food budget

Best Money Tips: How to Afford Real Food on a Budget

Amy Lu — Wed, 07 Feb 2018 09:31:08 +0000

Welcome to Wise Bread's Best Money Tips Roundup! Today we found articles on simple ways to afford real food on a budget, an easy system to organize your receipts for the whole year, and ways to make your fresh flowers last longer.

7 Grocery Store Habits That Are Making You Broke

Kentin Waits — Thu, 08 Jun 2017 09:00:10 +0000

It happens more often than I care to admit: I stumble to my car wondering how two bags of groceries set me back $40. After a particularly budget-busting grocery run last week, I got to thinking — maybe some of that sticker shock is less about rising food prices and more about my own bad habits. Let my humbling aha! moment save you some cash. Here are seven grocery store habits that are making you broke.

1. Assuming coupons are always money-savers

Though it may sound like a sacrilege to some, coupons can often end up costing consumers more in long run. How? Well, they get shoppers to buy products we normally wouldn't buy, often require the purchase of multiple items in order to score the deal, and tend to be skewed toward prepackaged and heavily-processed foods. Skip the coupon-clipping. In most cases, generic or store-brand options will offer a far better and more consistent value. (See also: 5 Reasons Why I Don’t Clip Coupons)

2. Staying loyal to brands

While brand loyalty isn't always a bad thing, it's easy to take it to the extreme and cost yourself money. If you're shopping with blinders on, you're likely missing out on new and more competitive brands, significant product improvements, and great promotional deals. Shake things up every once in awhile. Explore what other brands and generics have to offer. (See also: How We Brainwash Ourselves Into Brand Loyalty)

3. Ignoring expiration dates

Since I'm not a morning person, that first cup of coffee each day is more than a small pleasure — it's my oxygen. That's what makes the following anecdote all the more painful. One morning a few months ago, I opened up a brand-new container of half-and-half. Instead of pouring smoothly as expected, the contents plopped out with the consistency of cottage cheese. Yeah, eww. If only I'd checked the expiration date before buying it, I would have saved my morning and $2.99. Let my tragedy be a cautionary tale. Shop smart and always check expiration dates.

4. Falling for clever packaging

Packaging food is a science unto itself. Clever packaging is designed to stimulate our senses, convey quality, and express the personality of a brand. While product presentation is difficult to ignore, don't let it override other important considerations such as ingredients, nutritional value, and unit price. After all, why pay more for cute packaging that just ends up in the recycling bin?

5. Shopping when you're hungry

Grocery shopping on an empty stomach is a recipe (pardon the pun) for making bad food decisions. Remember, hungry is just one short step away from hangry. Both conditions make it much easier to buy more, eat more, and choose items that aren't as healthy. (See also: The Best and Worst Times to Go Grocery Shopping)

6. Buying pre-made foods

Ever notice that more and more grocery stores are transforming into mini food courts complete with full salad bars, panini stations, and even sushi counters? It's no accident. Stores know that convenience sells and busy people will pay a premium for pre-made food. If you're focused on your budget's bottom-line, don't let your grocery shopping routine turn into a pricey restaurant dining experience.

7. Jumping on trends

Sure, that pomegranate-infused kombucha smoothie looks magical, but it's $6.99! Trendy food and beverage products are developed for only one reason: to ride the wave of popularity and cash in on consumer curiosity. Save money by sticking to the basics and not falling for temporary food trends that suck the money right out of your wallet. (See also: 8 Hot New Food Trends — The Frugal Way)

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This article is from Kentin Waits of Wise Bread, an award-winning personal finance and credit card comparison website. Read more great articles from Wise Bread:

Best Money Tips: 50 Ways to Slash Your Food Budget

Amy Lu — Wed, 12 Oct 2016 10:00:06 +0000

Welcome to Wise Bread's Best Money Tips Roundup! Today we found articles on smart ways to slash your food budget, steps to take to become a better investor, and savvy ways to save money at warehouse stores.

The High Cost of Cheap Food

Max Wong — Wed, 27 Apr 2016 10:00:09 +0000

Compared to most Americans, I spend a lot of money on food, almost $100 per month just for fresh produce. But even my grocery bill pales in comparison to what the rest of the world spends on basic nutrition.

Americans spend less money as a percentage of income on food than people of any other country in the world. On average, only 6% of our household budget goes to pay for food, compared to the French, who eat through 14% of their income, or the Kenyans, who spend 45% of each paycheck on groceries.

But even though it seems like we may be saving money on food compared to the rest of the world, what is the real cost of cheap eats? Let's find out.

It Costs Tax Payers 20 Billion Dollars Per Year

Although fresh produce is out of the budget range of many Americans, the sick irony is that food, especially packaged food, is cheaper in the United States than pretty much anywhere else in the world. This is because the cost of crops like corn is kept artificially low by the government.

Food in the United States wasn't always this cheap, though. In 1960 our grandparents were spending about 17.5% of their income on food. Then, in the 1970s, Earl Butz, Nixon's Secretary of Agriculture, re-engineered New Deal farm programs that were meant to stabilize the food supply, into a support system for the factory farming of corn and soy.

Starting in 1971, crops like corn, soy, and wheat started getting heavily subsidized — to the tune of 20 billion dollars a year. What this means is that corn farmers can make more money from their government subsidy than they do by actually selling corn. Of course, since farmers have such a wonderful incentive to grow corn, they grow lots and lots of it.

We Pay for Cheap Food Twice

So how do farmers dispose of their artificially cheap product, paid for, in part, by taxpayer dollars? By selling it to food manufacturers as filler, preservatives, and binding agents. Surprise! All those mystery ingredients listed on food packages like citric acid, fructose, sorbitol, dextrose, lactic acid, MSG, malt, and diglycerides are all corn byproducts. And, each of these non-food ingredients contains calories.

We End Up Spending More Money on Health Care

Documentary films like Super Size Me and Food Inc. have spotlighted the health consequences of cheap food, especially on America's poor. But obesity, heart disease, and diabetes are not the only health problems linked to fast food. A Harvard Medical School study also found that children who eat fast food three times a week had increased risks of asthma and eczema.

