Solo Mother

How to save a little money on your groceries

by christina on July 7th, 2008

I was too late to sign up for a CSA, which is a bummer, as it would have netted me an amazing amount of fresh, organically-grown fruits, vegetables, and flowers for about $20 a week, and keep a farmer from selling his land to a McMansion developer. I’ll have to be a little faster on the draw next year!

All in all, though, I’m not doing too badly on saving money on groceries, even though I order them online and have them delivered (ahhh, the joys of living the single mother in the city life!) Last order I saved almost $50 — without coupons. Here are a few tried and true strategies to make your dollar, and your food budget, stretch further…

• Check out the store circular for bargains–usually comes out in the Wednesday paper. Mark down those sale items you actually need, and ignore the good deal on something you wouldn’t otherwise buy, or on things that are bad for you but come with a tempting price tag. Junk food is a waste of money, no matter how deep the sale discount goes.
• Plan your menu for the week, from Wednesday to Wednesday. You can take advantage of what’s on sale and build meal plans around that. For instance, meat loaf is great hot or cold, and can make brown bag sandwiches for a couple of days after your main, sit-down dinner. And if you don’t eat meat, I’ve got a great recipe for vegetarian meatloaf I’ll share with you one day. Take into consideration lunch and breakfast when you plan your meals, and use leftover vegetables in fritattas, last night’s dinner repurposed into tomorrow’s lunch, etc.
• Keep an eye on coupons. Again, if it’s not good for you, or not something you’d normally buy, reconsider before you clip that forty cents off bargain. Watch your store, and use your coupons on double coupon days for maximum savings
• If you find something at a great price, think about buying extra and freezing it if possible
• Buy fruits and vegetables locally and in season. As fuel prices skyrocket, those extra dollars and cents for transportation costs are going to end up buried in your nectarines, and they won’t taste so sweet, anymore. If you’re a berry nut, perhaps a trip to a farm to pick your own is a wise investment, especially if you can freeze some

Know what’s in your fridge. Serve reasonable portions and stop trying to catch up with the Cheesecake Factory. Eat smaller meals with healthy snacks in between. Steer clear of processed foods and individual packaging.

How are you making your food money stretch further? As a single mother, I worry about being able to provide for the two of us, and having a fridge full of good food is a defense mechanism against that fear. I need to lighten up, obviously!

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