going on in your own kitchen and you’ll be on your way to success.