U.S. farmers actually produce the equivalent of 3,800 calories per person per day. This is at least 1,000 calories more per day than is recommended for people who are moderately active. So is it any wonder that Americans are fat?

It Causes Poverty and Hunger

As a result of NAFTA, Mexico has been flooded with cheap, government subsidized corn from the United States. Mexico, which is the birthplace of corn, now imports a third of its corn from America.

There are some huge problems with other nations becoming dependent on subsidized American crops. First, Mexican corn farmers who were unable to compete against the artificially low cost of imported U.S. corn were forced out of business. Obviously, when farmers lose their farms, they don't grow food to eat, they don't grow food to sell, and without work, they have no money to buy food. Millions of Mexican farmers lost their jobs due to cheap, imported food. Also, when poor countries become dependent on cheap imported foods, they risk a food crisis when there is a price spike on staple foods. This can lead to widespread hunger, which is what happened in Mexico with corn in 2007 and in the Philippines with rice in 2008.

The Environmental Cost Is Staggering

To quote FDR, "A nation that destroys its soil destroys itself." Farming is difficult and expensive, so many farmers are forced to max out production or go out of business. This 'go big or go broke' behavior is not financially or environmentally sustainable. Monoculture farming, although extremely efficient, burns through resources like water and topsoil. Commercial agriculture is currently draining groundwater in the Midwest about eight times faster than rain is putting it back in. This could lead to a second Dust Bowl.

Animals Pay the Price

If you forced a dog to live in a small box for its entire life, you could be arrested for animal cruelty and your neighbors would treat you like a pariah. What most people don't want to think about is that this kind of torture is the typical experience of factory-farmed chickens, pigs, and cows. Some animals will only see daylight on the day that they are slaughtered. Animal cruelty is the price of cheap meat.

The Working Conditions Are Terrible

Animals aren't the only ones that subsidize low food prices with their bodies. Last year an investigation by The Guardian revealed that much of the shrimp that the U.S. imports from Thailand was the work product of slaves. But slave labor doesn't just happen in the Third World. Thousands of farm workers in the United States work in very poor conditions. More than 1,200 people have been rescued from agricultural slavery rings in Florida alone.

You Risk Sickness

While Chipotle is blaming its multistate E. Coli outbreak on Australian beef, it's frankly shocking that this type of mass food poisoning doesn't happen more often.

For starters, it is common practice in the United States to feed cows chicken poop. Also, in order to cut costs, some slaughterhouses have managed to speed up their kill lines by 50%. Not only does this massive increase in volume result in more food contamination from fecal matter, but also more animal abuse and human rights violations. Stool run-off from factory farming, or Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations in agribusiness parlance, pollute the water table and create dead zones in oceans and rivers.

We're Funding the Zombie Apocalypse

One of modern life's existential horrors is the rise of antibiotic resistant bacteria caused by antibiotic overuse. So, while parents are becoming more selective about dosing their kids for minor illnesses, these same moms and dads are unaware that livestock in the United States — because the animals are constantly sick from a diet of garbage and from standing in their own waste — is pumped full of antibiotics. In fact, the FDA has confirmed that animal agriculture consumes 80% of all antibiotics used in America. While meat producers argue that they are not breeding superbugs along with their livestock, a team of researchers from the Translational Genomics Research Institute discovered that one in four packages of meat and poultry in the United States contains multidrug resistant staph bacteria.

What Can One Person Do?

Ugh. All of this is terrible. Is it actually possible to eat responsibly without going broke or supporting human trafficking? Here are some things to consider.

1. Don't Waste Food

When food goes to waste, you not only waste money, you waste all the water, fertilizer, and labor that went into growing the food and transporting it to your plate. So, even if you don't know if your food is ethically produced, you don't have to be the weakest link.

2. Eat Healthy on a Budget

Eating a really healthy diet costs $1.50 more per day than eating an unhealthy diet. And $550 per year is a steep cost for many people, but compared to diet-related health costs, this is chump change. Every effort to eat healthy is a reward to your body, so just do as much as you can afford.

Luckily, even people on food assistance can eat healthy. Leanne Brown created Good and Cheap, a free online cookbook for people living on the SNAP budget of $4 per day for food. The book is beautifully photographed and the recipes are delicious. Brown's recipes encourage flexibility — because staying on budget means cooking with what's on sale and available. She has made it easy to substitute ingredients and still prepare yummy meals.

3. Eat Less Meat

Livestock accounts for 18% of greenhouse gases. So one simple thing that everyone can do to slow down global warming is to eat less meat. Personally, my husband and I save a ton of money by eating lower on the food chain. We are "domestic vegetarians," who eat meatless, homemade meals during the week.

4. Drink Less Sugar

A recent study of school children in my neighborhood revealed that 40% of their calorie intake came from sugary beverages. (It should come as no surprise that childhood obesity is at epidemic levels in my area.) When this fact was brought to light, a number of families were able to make one healthy dietary change that also saves them hundreds of dollars every year: they started drinking tap water instead of soda.

5. Shop Seasonally

Buy in-season produce. If you see peaches at the grocery store in December, you can pretty much assume that fruit was grown outside of the country. You will pay extra for the shipping costs of your food, and the planet will pay the cost of the transport in the form of more pollution.

Also, from a straight-up foodie standpoint, produce that must be transported is bred for shipping, not for flavor, which is why store-bought tomatoes are tasteless. In-season produce, which has been allowed to ripen on the plant or in the field, not only taste better than produce that was picked green, but is more nutritious.

6. Shop Locally

Support your local growers. It costs a lot of money to grow high quality food, sustainably. Even if you cannot afford to buy all your food locally, every little purchase counts, and all that money goes back to your own community. Also, it pays to ask around. I literally get tons of free backyard fruit donated to me every year by neighbors who can't eat through all their backyard produce and don't want it to go to waste. There are ways to find low cost food with a low carbon footprint pretty much everywhere. Just do what you can.

Are you concerned about the impact of cheap food on the planet? What do you do to eat more responsibly?

