5 Food Tips to Get the Most Out of Your Money

It’s no secret that everything keeps getting more expensive. Inflation keeps driving up food costs and gas costs, and you’ve probably noticed it in the housing market as well. If you’re house hunting, you’ll likely see that homes cost more than they did a couple of years ago. Apartment rental costs have risen as well.

Job hunting occupies many families and individuals because they want positions that will bring in more money. You might also look to cut down on your bills in other ways to stretch what money you have.

Lots of ways exist to do that, and changing up your eating and food buying habits can be one realistic way to go. We’ll talk about some ways you can do that right now.

Look for Coupons and Sales

Monthly rental costs continue to climb these days, and food costs are on the rise in grocery stores because of supply chain issues. How can you get around that?

One way is to look for coupons either through ads that come through the mail, or else you can look for them online. There are area-specific coupon websites. You can simply put in your zip code, and you should see coupon lists that you can use at your area Walmart, Target, Aldi, Kroger, or wherever else you buy your food.

You can print those out if you have a printer at home. If you don’t, you can also keep them in an app on your phone and scan them when you get to the register.

Aside from coupons, you can also look for what’s on sale. If you’re not too picky about what you eat, you can see what’s on special at the grocery store, either when paper circulars come to you through the mail, or you can look around once you’re actually at the store. Stock up on any items you notice that are marked down and fill up your fridge or pantry.

Get a Costco or Sam’s Club Membership

Speaking of stocking up your larder or fridge, you can consider getting a Sam’s Club or Costco membership as well. If you have either of those in your area, you can pay for the basic yearly membership.

You have to come up with the initial cash outlay, which you might find annoying, but once you’ve paid for the year, you can enjoy using that membership from that point forward. You can go to Costco or Sam’s Club and stock up on bulk items. The meat there is usually a little cheaper than you will find it in a typical grocery store like a Kroger or Wegman’s.

Getting canned goods, pasta, or sauces in bulk at one of these stores is one of the best ways to spend your money. While you’re there, you might also stock up on bulk paper towels, napkins, or tissues. That should save you money over buying them one or two at a time at your local grocery store.

Stock up on Canned and Dry Goods

You can also stretch that food budget by getting a bunch of canned or dry goods. Getting large bags of rice is one way to go. You can use it as a side or as a main dish if you add things to it. It is incredibly versatile, which is why so many cuisines use it as a staple.

You might get a bunch of bags of dried or canned beans. They are a cheap protein source, and they’re healthier for you than meat. They also contain a lot of fiber, which can help keep you regular as you get older. You can use them to make chili or add them to rice along with some spices.

You might get whatever canned soups are on sale. Soup is filling, and it’s not usually all that expensive, especially if you get the store brand instead of the name-brand ones. The one thing you should probably watch out for is that canned soup usually has a high sodium content, so you should not eat it more than a couple of times per week.

Get Store Brand Items

You can also save some money while food shopping by going for store brand items instead of the national chains. Going with cheaper cereal vs. Kellogg’s or Post can save you cash. You can do the same thing with pasta, soup, and many other items that you’ll usually find on your shopping list.

Many of the store brand items taste about the same as the name brand ones, and you will probably not be able to tell the difference. In addition to what we’ve mentioned already, you might get generic brand frozen foods like pizza, fries, or chicken nuggets. Even if you are a vegan or vegetarian, you should probably be able to find store-brand items to suit your dietary requirements.

Eat Out Less Often

You’ve probably heard this before, but you can also save money by not eating out as much. If you eat at a restaurant, you will have to pay higher prices for the food vs. if you cook at home. Not only that, but you will pay for the gas to get to the restaurant. You will have to tip the server, and if you consume any alcohol, that will run up the bill considerably.

If you stay at home and you’re a drinker, you can drink alcohol you purchase at a liquor store or at the grocery store, so you’ll save money that way. You can also cook the food yourself, and maybe you can do that as a family activity, which will bring your family members closer together.

You can still out occasionally as a special treat, but for the most part, avoiding getting food delivered and eating out will cut back on your food spending quite a bit. Delivery services like GrubHub and Doordash get expensive quickly, especially right now, with much higher gas prices than usual.