How To Save Money on Food | Save Money on Meals

Learn how to save money on food bills with these simple, but often forgotten frugal tips. As the average cost of food seems to be constantly on the rise, we sometimes forget tips and tricks for saving on meals that have been passed down over the ages. Here's a few tips for saving money on groceries that should leave a little extra change in your pocket to get you through until next month.

Saving Money on Food Purchases

• One of the easiest ways to saving money on food is to use coupons. It only takes a few seconds to clip coupons to help you save big. Here are some places online to find money saving coupons:
  
  Coupons.com
  
  Smartsource.com
  
  Eversave.com
  
  Coolsavings.com
  
  Valpak.com
  
  



• Take your meals to work instead of eating out. Brown bagging it can save up to $1000 dollars a year on food purchases. You work hard! It's equally important to save hard.



• Another way to save money on grocery bills is by using grocery store loyalty cards. Use these cards during grocery sales with/without coupons and you could walk away not having to pay a dime on certain products.



• Watch when buying store brands vs. brand names. Sometimes, especially during food sales, the store brand can actually be priced higher than the brand name food item. Also be sure to price items per ounce or unit price. Sometimes buying bulk items can be even more expensive.



• Buy in bulk during grocery store sales. You may end up with a freezer packed full of meat, but you'll have saved a bundle if you play your cards right.



• Shop for groceries at scratch and dent or salvage food stores. My father works at a huge national food supplier chain. We pretty much grew up on these types of groceries. Sometimes it's just that a forklift driver makes a mistake and sends a steel fork through a box of canned items and the case is no longer good for sale as a whole lot. Items like these are rewrapped on a pallet and sold for individual sale to some salvage retailers. Many of these food items have not one single thing wrong with them. They were just unfortunate to be in the wrong case at the wrong time. One word of caution: Be sure to check dates on all food purchases. It's not a deal if you have to pitch it in the trash for being out-of-date.



• Many of us are concerned about our source of drinking water. It doesn't take long for bottled water to really add up on the grocery bill each month. Especially if you're drinking the recommended amount of water daily. Buy a water filter today and quit wasting money on bottled water.



• You can save a bundle on food costs by eating in instead of eating out. If you don't know how already, learn to cook. It's not really that hard and if you're reading this, you have the almighty internet to guide you along. Virtually any question you have on cooking can be answered online. There are online food forums specifically built for people like yourselves.



• Shop less - Save more! When you do shop for food, buy as much as you can when you shop. Travel costs should be included in your grocery store trips and fuel costs can contribute to less money in your bank every month.



• If you do find yourself having to eat out, use coupons for fast food purchases. They can save you at the very least several dollars for each food purchase.



• Grow a garden! Even if you live in an apartment with a balcony, you can grow vegetables in containers and save big on fresh produce. Those of us with a decent size backyard can grow the majority of our fruits and vegetables right in our own backyard. And one of the benefits of a garden is that it helps to keep you physically fit.

Hopefully, some of these tips will help you save money on food purchases!