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This article is from Max Wong of Wise Bread, an award-winning personal finance and credit card comparison website. Read more great articles from Wise Bread:

5 Off-Season Foods That Are Destroying Your Grocery Budget

Amanda Meadows — Fri, 26 Feb 2016 11:00:11 +0000

Maybe you get a craving for strawberries in the dead of winter, or fresh tomatoes in early spring. While you can most likely find these items at your grocery store year-round, prices (and not to mention taste) will fluctuate greatly based on the season. In particular, these five off-season fruits and veggies can really destroy your grocery budget.

1. Tomatoes

In season: June through November. Want those delicious, deep red tomatoes on the vine? You’ll need to buy them in season. What you’ll get otherwise are sickly-looking tomatoes that have travelled from afar to get you. They are also upwards of triple the cost of a local, in-season tomato. Cut into one of these to find pale flesh, bland flavor, and a watery, mealy consistency that is definitely not worth the price. In addition, tomatoes coming from Mexico and Florida tend to have more fungicide and pesticides than the California variety we tend to eat in-season.

Instead: Buy crushed or whole tomatoes in cans for your soups, stews, chilis, and sauces. February's not a great time for Caprese salad.

2. Berries

In season: late spring through summer. While tomatoes are also technically berries, we’re focusing on blueberries, blackberries, strawberries, and raspberries here. There’s nothing better than sinking your teeth into a fresh berry pie, or eating them whole with a pile of fresh whipped cream — but that’s gonna cost you outside of their growing season. Blueberries in particular have gone up in price even when in-season. Also, strawberries and blueberries get flown in from countries that may not have the same labor and growing regulations as the U.S., which can pose environmental and health risks when buying out of season.

Instead: Use frozen berries for your desserts and breakfast smoothies to avoid the extra cost and negative impact on the planet.

3. Peaches

In season: May through October. Like berries, peaches are beloved for being juicy and sweet with an almost creamy texture when ripe. You’ll lose of a lot those qualities when buying out of season, and pay a lot more — at least double the price. Again, those out of season peaches are coming from South American countries with fewer growing and labor regulations than the U.S. — noticing a pattern?

Instead: Buy canned and frozen peaches for cooking. If a recipe calls for fresh peaches, save it for the summer.

4. Asparagus

In Season: February through June. Except, this year’s rainy season has led to a delay in the asparagus growing season, sending the prices past $40 a box. You’ll definitely see that cost brought to the customer in grocery chains, with prices above $1.20 per pound. And after June, almost all asparagus you find in your local shops will be coming from — you guessed it — Mexico. You won’t only be paying double or more, but the asparagus will likely be lacking in that firm, snappy texture you get in asparagus grown during the right season.

Instead: Buy frozen or wait until late March or early April to load up on asparagus.

5. Grapes

In season: July through November. America loves grapes, and American grape growers are fully aware of it! There are more varieties being developed all time time, but the most popular varieties such as Cotton Candy, Thompson, Princess, and Holiday seedless grapes keep going up in price. This especially true out of season, where grapes can cost as much as $4 per pound, depending on the region. And some speculate that prices will only increase due to demand.

Instead: After November, try switching to citrus fruits as snacks — like oranges, blood oranges, and grapefruits.

General Tips

Buy frozen! Most frozen produce is not only as nutritious as fresh produce, but it can also be more nutritious than off-season produce.
Learn when which foods are in season with this handy chart.
Buy in-season from your local farmers market and you won’t fall for grocery chain trickery with off-season goods again.

Do you avoid out-of-season fruits and vegetables?

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This article is from Amanda Meadows of Wise Bread, an award-winning personal finance and credit card comparison website. Read more great articles from Wise Bread:

9 Ways You Are Sabotaging Your Weekly Grocery Budget

Marla Walters — Mon, 21 Dec 2015 10:01:02 +0000

Food is something we need in order to survive, and like all good things, it doesn't always come cheap. When you live on a budget, as most of us do, many expenses are "fixed" expenses — your mortgage or rent, car payments, and insurance premiums. So where is there flexibility to save? In your grocery budget, believe it or not. If you work at it, you can not only stay within a grocery budget, but you can also save a lot of money. (See also: Credit Cards with Bonus Rewards for Grocery Purchases)

Here's why you keep sabotaging your grocery budget, and how to avoid the overspending trap we all tend to fall into.

1.You Don't Do Meal Planning

There are dozens of websites and apps that will do this for you, but all you really need is a pen and a piece of paper. Map out each day of the week, and write next to it what you plan to eat that day. From that list, make a grocery list. The advantages of planning your meals are plentiful:

You can shop once per week.
You can check the grocery ads for what is on sale, and cut coupons.
You will stay out of stores and restaurants (and away from temptation).
You will be eating healthier meals.
If you let your family chime in, you will have less food waste, if they get to eat what they like.
You'll make an effort to bring more variety into your diet.
You can quickly track your spending week to week.
Meal planning makes life easier, and reduces stress.

2. You Don't Cook

Maybe you don't like to cook, or you don't know how. For those of you who don't like to cook, there are a couple of solutions. First, you can do batch cooking of a couple of things and eat them all week. Another idea is to trade the cooking chore for some other household chore. In our household, I cook, which I love; and my husband does the laundry, which I despise.

If you don't know how to cook, you can certainly learn through classes, YouTube, reading cookbooks, or just asking someone to show you how.

3. You Don't Do Batch Cooking

Years ago, I was in a "casserole club" where we would all make casseroles and exchange them, and then be done for the week. It meant spending a good part of Sunday cooking and delivering, but cooking once per week was great, at the time. Lately, some of my younger coworkers have taken this idea and are doing healthy batch-cooking. (I have been jealous of the breakfast burritos filled with peppers, quinoa, egg whites, and spinach.)

Batch cooking has benefits such as saving money, wasting less food, and being able to relax more. Try making a lasagne and freezing half. It's so nice, after a long day, to just pull something out of the freezer to reheat. Chili and Jambalaya also freeze really well.

