With debt skyrocketing and payday loans online being used for everyday costs, cutting expenses would help many budgets. One of the largest areas where extra money gets spent is on food. Between the grocery bills each week plus all food and beverages which are bought at restaurants, this area of the budget is a great place to start your savings.
What is your cost each month for food? Have you ever kept a running toll of the money spent at the grocery store and at restaurants? You would be surprised at how much is actually spent. A good starting point would be to take a look at these figures, then as a family begin to brainstorm ways to lower the costs. Dinners are usually the costliest meals, so start with ways to save there. Maybe the family could decide to cut down on dinners out of the house and come up with a list for dinners to be made from home. If you create a menu list to contain entree and side dishes for many of your family favorites, it will create a much simpler task of grocery shopping with a planned menu. You will be able to cut down on the, “I don’t know what to make” excuse. Build leftover meals into those extra busy nights, have extra sandwich fixings or try breakfast for dinner. The less you throw away, the more money you will save. Easy meals built into the week will also cut down on restaurant visits.
Keep online payday loans out of the grocery bill.
Make a list from your menu plans. Once you have the meals for the week set, write down what you will need to get from the store. Shop the flyers to take advantage of the sales and use coupons. There are many websites which offer coupons. Here are some other shopping tips:
- Shop on a FULL stomach
- Leave the kids at home if you can
- Stick to your list
Shop the sales at different stores to take advantage of all the specials for the week. When there is more than one grocery chain nearby, there are sure to be different sales at each one. Competition will drive many stores to lower prices or offer greater promotions to attract business. Your savings will add up.
Once you have the dinner menu under control and see the differences in monthly costs towards foods, you can work at controlling lunch. This meal can also bring lots of savings once brown bag lunches are put in place. Using leftovers and packing smaller portions yourself will save money from the higher priced small prepackaged snacks.
Stick to your plan. Let each member be accountable for helping. Incorporate some flexibility into the plan. having an extra frozen pizza in the freezer will allow for those days when the plan just won’t cut it. A frozen pizza will provide dinner at much less cost than ordering take out or eating out.
Online payday loan lenders are good for emergencies, but when you can make your everyday costs fit into your budgeted income, you will see your money stretch much farther.
