Best Money Tips: Effectively Reduce Your Food Budget

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Welcome to Wise Bread's Best Money Tips Roundup! Today we found some great articles on reducing your food budget, social media's role in job search, and saving on your water bill.

Top 5 Articles

Seven Ways We Effectively Reduce Our Food Budget — Reduce your food budget by making your meals in advance and using a list. [The Simple Dollar]

Social Media's Role in Job Search — Did you know that 49% of job seekers post inappropriate photos to their social media accounts? [Free Money Finance]

7 Best Ways to Save Money on Your Water Bill for 2013 — To save money on your water bill, get a water efficient washing machine. [Three Thrifty Guys]

The hidden savings in a rent payment — If you rent an apartment, chances are you are saving money on swimming pool expenses because you have one at your apartment complex. [Five Cent Nickel]

Tips for the Wedding You Want at the Price You Need — Trading your vows at a nontraditional venue can help you save money on your wedding. [Debt.org]

Other Essential Reading

3 Ways Rocking a Side Gig Can Make You Better at Your Day Job — Your side job can make you better at your day job because it teaches you how to manage your time like a pro. [Careful Cents]

How to Get a Decent Net Worth By Age 30 — Get a decent net worth by age 30 by choosing a program that can lead to a satisfying career. [Young and Thrifty]

Time-management strategies for working parents — If you are a working parent, choose a career that is flexible and try not to multitask. [Get Rich Slowly]

Being a Young Mom: Why Starting Early Has Its Rewards — Having kids at a younger age gives your body a chance to heal more quickly after pregnancy and delivery. [Parenting Squad]

Without a Hitch: 8 Ways to Reduce the Risk of Wedding Mishaps — To make sure your wedding goes off without a hitch, have a dress rehearsal. [PopSugar Smart Living]

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Guest's picture
Rhonda

These are great. there are also markdown days for meats at large chain grocery stores. there could be at the smaller mom-n-pop places, but I usually try to buy from them at peak season. The trick is to have a price limit, as in I pay no more than $2.50/lb for beef and $1.80 for boneless chicken breast. Only once in a blue moon will i pay the teaser $1.99.

there are certain days of the week that the stores mark down packaged meats. i went to the store and watched for it. i also asked when is the busiest days. i come the day after and if no luck, i might even come the next morning if we are very low on meats.

I also am not afraid to talk pricing with butchers and small-time farmers. butchers can refer me to people who bring in their meat. sometimes people only sell to their friends and family, not strangers. if you research why it is better to buy local meat, you might become a friend? This is upfront cost though and remember the price/lb limit.

we also only cook what is the cheapest food to buy. No matter what. we adapt. we have to. we search for what is good and make it. i even made conversation wth a Latino gramma and when she mentioned her son, i asked her what was his favorite food that she made. Very profitable conversation. hot sauce with chicken, rice, and black beans. the rice absorbs the sauce. CHA!

Some other strategies that have helped us:
Plan for a month saved us an additional $50. I tried for 2 months and it didn't seem to add to our numbers enough to offset the amount of planning. It takes an extra minute to plan. The more we plan, the more we save.

We have 1 baked potato bar night where we use all leftovers, plus I add bacon. Bacon is the key to making these leftovers exciting. Very powerful food.

I used to shop flyers and i miss a bunch of them. It became too high maintenance for me. We have 3 kids active in sports, etc. I have to be real about my limitations in order to reduce spending.

In laudry, I use high-end and low-end. Some fabrics don't need the Tide with Bleach Alternative, while others need that and Tide boost. i reasched products, tried using my homemade soap. The cost of new clothing and time spent shopping is important. Also, since we only have $500/yr for clothing for the family, we have to be very serious about the care of our clothes. I am as frugal as possible in this area but believe there are times when the powerful enzyme 'treatment' is helpful. This is an area worth investing knowledge and time. Savings are deep here without loosing quality. Amonia gets out odors, especially in fleece (good for baby jammies). i sort by detergent I am using and save up until i have a full load.

I also pray and look for ways to save $100. This increment is achievable and is a quick target. I can always learn a new way to save a hundred bucks.

Happy Savings!