4. You Don't Like Eating Leftovers

Maybe that's because you get bored easily, and like more variety. The trick is to transform the leftovers into something interesting. Try out apps and programs like bigoven, where you enter what leftovers you have, and voila, you get suggestions for "new" meals.

5. You Are Buying Trendy Stuff

Oh, look, a section of your grocery that has all gluten-free items! Unless you have been medically diagnosed as having celiac disease, you shouldn't assume you have it. And these items labeled as "paleo-friendly"... what does that even mean?

And watch for store markups. The biggest markup is bottled water, at up to 4,000%. Fancy coffee is a 300% markup. Pre-cut fruits and vegetables have a 40% markup. I love those in-store bakeries, but after learning about their 100% markup, I dragged my breadmaker back out of storage.

6. You Buy Lunches Out

I have coworkers who eat out every day. Let's look at that cost:

If you're spending $5 a day (average) x 5 days per week = $25 a week x 4 = $100 per month, x 12 = $1,200 a year. According to Forbes, most Americans go out for lunch on average twice a week and spend $10 each time. Do you fit the average? Would you rather spend that money, or a least a portion of it, on something else?

Instead, try to pack a traditional "brown-bag" lunch as often as possible. Make an effort, though, to pack foods you really like, or you'll take one look at your peanut butter and toss it in favor of going out.

7. You Refuse to Use Coupons

Confession: I don't enjoy using coupons. They usually get lost in my purse, and I really have to force myself to wade through the grocery circulars. My trick? On Twitter, I followed a local coupon-cutting maniac. She tweets the best specials at local stores and I just go get them based on her very solid recommendations.

8. You Are Spending Too Much on Fruit

According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), the most expensive way to buy fruit is fresh. That is followed by frozen, then canned, and finally dried. Fresh can be a good deal, so long as it is in season. Unseasonal fruit is a budget-wrecker. Grocers know this, and about the time we're sick of winter apples, pears, and oranges, they roll out some strawberries.

By buying unseasonal fruit, you're also being a lousy locavore. That produce had to be shipped from far away. If you prefer summer fruits to winter fruits, try these strategies:

During the summer, prep and freeze some of your favorites (berries do very well in the freezer).
Learn to can (home-canned peaches in January will be very welcome) or invest in a dehydrator (mine even makes fruit roll-ups).

9. You Like to Shop at Nice Stores

I appreciate the soft lighting, wooden floors, and attractive displays of produce, cheeses, and wines at nice and somewhat luxurious grocery stores. You can buy coffee and sip while you shop. They have olive and sushi bars. It's pleasant! Who wouldn't want to shop at a store like that?

Unfortunately, you are paying about 20% extra for that ambiance. If you are a family of four, paying around $800 per month for groceries, that extra 20% takes you up to $960. Compare prices of items on your list at a store with harsh lighting, linoleum, no coffee and very few "upscale" products. You are bound to be surprised at how much less those products are.

How do you save money on your grocery budget?

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This article is from Marla Walters of Wise Bread, an award-winning personal finance and credit card comparison website. Read more great articles from Wise Bread:

Wise Bread Reloaded: Dinner Time Is Hard, Says Science — Wise Bread Makes It Easy

Lars Peterson — Sat, 04 Oct 2014 11:00:08 +0000

A trio of sociologists from North Carolina State University studied the eating habits of 200 low and middle income families and discovered what Wise Bread's short-on-time-and-energy readers already know: dinner time is hard.

While most moms in the study expressed a desire to prepare wholesome, good tasting meals from high quality ingredients for their families, the reality was that they often could not, for a variety of reasons.

Moms in both income groups reported time as a big obstacle — delicious wholesome meals require a lot of it of prepare.

Both groups also reported that creating meals that satisfied everyone in the family was also a challenge. Finding meals that made everyone happy limited the range of options.

Money was a factor, too, but obviously more critical for poorer families. Higher quality ingredients are out of reach, of course. In addition, poorer families often cannot afford basic kitchen utensils or appliances required to make some recipes. And for those without reliable transportation, trips to the store must be carefully planned and are also infrequent, which takes fresh foods off the grocery list. For middle class families, money sometimes prevented moms from using the highest quality ingredients such as organics.

Of course, none of this is surprising. Meal times are challenging for most families, from whatever income group. Wise Bread writers have been discussing ways to make dinner time easier for years. Here's a selection of some of their best labor- and money-saving tips.

Use a Crockpot or Slow Cooker

Busy moms everywhere rely on the crockpot or slow cooker to get hot meals on the time in no time (by taking a long time to do it, which is weird if you think about it). Julie Rains offers 25 Great Cheap and Easy Crockpot Recipes.

No Crockpot? No Problem — Just Use One Pot

Making it all in a single pot cuts down on clean up time too. Marla Walters shares 25 Delicious and Easy One Pot Meals, which includes breakfast, too!

Limit the Number of Ingredients

Save time on shopping and prep and save money with a short grocery list by limiting the number of ingredients in your creations. Ashley Marcin's 25 Easy 5-Ingredient Recipes That Save Time and Money was a big hit with readers, and in this Wise Bread editor's kitchen.

Embrace Your Inner Lazybones

Lazy people just can't be bothered and maybe that's not so great, but the rest of us can profit from the shortcuts they come up with — especially if they are delicious, like these. Paul Michael collects and shares 25 Healthy Recipes for Lazy People.

Embrace Your Inner Workaholic

At the other end of the spectrum are the bulk or assembly cookers who set aside a weekend to get through a week — or even a month's — worth of shopping and cooking in a whirlwind of activity. Ashley Marcin walks you through how to Save Time and Money With a Monthly Assembly (or Bulk) Cooking Weekend.

Embrace Your Inner Goldilocks

Not up for prepping 30 days worth of breakfast, lunch, and dinner? Aim your sights a little lower and freeze ahead five days worth of dinner, instead. Linsey Knerl shows you how in The Five-Day Freeze: Batch Cooking for the Rest of Us.

Make a Difficult Entree Easy

Finally, broaden your family's collective palate with something surprising, and fancy, and often too difficult to make by making it the easy way. Marla Walters brings us 10 Difficult But Delicious Recipes Made Easy.

