The Frugal Free Gal

With the holiday season fast approaching, if there was ever a time to cut back on your budget and create a little extra breathing room, it’s now. Unfortunately, however, many of the most popular strategies–such as cutting coupons and shopping around, for example–can be too time consuming to be practical when your schedule is jam-packed with holiday events.

While I still definitely recommend checking for coupons quickly before you head to the store, clipping coupons doesn’t have to be your primary strategy–especially during this busy time of year. In fact, here are four great ways to reduce your food budget without clipping coupons at all.

1. Shop Your Pantry First

Instead of constantly running to the store to get the things you need for dinner, take a minute to shop your pantry first. What can you throw together from ingredients you already have on hand?

• Pasta Roni, chicken and peas
• Salsa Chicken (chicken, salsa and cheddar cheese)
• Meatloaf (hamburger, whatever else you have on hand–this one is very versatile)
• Macaroni and cheese with deli ham and broccoli
• Breakfast for dinner (eggs, french toast, etc)
• Leftovers from the night before

The possibilities are endless! Even if you truly don’t have all of the ingredients for a meal, by checking your pantry to see what you do have first, you can often come up with a dinner idea that only requires one new ingredients from the store–not five.

2. Substitute Ingredients

Alternately, if you’re only missing one ingredient from a recipe you want to make, you may be able to substitute it or leave it out altogether. For example, you could…

• Use Ritz crackers instead of bread crumbs
• Use plain yogurt instead of sour cream
• Use a different meat, vegetable, type of noodle, etc.

You can also make many of your own ingredients with things you already have on hand. For example, you could make your own:

• Cream of chicken soup
• Homemade ranch dressing
• Taco seasoning

3. Reduce Food Waste

How often do you throw leftover meals or ingredients away simply because you don’t get around to eating them? Instead of tossing them, use them up!

• Eat leftovers for lunch the next day (oldest first)
• Hold a weekly leftover night
• Meal plan so leftover ingredients will be used in another recipe later the same week
• Save extra vegetables in a bowl in the freezer to be made into vegetable soup
• Save chicken bones and turn them into homemade chicken stock (it’s easy–and yummy!)

4. Cook Once, Eat Twice

Are you guilty of going through the drive thru or buying frozen foods more often than you should because they are fast and easy? Save time and eat healthier with the “cook once, eat twice” technique.

The next time you cook your favorite meal, instead of cooking one batch, cook twice as much. Freeze the second half for later, and the next time you don’t have the time or energy to cook, all you’ll have to do is heat it up! Not a fan of leftovers? Why not trade with a neighbor? You can cook for both families on one night; she can cook for both on another. You don’t even have to have dinner together. Simply walk the dish over by dinner time. This way, you don’t have to cook nearly as often and you get to try tons of new and exciting meals.

Saving on groceries doesn’t have to require hours browsing through deals sites, clipping coupons and writing out match-ups. If you’re running short on time but need to see some big savings on your groceries, these four grocery savings techniques will help!

If you feel like you still want to use coupons to save money, here are the best places to find online printable coupons.

Do you find yourself struggling to save money on groceries? Groceries make up a huge part of the monthly budget. We spend a lot of food, almost comparable to making a large car payment each month! You can significantly cut your food budget when you shop smart and plan ahead before your shopping trip. Here are 10 ways to save at the grocery store.

1. Create a monthly budget for groceries.

Decide on what you can spend on groceries each month and try to stick to your budget. A typical family food budget is anywhere from $400-$600 depending on the size of the family.

Related: How to Create a Budget that Really Works

2. Find coupons to match your list.

Create your shopping list first for the items that you need. Next, search for coupons to match. You’ll be less tempted to buy things you don’t need and avoid that impulse feeling of buying just because you have a coupon. Don’t forget to check popular money saving apps like Ibotta and Checkout 51 for rebates on your purchases.

I just received my check from Checkout 51 recently. I’m about to earn cash back with Ibotta again, too!

My Ibotta earnings:

Related: The Best Places to Find Online Printable Coupons

3. Use the store circular to determine what’s on sale.

Sit down with the store circular and look for the items that you know you buy on a regular basis that are on sale. You’ll be able to use this to create your list in the next step.

4. Create a list before you go to the store and buy ONLY what’s on the list.

It’s easy to get to the store and think, “Oh! I need that, too!” It’s ok to buy these items, but remember that if you are on a budget, you may be going over your budget if you do not stick to what’s on the list.

5. Eat before you shop.

Have you ever gone to the grocery store on an empty stomach? When you go to the store hungry, you are much more tempted to pull items off the shelf that you don’t necessarily need. Your stomach is telling you what to buy!

6. Shop alone, if possible.

Toddlers can be great at keeping us distracted while shopping as they sit in the cart, get out of the cart, push the cart, ride on the front of the cart, and try to get away with whatever they want to do. We also know that they like to pull items off the shelf. (Does any of this sound familiar?) Try to leave the kids at home with the husband or a sitter if necessary. When you do this, you have more time to compare prices and read labels. Often times, shopping alone for moms can feel like a nice vacation!

7. Stock up on items that you regularly buy that are on sale.

If you find an item on sale that you buy on a regular basis, stock up. By doing this, you are saving money in the long-run and cutting your store trips down. *Note: This is a great method if you consider this in your budget.

Related: How to Create a Small Stockpile

8. Browse your cart before checkout.

Scan your cart before heading to the checkout line to make sure you have everything you need and want. Compare your list to the items in your cart and place items back if you don’t need them or if you feel you may go over your budget.

9. Use your coupons!

How many times have you taken coupons to the store only to realize you forgot to use them? Keep coupons organized in an envelope, small coupon file, or binder. Before checkout, have your coupons ready to go! If you want to find coupons to use at the grocery store to save, you can print coupons here.

You can see my coupon binder in this post. I no longer use a binder, though. I went back to using an accordian style file since it fits into my purse. 

10. Double check your receipts.

Cashiers are human, and they make mistakes. At times, items are not scanned correctly, and are scanned twice. There are times when prices do not show up correctly. Check your receipts after you checkout to make sure everything was scanned correctly.

11. Bonus Tip: If you want to avoid getting in your car and driving to the store, consider shopping online for your groceries with AmazonFresh or Amazon Prime Pantry. By shopping online, you could save money on gas and time. You may also avoid temptation to buy as much as you would in a regular grocery store due to the large selection at local retailers.

Do you have any tips for saving at the grocery store?