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Here’s a frugal way to get more groceries for less. Save on groceries!
Save at the supermarket. Get more groceries. Check it out.
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How to Get Rid of Fruit Flies
in Your Kitchen the Frugal Way
groceries
Frugal Living Tips: Saving on Groceries
Are you spending way too much money on groceries? For many of us, the cost of meat is eating up a major portion of our grocery budget. The answer to this dilemma is simple – buy less meat! The trick to serving less meat is in the vegetables and other protein choices. Vegetarian options can stretch your grocery dollars while providing filling, healthy meals your family will love.
The next time you plan your menu for the week, instead of planning on enough meat to feed your family for seven days, substitute 2-3 vegetarian meals for your dinner. This one change can save you 30% to 50% on what you normally spend for meat.
If the thought of no meat shocks you (it does me!!), with the right recipes, you can even stretch bits of meat, like a small amount of left-over meat, to make a satisfying meal for everyone in your family. Incorporate meat into a oe dish meal so that you still have meat, only less of it.
Consider these frugal menu ideas your family and wallet will love:
✴ Grilled cheese sandwich with tomato soup and your favorite salad.
✴ Quesadillas: Grilled tortillas with cheese, pico de gallo, and bits of taco meat if you like.
✴ Bean and cheese chalupas with avocado. Add some bits of grilled chicken for variety.
✴ Cheese enchiladas, Spanish rice, and refried or borracho beans
✴ Mexican style pinto or black beans, corn bread, and a fresh garden salad
✴ Chef salad with lots of different vegetables, boiled egg, and cheeses. Add bits of ham, bacon, or chicken to suit your tastes.
✴ Mini pizzas, home-made with a variety of grated cheeses, Italianspiced tomato sauce, and other toppings as desired. Some great ideas include fresh tomatoes, chives, walnuts, and spinach. Let everyone design their own concoctions.
✴ Tortellini stuffed with cheese and mixed with herb and garlic flavored feta cheese, chopped tomato, kidney beans and a bit of olive oil. Serve on a plate of baby spinach.
✴ Roasted vegetable casserole with potatoes, broccoli, cauliflower, cream of mushroom soup, carrots, and cheese. Add some left-over chicken if desired.
✴ Fried rice with soy sauce, bits of egg, corn, and chopped carrots. Serve with egg rolls.
✴ For a fun change, fix omelets for supper using eggs, cheese, mushrooms, tomatoes, and spinach. Bits of ham or bacon flavor it nicely while using only a small amount of meat. Put out a variety of “fixin’s” for everyone to choose from.
These frugal menu ideas are just the beginning. Explore, experiment, and get your family involved in the process. Make it fun! There’s nothing like good old family time in the kitchen. Only your wallet will know that you’re saving a lot of money in the process!
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Easy Menu Planning Tips for Frugal Families
If you have a family, then one of your biggest expenses is probably the weekly grocery bill. The healthy food we want to feed our families with doesn’t come cheap, and prices always seem to be on the rise. But, despite the continual increasing cost of food, and the ever-tightening of family budgets, you can still cut down on your grocery bill by being organized and planning ahead.
Here are some easy menu planning tips for frugal families:
1. Know what you have on hand right now. Have you ever had to run to the grocery store for something, only to find out later that you already had it in your cupboard – you just couldn’t find it? Saving money on your groceries starts with organizing what you have on hand right now so you know where it is and can easily find it. Otherwise, you can end up wasting money on items you don’t need. Organize your pantry, shelves and refrigerator.
2. Plan your meals in advance. Before you head out to the grocery store, plan your meals for the next week or two. That way you will know what you need to buy and you won’t make any unnecessary purchases. You also won’t be tempted to eat out because you’ll have everything ready at home to make nutritious meals.
3. Check the grocery store flyers. When you’re planning your meals, flip through the grocery store flyers too. They will tell you what’s on sale this week. To save money, plan your meals around items that can be purchased for a good price. When you go to the grocery store, you won’t be as likely to spend time looking at more expensive items when you already know what’s on sale.
4. Use leftovers creatively. With a little imagination, one meal can be turned into two by planning to use leftovers. When you plan your meals, organize your menu so that the cooking you do for one meal can become the beginning of another. For example, leftover meatballs from spaghetti and meatball night can become meatball subs the next day.
5. Look at your calendar and plan ahead for busy days. We all have days where we have limited time in the kitchen, with sports clubs and evening activities. When you’re planning your meals, keep an eye on the family calendar so you can plan to accommodate those kinds of days as well. If you have made something ahead of time, or have planned a quick dinner, you will be less likely to eat out or pick up a more expensive item on the way home.
The grocery bill is one of most family’s biggest expenses, yet it is also among the easiest to cut down. With some organization ahead of time, you can easily plan meals that will help you save money.
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Frugal Tips to Save Money on Food
Your food budget is the most flexible area of your household budget. Grocery savings will free up a significant amount of money if you need to balance the budget, or fund your savings accounts.
Eliminate eating out! Period! – O.K. if you’re family is screaming mad at you then take them out at least once a month. Make it an occasion. Your family will appreciate a dinner out much more when it’s not such a regular event. Consider it “quality time out”. And, remember to look for coupons good at local restaurants for additional savings.
Minimize the use of convenience foods. – You can make it yourself for a fraction of the cost, try it! Many of us are so accustomed to convenience foods that we forget we can make it ourselves. You’ll find substitute recipes for everything from baking mixes to shake and bake and salad dressing. All it takes is a little extra time. Even if you had to pay yourself for doing the cooking you would come out ahead.
Do your homework! – Know what’s on sale and plan your menu around the weekly sales flyers. Investing a little extra time in planning will help maximize grocery savings and reduce the food budget!
Eat meatless meals at least twice a week. – Beans and rice are a good example. Egg dishes are a nice change in routine for dinner. Try a vegetable stir-fry or casserole.
Don’t use packaged mixes. – Cake, breads, muffins, pastry, pizza dough, pancake, and waffles all come in a variety of pre-packaged mixes. Make your own for not much more effort and a lot less money!
Build your coupon file! – It seems coupons are available everywhere now. Your newspaper is a great starting point. Pay careful attention when looking through magazines. These are easy to miss. I often find coupons in home, ladies, or cooking magazines.
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