How do you make dinner time manageable? Please share in comments!

This article is from Lars Peterson of Wise Bread, an award-winning personal finance and credit card comparison website. Read more great articles from Wise Bread:

Cut $100 or More From Your Food Bill Without Even Trying

Carrie Kirby — Tue, 11 Feb 2014 11:24:33 +0000

We've shared a lot of food budget tips here on Wise Bread, from coupon clipping to getting organics on a budget to finding restaurant discounts. But what if you just don't want to put that much time and effort into money saving techniques? A single person can easily shave $100 off a monthly food budget without breaking a sweat by making some of these easy changes. (See also: Use a 7-Step Food Budget to Save Money and Eat Better)

1. Stop Throwing Away Food

Imagine bringing home a bunch of eight bananas, picking two off the bunch, and pitching them right into the trash. If you're like the average American, you do the equivalent every week, throwing away up to a quarter of all the food you buy. If you can cut food waste to just 5%, that's a 20% savings without ever having to study Advanced Coupon Theory.

What's the secret to not throwing away food? Eating it before it goes bad. At our house, we achieve that by avoiding overfilling our fridge — things that get pushed to the back behind new purchases end up wasted. Another handy anti-waste device is the clear storage container. I use these Pyrex containers. Used yogurt containers are free, but if you're like me, you might ignore leftovers packaged in an opaque container and forget about them until they've transformed into a fuzzy gray mess ready for HazMat pickup.

Finally, don't forget about your freezer. If you don't think you'll have time to finish the leftovers before they spoil, just stick 'em in a freezer bag and voila — you have a quick dinner for a future night. (See also: How to Freeze Foods That Don’t Freeze Well)

2. Downgrade Unplanned Dining

If you want to go out with friends to a restaurant for a nice occasion, that's one thing. But if you find yourself heading to restaurants just because you're out of groceries or are too tired to cook, that's an opportunity for savings.

Instead of hitting a restaurant, pick up a pre-made salad, a rotisserie chicken, or other ready-to-eat entree. Grocery stores, in a nod to busy families, carry a lot of those things these days.

3. Lay in Emergency Supplies

Emergency preparedness isn't limited to clearing the shelves of the local grocery store when a hurricane or blizzard is due. A night when you don't have anything planned for dinner is emergency enough. Buy some extra boxes of pasta and jars of sauce (with meatballs in the freezer), cans of tuna, or anything else that would allow you to whip up a halfway decent meal even if your original plans fall through. If you're tempted to eat your emergency supplies right away, hide them in a cupboard you don't usually open — for me it's that one over the refrigerator.

4. Don't Overeat

The average restaurant meal contains 1,128 calories. That's great news!

Why great, when so many Americans are struggling to control their weight? Because it means that the typical restaurant meal contains enough food for tomorrow's lunch in addition to tonight's dinner. Don't gobble it all up tonight, just because it's there. Get a doggie bag.

5. Pack Your Lunch

Wait a minute — you thought this list was going to be low effort, and here we are suggesting you put in a grueling five minutes spreading peanut butter on bread. Well, would it be worth it if I told you that every minute you spend packing your lunch could save you $1?

A peanut butter and jelly sandwich costs about 29 cents to make. Add an apple for about 60 cents and a 50-cent container of yogurt, and you have a nutritious lunch for less than $2, or $10 for five lunches a week. (See also: 25 Non-Sandwich Work Lunches)

The average American worker spends more than $36 on workday lunches out per week. So 25 minutes a week of lunch packing could save you about $25, or a dollar a minute.

Multiplied by four weeks in the average month, and you just saved your $100 a month — without touching the other two meals of the day.

If you're a serial lunch forgetter, see if you can stash a few emergency lunch supplies in your desk or office refrigerator, so you don't end up going on unplanned lunch outings. My husband keeps a canister of oatmeal at work for those days — it ain't fancy, but it allows him to power through till dinner.

6. Cut Down on Junk Food

When people say that they can't afford to eat healthy, they tend to conveniently forget that unhealthy snack foods are among the priciest groceries in the store. A 16 oz. bag of potato chips costs about $4.50, compared to an average cost of 73 cents per pound of potatoes.

So if you skip those between-meal snacks, you're not only improving your health, but you're saving your appetite for much less-expensive meal time calories.

7. Drink Water

This goes for at home, but it goes double for at restaurants, where soda and other beverages can be crazy expensive compared to the food. American households spend an average of $850 per year on soft drinks. So even if you could cut that in half, you'd be looking at spending $425 less, or a savings of $35 a month.

8. Buy the Store Brand

It doesn't take too much study of the prices on grocery store shelves to figure out that the store brand is the cheapest — Consumer Reports pegged the savings at 30%. In a 2010 taste test of store brands versus name brands, the magazine found that, "Overall, national brands won seven of the 21 matchups and store brands won three. For the rest, the store brand and name brand were of similar quality."

9. Observe Meatless Monday

Vegetarian meals are usually cheaper, but I'm personally not willing to give up the savory deliciousness of hamburgers, roast chicken, or pulled pork for life. But for one day a week? That I can do. (See also: Save Money By Going Mostly Meatless)

The Meatless Monday website features lots of flesh-free recipes. They're not all budget recipes, of course, but in general I spend less on my vegetarian dishes than my carnivorous ones.

10. Join Costco or Another Wholesale Club

Many items are cheaper per ounce at Costco than at regular stores — but you only really realize a savings if you can use everything you buy there. Costco is also a good place to get healthy frozen entrees if these help you resist fast-food windows. (See also: How to Get Cash Back When You Shop at Costco)

How do you save money on food? Please share your tips in comments.

