Nov 16

Welcome to Ways to Save, a new weekly series where we will drill into different frugal living or money saving tips in more depth.  This week we will look at how you can dine out on a budget, and provide our best money saving tips in this regard.  If you have topics you would like to see addressed in a weekly Ways To Save edition please email those to us at centsibleinseattle@gmail.com or submit it in the comments section below.

While couponing is a great way to cut your grocery bill down significantly, it is not the only way to save on food costs. There are many other options or tips to use to cut the cost that your family is spending monthly on groceries. Here are some of my favorite ways to save on groceries beyond couponing:

Waste Less -  There are a couple of great ways to make what you have stretch further.

Make your food last longer with these tips on preserving food.

Don’t throw those leftovers away, make a new meal out of them with leftover recipes.  Just google ‘leftover recipes’ for lots of great ideas.  Another option, throw those leftovers into a foodsaver or freezer safe container and use them for a side dish in a future meal, a lunch one day, or pull them all out for a smorgasbord meal one evening.

Meal Planning - This is probably one of the biggest ways my family saves on groceries. We plan our weekly menu around store sales, frugal ingredients, and purchase ingredients that we can use for multiple recipes. For example Hamburger was on sale for $1.99 a lb at QFC this week when purchased in 3 lb packages. As a result our meal planning for the week included tacos on night and spaghetti the next.  Two meals that taste very different but can both be made by using the same package of hamburger divided in half.

Stockpiling – Stockpiling is where you purchase multiple numbers of items your family uses most when they are on sale.  The idea here is try to avoid paying full price for the items you use most frequently.  In order to stockpile effectively you need to know what you cook with most often, and how much you go through.

Shop Those Clearance Sections - You can often save at least half off items by hitting the clearance section and starting there. Learn your stores so you know where they keep the clearance items. Many stores will have a rack or bin area in a more remote location of the store that they move the items they are ready to clearance out to. I recently picked up boxes of stuffing for $.10 cents a box on a clearance rack at one of my local grocery stores, no coupon needed!

Do Not Fear Expiration Dates – This is a tough one to get back for some people. We want fresh, high quality products. The reality is that many foods have a timeframe beyond their expiration date where the food is perfectly good to eat. Some stores like QFC often mark their items down earlier then other stores, as they do not want them on the shelves near their expiration dates. My QFC marks its milk down over a week in advance, and my family finishes off that gallon a few days before we even hit the expiration date usually. I grab those meats that are clearanced out as they near their clearance date and take them home and throw them in the freezer. Its a great way to save on meats!  Still concerned?  Follow these tips from WebMD on expiration dates:

• Milk. Usually fine until a week after the “Sell By” date.
• Eggs. OK for 3-5 weeks after you bring them home (assuming you bought them before the “sell by” date). VanLandingham says double-grade As will go down a grade in a week but still be perfectly edible.
• Poultry and seafood. Cook or freeze this within a day or two.
• Beef and pork. Cook or freeze within three to five days.
• Canned goods. Highly acidic foods like tomato sauce can keep 18 months or more. Low-acid foods like canned green beans are probably risk-free for up to five years. “You do not want to put cans in a hot place like a crawl space or garage,” Peggy VanLaanen, EdD, RD, a professor of food and nutrition at Texas A&M University in College Station, Texas, tells WebMD. She suggests keeping canned and dry food at 50 to 70 degrees Fahrenheit in a dry, dark place. Humidity can be a factor in speeded-up deterioration. The FDA notes that taste, aroma, and appearance of food can change rapidly if the air conditioning fails in a home or warehouse. Obviously, cans bulging with bacteria growth should be discarded, no matter what the expiration date!

Take Advantage of In Store Promotions – Stores often offer what are called “loss leader items”. These are items they sell for a loss in order to get you in the the store. They are banking on the fact that most people spend more once they get there, so its a marketing cost for them. Those are the great deals you see in your weekly grocery ads, so the trick is using some self restraint while at the grocery store and not buying items that are not on your list (be sure to eat before shopping). Other stores offer seasonal promotions that you can take advantage of.

For example The Summit Trading Company and Tukwila Trading Company offer a Thanksgiving meal deal this time of the year that works like this:

Buy a Gusto’s 4 lb Boneless Black Forest Ham for $19.99

Then get the following items FREE with your ham purchase:

• 3 lb Butterball Boneless Turkey Breast
• 5 lb bag of Potatoes
• 1 lb bag of Carrots
• Western Family Gravy Mix
• Western Family Bisquits
• Western Family Corn or Green Beans

Make Healthier Food Choices – This goes against conventional thought. The truth is produce and organics are expensive. Consider this from WebMD though – “

Eating healthier foods can actually save you money, according to a 2002 study published in the Journal of the American Dietetic Association. The researchers found that when families went on weight loss diets, they not only lost weight but reduced their food budgets.

The savings came from reducing portion sizes and from buying fewer of the high-calorie foods that tend to increase the amount spent at the grocery store, according to authors of the yearlong study. People tend to spend a lot on those “extras” — foods that add calories but little nutritional value, like sodas, bakery items, and chips.

You can get more for your money if you consider the nutritional value of food for the price.  For example, sodas and flavored drinks deliver mostly empty calories and could easily be replaced with less expensive sparkling water with a splash of a 100% fruit juice like cranberry.

“When my clients start eating more healthfully, their grocery bills plummet,” says Tallmadge, author of the book Diet Simple.”

Remember, canned and frozen fruits and vegetables make affordable options as well as picking produce that is in season.

What are your favorite tips to save on groceries beyond using coupons?

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