7 Money Saving Ideas From The Kitchen

 

It’s true that the kitchen is the heart of the home, a gathering place when company comes to visit. When my husband and I started our budget a couple of years ago in an effort to get out of debt, we noticed that food was our greatest expense, apart from the mortgage, each month. We tried a number of things to reduce the amount of money we spent each week on groceries so we would have a bit extra left over to apply towards our debt.

Saving money in the kitchen sounds like a monumental task and it conflicts with the feelings of deprivation that come when we begin to speak about eating or shopping frugally. But saving money in the kitchen doesn’t have to be a miserable task. Here are seven things our family has done to successfully reduce our grocery bill and in the end helped us get out of debt.

1. Cooking in bulk. Initially, I was of the mindset cook in bulk, eat in bulk, waste in bulk. This can be true if you are cooking meals you don’t normally eat and are packaging them in greater serving sizes than are necessary. Buying food items in bulk can be a very economical way to go about grocery shopping especially when you are able to take advantage of sales.
2. Eat leftovers. I know there are families out there that just don’t like eating leftovers. Food gets wrapped up and stored in the fridge until it grows legs and it can walk itself over to the garbage bin. Eating leftovers is a great way to stretch your food budget and besides, it saves you a night of cooking and from having to decide on what to make.
3. Meal plan. Creating a meal plan has been instrumental in helping us save money on our bi-weekly grocery shop. We no longer walk aimlessly through the aisles gathering items we think we need. Instead we know what we will be eating that week, what we have at home already and stick to the list of ingredients. The number of impulse purchases are now in fact nearly non-existent.
4. Buy from a bulk food store. We have found buying certain items from a bulk food store to be particularly economical. That is not a wide sweeping statement however, you still need to compare prices. Not everything is cheaper in bulk. However, generally speaking, since there is no pre-packaging and you can get the quantities you actually require there is less waste and you end up paying less.
5. Shop at home. Before you go shopping look through your pantry and cupboards and take stock of what you have available. Plan one meal using what you have on hand. This can reduce your shopping bill this week by as much as $25-$30.
6. Butcher or local farmer. We have found that purchasing meat (beef, pork and chicken) is cheaper direct from the farmer and, failing that, a butcher. It also tends to be less expensive if you buy in large quantities. For this however you will require a lot of freezer space but could be well worth the investment of a freezer if you eat a lot of meat. Think about splitting an order with a friend or relative so you can take advantage of the quantity discount.
7. Bake from scratch. We all love the smell of fresh baked cookies, muffins and pies but not many people I know actually make these any more, truly from scratch. These items are not necessities on any shopping list but the relative cost is quite high just for convenience and extra packaging. By baking what you can as often as you can from scratch you not only save on the cost of packaging but you can choose recipes to suit your family’s tastes, many times opting for more healthy solutions.

Bonus tips on saving money in the kitchen.

• Use cloth napkins not paper ones.
• Don’t run the dishwasher unless it’s full and use “No heat dry” feature to save on energy.
• Clip coupons for items you buy anyway.
• Use a water filter instead of buying bottled water.
• Use tea towels instead of paper towels to wipe up messes.
• Use real dishes and cutlery as often as possible avoid disposable when you can.
• Make your own ice and store in a re-sealable bag in the freezer.
• Make your own cleaning products using lemons, baking soda, vinegar or essential oils.

I’m always looking for new ways to save money starting in the kitchen so if you have any tips you’d like to share please do so in the comments.

See also:

• 5 Tips for a Quick and Efficient Grocery Shop
• A Real Simple Way To Organize Your Pantry

Photo courtesy of Gaetan Lee