This article is from Carrie Kirby of Wise Bread, an award-winning personal finance and credit card comparison website. Read more great articles from Wise Bread:

Learn to Love Cooking (and Save!) With These 11 Kitchen Tricks

Ashley Marcin — Wed, 22 Jan 2014 11:24:11 +0000

Those takeout pizzas, lunches at the cafe, and weekend dim sum splurges really add up. It's true — one of the best ways to lower your overall monthly budget is to cook most meals at home. An added benefit? It's also better for your waistline and general health. If putting the pan on the stove gives you shivers, however, you have some work to do. (See also: How to Find Time for Home Cooking)

These tips will help you bust through your cooking anxiety so you're slicing and dicing in no time!

1. Learn the Basics

A lot of people hate cooking simply because they don't know their way around a kitchen or cooking tools. Invest some time in learning how to use a knife, saute veggies, or cook a perfect soft boiled egg. It may seem like a lot to take on, but you really can teach yourself to cook. The more you know, the more pleasurable the experience becomes. (See also: How to Make Perfectly Cooked Eggs)

2. Create a Fun Atmosphere

A kitchen alone might not be very inspiring or inviting, especially if cooking isn't naturally your favorite activity. Good news: You can change that! Pop open a bottle of wine, light candles, start up some music, call a friend, or even play a cooking show to get yourself in the mood.

3. Cook Through a Cookbook

Sound like a familiar concept? If you've ever read (or watched) "Julie + Julia," you know the drill. Basically, go to the bookstore (or even browse online) and choose a cookbook that excites or otherwise motivates you. Set a goal to try a new dish at least every week, if not more frequently. After a while, the whole practice may become more automatic. (See also: Classic Frugal Cooking With Little Old Lady Recipes)

4. Keep It Simple

Recipes can seem daunting if they are complicated and involve exotic ingredients. So, find ways to simplify the routine and pare down the grocery list. A nutritionally complete, home-cooked dinner can be as simple as a protein, roasted vegetables, and rice. No need to get overly fancy, unless you feel inspired.

5. Find Shortcuts

If your goal is to cook in every single night of the week, just understand that there will be times when your schedule will get hectic, you'll be sick, or you just won't feel like cooking no matter what. Have a back-up plan in place — like spaghetti and tomato sauce, macaroni and cheese, or a freezer vegetable stir-fry — in case of culinary emergency.

6. Use Your Tools

Homemade meals don't have to mean hours spent in the kitchen. Even passionate and practiced cooks use slow cookers, bread makers, and other convenience appliances from time to time. I love cooking complicated entrees and sides from scratch, but I also make at least two soups or stews in my crock pot each week. Dig around to find what works for you. (See also: 5 Best Slow Cookers)

7. Prepare Ingredients or Entire Meals in Bulk

If the idea of cooking all month long isn't appealing, consider condensing the experience into a few days. Bulk cooking (or assembly cooking) isn't for the faint of heart and does require some freezer space, but it will surely cut down on hours spent in the kitchen — all while allowing you to streamline and lessen your trips to the grocery store.

8. Take Turns

Absence makes the heart grow fonder. If you have a spouse, significant other, or roommate, consider splitting cooking duties, so the work doesn't fall on your shoulders alone. Write up a schedule at the beginning of the week marking assigned nights. This is a great way to plan meals and write grocery lists, which can mean even more cost savings. (See also: A Month of Frugal Meals)

9. Recreate Favorites at Home

Many simply like the restaurant's final result better than their own from-scratch attempts. Taking the time to master a certain dish can be not only rewarding, but also surprising. You may discover that you like your own take better because you can customize it to your specific tastes and preferences. Plus, the web is a great source for copycat recipes from your favorite eateries.

10. Make It Social

Stay with me on this one. Consider hosting a dinner party (I know, it sounds intense!), but don't take on all the work yourself. Potlucks can be a great opportunity to break bread and share recipe ideas. You may discover that some of your friends or family have quite a talent in the kitchen or specific techniques they can share with you. (See also: 23 Cheap and Easy Potluck Dishes)

11. Practice the Habit and Reward Yourself

If all else fails, just going through the motions time and time again might make something click. And a little incentive goes a long way. So, if cooking at home is a big-time goal of yours — figure out a reward system that works for you. Seven for seven in meals at prepared at home? Indulge in a matinee, for example — you have saved more than enough to justify the expense!

Still stuck? Here are a few places to start your adventure:

How did you learn to love cooking? Share your recipe in comments!

This article is from Ashley Marcin of Wise Bread, an award-winning personal finance and credit card comparison website. Read more great articles from Wise Bread:

Save Money and Eat Better With a 7-Step Food Budget

Jennifer Holder — Mon, 14 Oct 2013 09:48:04 +0000

OK, confession time: I usually eat rather crappy food at home, and I love to go out to restaurants. However, I've started really looking at how much money I'm spending on food, especially because I'm always suggesting the USDA food budget (PDF) to my clients in my day job. I decided to try that budget myself. Based on the changes I had to make and what I learned, here's my advice for saving money by cooking at home. (See also: How to Find Time for Home Cooking)

1. Take an Inventory and Plan Your Meals

The first step is to use this helpful food calculator to plan for how many meals you could realistically eat at home (because we all like to eat out sometimes, and there is nothing wrong with that). Next, make a list of the staples currently in your pantry and build on them. Most likely you have pasta hiding in there and a can or two of tomatoes. Try to build off what you already have before you buy more. (See also: Best Cooking Apps to Manage Meals)

2. Buy Fresh, Local Produce

Go for fresh, local produce rather than grocery store produce from God knows where. And I know, when you hear the words “Farmers Market” you automatically think everything will be too expensive. But think about this: at a farmers market, the food probably came straight from the source only an hour or so away. At a grocery store, the food might have come from a country far away and be a week or more old by the time it reaches your plate. And whether or not the farmer's market is an option, use this guide to extend the shelf life of your food from wherever you bought it. (See also: What NOT to Buy at a Farmers Market)

3. Buy Staples in Bulk

If you have a big family, this is a great way to save money. A friend of mine was recently a victim of the recession — she lost her job through layoffs, lost her house through foreclosure, and was forced to go on SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) for a few months. She has three children, two with diabetes and one with asthma, and times got tough. She said the only way she made it through it was with a Costco membership. So when you're planning out your staples, make sure you save at a big store. Just note that if you're single, buying in bulk can be a bad idea if what you're buying has an expiration date.

