The Trick To Saving Money On Food - http://www.SavingSecrets.com

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THE TRICK TO SAVING MONEY ON FOOD

Groceries and food take up a large portion of peoples income. Luckily, there are vast solutions to combat the price of food. Some of you may think you are too busy to employ some of these suggestions, however, many are time savers as well as money savers. The trick to saving money on groceries is organization. Organization doesn’t come naturally to all and it isn’t learned overnight. It takes a while and perhaps time still won’t do the trick. For me, I had to see that being unorganized was wasting my money.

I saw that organization would work when I threw out food that had gone bad in the fridge. Had I worked the leftovers into a meal plan, it would not have been wasted. If I hadn’t been scrambling around trying to decide what to make for dinner without any meat thawed or beans soaked, I wouldn’t have ordered out.

The first thing to do to get organized in the kitchen is to get a calendar and a chalkboard or markerboard. Write all appointments and your work scedule on the calendar. This allows you to see at a glance if you’re going to be busy the next day, so you can then plan around it. If I know I’m going to be busy non-stop the next day, I don’t plan to have a big roast or turkey for dinner. I either take out a pre-cooked meal, or prepare the meal as much as possible the night before.

Use the markerboard to write down any leftovers that you put in the fridge so that you don’t forget to use them up. I usually write down what it is and when it has to be used by. If you’re not going to use the leftovers right away - like you just can’t stomach another bowl of chili - put them in the freezer. There’s less chance of wasting it because it will last longer in the freezer.

Some people like to plan meals for the entire week. I don’t like to do this however because I’m never sure if I’m going to feel like steak or hot dogs three days from now. Instead, I plan meals a day in advance. I look at my schedule for the next day, I look at what has to be used up in terms of leftovers or fresh food and I decide what to make. Take things out of the freezer and put it in the fridge to thaw overnight. It will be ready to cook with by dinnertime the next night.

You will save energy by not using the microwave to thaw your meat and you will be less tempted to order out. It’s when you get home from a long day at work and everything is frozen when you want to order that pizza.

Another thing you can do to save yourself some time and money is prepare meals in advance and freeze them. Things like chili, spaghetti sauce, casseroles and rice dishes all freeze nicely. It really takes no more time to make a double batch than to make a single batch. Not only will you save yourself time, but energy as well becuase you’re only cooking one meal. I always make at least a double and sometimes a triple batch of chili and spaghetti sauce. Divide it up into family sizes and freeze it. All you have to do is reheat it and cook the pasta, it’s even faster than ordering out.

If you are frequently short on time and have a big freezer, you might consider Once a Month Cooking (OAMC). This is where you set aside a whole day or even a weekend and cook a month’s worth of meals at one time. You then package it up into family- or single-sized servings and stick it in the freezer until you want it. The obvious advantage to this is you save a whack of time and money. You are less tempted to order out, even when you’re tired, because all you have to do it thaw your dinner in the microwave. Casseroles, rice dishes, pasta, spaghetti sauces, chili and soups are great for OAMC.

These are just a few of the many things you can do to save yourself some money on your grocery bill. Start slow and keep at it, in no time they become a habit and you won’t even have to think about it.