After gaining an awareness of your spending habits and creating a budget, it might be a good idea to look at what you can spend less on. Sometimes simply being aware of how much you spend on certain things is enough to make you think about purchases before you make them. That action alone can make a decent dent in your spending. But lets look at some of the ways you might consider cutting back on food.

Groceries

Most people spend quite a bit more on food than they think they do. It’s one of the largest expenses in your budget. That doesn’t mean you need to live on rice and beans, but there are things you can do to lower this expense.

• Make a list of what you need before you go shopping and don’t go to the grocery store hungry
• Shop your pantry, fridge, and freezer before you go to make sure you’re not buying something you already have at home.
• Plan your meals for the week. Base as much as you can on the items you have in stock so you don’t need as much from the grocery store.
• Check for sales as you’re making your list. The internet makes this super easy. There are even sites and apps like Flipp that will show you all the sales from the local grocery stores that week. Use coupons, but only if they’re for something you were going to buy anyway. It doesn’t save money to buy it just because it’s on sale.
• Use the memberships at the local grocery stores. Most of them have some sort of VIP customer card that gives you special prices on many items at their stores and most of them let you use your phone number as an identifier so you don’t have to worry about carrying around a card or key tag. But think in depth about paid memberships and whether you shop at that store often enough to make it worth the money you spend on the plan. Some of them may not be worth it.
• Utilize curbside pickup if the store offers it. If you don’t go in, you are less likely to grab something that isn’t on your list and even if the store charges a small fee for this service, it may still save you money to avoid the temptation of grabbing extra items you didn’t plan on buying. Sometimes the online prices are better than in store. Do your research.
• Buy generic brands when they are less expensive. No one cares what package the food came from when it’s on the dinner plate. I have a culinary background and I promise you, if you went in the kitchen of your favorite fancy restaurant, you would not find name brand ingredients. They use the most cost effective option. The right mix of seasonings and preparation will make anything taste gourmet.
• Shop at discount markets. Wherever your location, there are at least a few and you’ll typically spend a lot less for the exact same grocery list than if you went to your normal grocery store. Aldi’s is one of my favorites. I can spend half as much there as I would at Kroger for the exact same grocery list.
• Go to the produce stands. You’ll usually find your fruits and vegetables quite a bit cheaper and much fresher if you get them from the local farmers, and you’ll be supporting your community. Generally, you’ll only find items that are in season, but this is a good practice anyway. Even at the grocery store, food is cheaper when it’s in season because it’s easier to get on the shelves.
• Buy in bulk when it’s reasonable. The family packs of meats and vegetables are typically cheaper than the smaller portions. Just cut/separate it into smaller portions and put it in freezer bags until you’re ready to use them. But make sure it’s something you’re going to use before it goes bad. Its fine if it can be frozen but there’s no sense in 2 people buying a 24 pack of yogurt or something unless you eat it every day.
• Cook from scratch. Find recipes online. Tasty has an app I love to use. There is a video for almost every recipe and when you change the number of servings, it automatically adjusts the ingredients so you don’t have to figure it out yourself. And you’ll spend a lot less if you don’t use pre-prepared items like pre-cut/washed vegetables, pre-portioned meats, or throw in the oven frozen meals. It doesn’t take that much time to do it yourself and the food is actually fresher if you do.
• Ditch the food boxes. Subscriptions like these are expensive and there’s nothing fancy about the ingredients that come in them. You can go online and look up the recipes for these meals, buy the ingredients yourself, and get a lot more than just one meal. I do this all the time.
• Pack your lunch and snacks so you’re not tempted to go out for fast food. Whatever you bring from home is probably healthier and much less expensive.

Dining out

Don’t get me wrong, I love to eat out. But this is something that should be a treat if you’re trying to cut back on spending, not an every day affair. It’s much more expensive and the size of the servings tend to be ridiculous. If you’re watching your weight, this is not helpful. I’m not telling you not to do it, just suggesting that maybe doing it less is better for your budget. If you’re going to eat out, try some of these options.

• Drink water instead of ordering a soda or whatever you normally get. Most restaurants don’t charge for water and they overprice their other drinks.
• Order soup and salad. A lot of restaurants have this option and some of them have unlimited refills. You can fill up and enjoy your dining experience for less.
• Look at the specials of the day. A lot of restaurants have specials they run throughout the week depending on the day. These are usually discounted pretty decently.
• Get lunch instead of going out for dinner. It’s pretty typical for the lunch menu to be cheaper and you’ll usually find something similar if not the same as what’s on the dinner menu.
• Split a meal with your dinner companion. Restaurant servings are usually at least double what a normal portion size should be. If your dinner partner is game for the same thing you want to order, share it. Ask for another plate.
• Ask for a box when your meal is delivered and put half of it away before you start eating. This way you won’t be tempted to eat more than you should and regret it later, and you’ll have lunch tomorrow.
• Check the menu online before you go. You can choose what you want before you get there so you’re not pouring over the menu and being tempted to order the more expensive meal because it looks good on the picture. Most restaurants have a website and many offer discounts and coupons if you don’t mind signing up for their emails. (I have a totally separate Gmail account that I use for purposes like this, so my normal email doesn’t get cluttered with junk mail) Also, most of them will send you a coupon or code for a free something on your birthday that you don’t necessarily have to use that day.

Cutting back on food doesn’t have to be miserable. Just be more mindful of where and how you can spend less. You might spend a few extra minutes of preparation to do some of these things but when you notice the difference in your bank account, you will begin to feel the benefit in a very satisfying way.