4. Organize Your Pantry

My parents often have the trouble of canned or boxed food expiring before they use it. It's not that they're wasteful; it's just that their pantry is too deep and hard to see into. If you have this problem, check out some ideas from the Container Store or Ikea websites (I don't mean buy them, but they can inspire great ideas) and dig around on "organize kitchen" on Pinterest. The Squawkfox has a helpful chart. And never put something with a short shelf life in the pantry. Always keep it out on the counter to remind you to use it. (See also: How to Organize Your Pantry)

5. Stop Buying So Much Junk Food

After a strict week of no extra spending, I binged — I hopped into the grocery store and purchased ice cream, fun-sized candy bars, Oreos, and Little Debbies. I then walked into my apartment and smacked myself in the forehead. I am a believer that chocolate can heal you, so you shouldn't give it up completely, but buying four different kinds of chocolate at once will not make you feel better. Instead, try allowing yourself on treat per week.

6. Don't Bore Yourself

My biggest problem is that because I make the same meals so often, I usually get bored. I can only eat so many rice dishes, pasta, and frozen meals. And I love all kinds of fun and tasty food, so when I just make the same things over and over, it makes me want to eat out more. So, make sure you keep it interesting; certain flavorful foods can go a long way — ginger, garlic, basic veggies, spices. Experiment and have fun. Eating Well has some great suggestions and the USDA's website (down while the government funding lapse continues — Ed.) helps you build cookbooks and recipes based on ingredients.

7. Save, Save, Save!

Okay, I don't mean eat gruel every night and skip breakfast. I mean, really try your best to not overspend on food you don't need. I've read many articles and talked to many clients in my day job about how they grew up poor and now want to make up for that for their family. I completely understand, but if you make more money than you need to spend, save! Spending it to prove you can will not help you in the long run — and saving will help cover you in case you encounter an emergency like losing your job.

What steps do you take to save on food?

This article is from Jennifer Holder of Wise Bread, an award-winning personal finance and credit card comparison website. Read more great articles from Wise Bread:

Ready-to-Eat Meals for Weight Loss: Can They Fit into Your Food Budget?

Debbie Dragon — Fri, 14 Jan 2011 14:00:09 +0000

As each new year approaches, millions of people resolve to lose weight or get into shape. Gyms, fat camps, and diet programs all experience a surge of new customers during January and February. If you have considered joining a diet program that provides ready-to-eat meals, like Nutrisystem, but thought the costs of the program were too great to justify joining, here's what you need to know.

The Average Cost of Groceries

It's hard to pinpoint how much everyone pays for groceries, because there are a number of factors to consider — the number of people in your family, the ages of each family member, and any special dietary needs.

The U.S. Department of Labor creates an annual Consumer Expenditure Survey, which shows the average amount of money spent by consumers in various types of households, including annual food expenses:

According to 2009 data, a single person spends an average of $4,352 per year or about $84 per week on food. This includes both food eaten at home and food purchased from restaurants or take out facilities.
A couple without children spends $6,906 per year, or $132 a week.
A couple with children (although it doesn't specify how many children) spends an average of $9,369 per year, or $180 per week.
A single parent with children (again, it does not specify number of children) spends an average of $5,348, or $102 per week.

The Average Cost of Nutrisystem

Nutrisystem (one of the leading weight-loss programs with ready-to-eat meals) costs about $11 a day for the basic four-week (28-day) program. This is equivalent to about $77 per week for the program, but you also need to add in the cost of your fruits and vegetables and additional dairy and/or protein servings. Based on my own experience, I spend at most another $2 per day for additional grocery items (skim milk, fresh fruits and vegetables, yogurt, meats, etc.) with my Nutrisystem meals. (You can read more about my personal Nutrisystem experiences on HealthyTheory.com.)

Does Nutrisystem Fit into Your Existing Food Budget?

For a single person on Nutrisystem, this puts your total food bill at $91 a week, ($77 per week for Nutrisystem and $14 per week for the add-on groceries), or $4,732 annually. Compared to the single person's grocery expenses from the U.S. Department of Labor survey, doing Nutrisystem for a year will cost you about $380 more.

If you look at Nutrisystem as a temporary solution to losing weight, which will be followed by healthier eating in general (and therefore a lower weekly food budget ongoing), the costs may be easier to justify.

It gets a little harder to compare the expenses between Nutrisystem and groceries for households with more than one person and/or households containing children. For example, if a family is spending $180 a week on food before Nutrisystem, they're not likely to immediately start spending $84 a week less (the average amount a single person spends) on groceries simply because one person decides to start Nutrisystem. Most people will buy the same amount of food they've always purchased for their family even when one is eating the majority of their meals through Nutrisystem and supplementing with a few add-on grocery items. This can increase your food budget beyond your means, but for individuals who really want to use Nutrisystem to lose weight, you can make a few minor modifications to work the cost of a ready-to-eat diet program into your budget.

With one person eating the majority of his or her meals through the diet program, grocery shopping should involve purchasing smaller quantities of food. When making your grocery list, keep in mind you are feeding one person less while he or she is on Nutrisystem. You can buy smaller packages of meat, less bread, less cereal, less snacks, etc.

The family could also help support the individual on the weight loss program by skipping some of the take-out and restaurant meals consumed, which will greatly reduce your weekly food budget.

It appears that for many families, a weight-loss program with ready-to-eat meals that cost about $11 per day can fit into your existing food budget — but it may take a little effort to reduce the food expenses for the rest of the family.

Disclosure: I received free Nutrisystem meals for review, but the views expressed in this blog post are my own.

This article is from Debbie Dragon of Wise Bread, an award-winning personal finance and credit card comparison website. Read more great articles from Wise Bread:

Healthy Eating--It'll Cost You!

Sarah Baughman — Wed, 12 Dec 2007 20:35:37 +0000

Eating economically in China and Bolivia, where my husband and I lived for the past three years, meant shopping for local produce at local markets and eating plenty of vegetables and fruits. Eating economically in the United States, where we now live, apparently means shopping for imported produce at Wal-Mart (or, better yet, avoiding produce altogether) and eating plenty of canned and processed foods. What’s wrong with this picture?

Americans who want to eat healthy will pay more for their nutrition than those who stick to Twinkies. New York Times columnist Tara Parker-Pope asserted in her December 5th health blog titled “A High Price For Healthy Food” that, according to a recent University of Washington study, “Calorie for calorie, junk foods not only cost less than fruits and vegetables, but junk food prices also are less likely to rise as a result of inflation.” Parker-Pope’s blog brought to mind an earlier New York Times article discussing the Farm Bill and the negative influence of corn subsidies on American nutrition. When I returned home after living overseas, I was at a loss to explain why whole foods grown in the earth were so much pricier than processed junk, but this article offered a possible explanation that the U.S. economy has been set up to support mass production of the corn byproducts at the core of most junk foods.

Can you imagine the vicious cycle created for the American poor? One of the endemic plagues of poverty, poor nutrition, has been further compounded by the fact that the less money you have, the less able you’ll be to buy any truly nutritious foods. Indeed, Parker-Pope’s citation of Dr. Adam Drewnowski, director of the center for public health nutrition at the University of Washington, reveals the very real daily conundrum those on a tight budget face: “If you have $3 to feed yourself, your choices gravitate toward foods which give you the most calories per dollar,’’ said Dr. Drewnowski. “Not only are the empty calories cheaper, but the healthy foods are becoming more and more expensive. Vegetables and fruits are rapidly becoming luxury goods.”

Plenty of responders to Parker-Pope’s blog objected to this study on various levels, arguing that it was simple to heat healthily on a low budget; the most popular example involved cheap meals consisting of rice and lentils. I agree that it’s indeed possible to cook responsibly in this way, and I’ve done so myself, but in my view, the study underscores a core problem for those trying to “live large on a small budget”: you can get a lot farther with $5 at McDonald’s than at Whole Foods; moreover, taking socioeconomic factors such as time, education, and geographic location into account makes “rice and lentils” much more difficult for some to manage than others.

Being a socially responsible and nutritionally responsible shopper is very difficult. I was heartened to see the Times publish a helpful list of “Five Easy Ways To Go Organic,” recognizing that the average American family can’t afford solely organic produce. Based on that article, for I vowed for a while to buy only organic milk. It was #1 on the NYT list, I enjoy supporting family farms like my grandfather’s, and I prefer the taste anyway. But after a couple weeks of spending $12 on milk for my family, I realized even that was hard to manage.

This post is more about the conundrum than the solution, because I don’t have a perfect one yet; so, Wisebreaders, what to do? If you’re looking for some great economical recipes, I recommend the More-With-Less Cookbook by Doris Janzen Longacre; I grew up eating this food at church potlucks, and still enjoy it today. In addition, I personally treat myself to a socially responsible, organic purchase or two each week, though I usually can’t afford even the Top 5. I plan home-cooked meals for the week and buy ingredients accordingly; I freeze leftovers and rarely buy processed foods. I do all this recognizing that with more money, I could be a more socially responsible eater, and that with less money, education, and time, I’d probably be eating a lot worse.

This article is from Sarah Baughman of Wise Bread, an award-winning personal finance and credit card comparison website. Read more great articles from Wise Bread:

food budget

Best Money Tips: How to Afford Real Food on a Budget

Top 5 Articles

Other Essential Reading

7 Grocery Store Habits That Are Making You Broke

1. Assuming coupons are always money-savers

2. Staying loyal to brands

3. Ignoring expiration dates

4. Falling for clever packaging

5. Shopping when you're hungry

6. Buying pre-made foods

7. Jumping on trends

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Best Money Tips: 50 Ways to Slash Your Food Budget

Top 5 Articles

Other Essential Reading

The High Cost of Cheap Food

It Costs Tax Payers 20 Billion Dollars Per Year

We Pay for Cheap Food Twice

We End Up Spending More Money on Health Care

It Causes Poverty and Hunger

The Environmental Cost Is Staggering

Animals Pay the Price

The Working Conditions Are Terrible

You Risk Sickness

We're Funding the Zombie Apocalypse

What Can One Person Do?

1. Don't Waste Food

2. Eat Healthy on a Budget

3. Eat Less Meat

4. Drink Less Sugar

5. Shop Seasonally

6. Shop Locally

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5 Off-Season Foods That Are Destroying Your Grocery Budget

1. Tomatoes

2. Berries

3. Peaches

4. Asparagus

5. Grapes

General Tips

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9 Ways You Are Sabotaging Your Weekly Grocery Budget

1.You Don't Do Meal Planning

2. You Don't Cook

3. You Don't Do Batch Cooking

4. You Don't Like Eating Leftovers

5. You Are Buying Trendy Stuff

6. You Buy Lunches Out

7. You Refuse to Use Coupons

8. You Are Spending Too Much on Fruit

9. You Like to Shop at Nice Stores

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Wise Bread Reloaded: Dinner Time Is Hard, Says Science — Wise Bread Makes It Easy

Use a Crockpot or Slow Cooker

No Crockpot? No Problem — Just Use One Pot

Limit the Number of Ingredients

Embrace Your Inner Lazybones

Embrace Your Inner Workaholic

Embrace Your Inner Goldilocks

Make a Difficult Entree Easy

Cut $100 or More From Your Food Bill Without Even Trying

1. Stop Throwing Away Food

2. Downgrade Unplanned Dining

3. Lay in Emergency Supplies

4. Don't Overeat

5. Pack Your Lunch

6. Cut Down on Junk Food

7. Drink Water

8. Buy the Store Brand

9. Observe Meatless Monday

10. Join Costco or Another Wholesale Club

Learn to Love Cooking (and Save!) With These 11 Kitchen Tricks

1. Learn the Basics

2. Create a Fun Atmosphere

3. Cook Through a Cookbook

4. Keep It Simple

5. Find Shortcuts

6. Use Your Tools

7. Prepare Ingredients or Entire Meals in Bulk