I grew up on food stamps, so shopping frugally and thoughtfully is just coded into my DNA. That’s why – TO THIS DAY – one of the more difficult things to get used to on the East Coast is HOW EXPENSIVE THE FOOD IS. Here are some of the ways I manage to keep my food budget down.
Eat seasonal fruit and veggies. It drives me crazy when my boyfriend picks up the first fruit/food product in sight — magically, it tends to be the most expensive of its kind. Coming from California, where Mexican supermarkets practically give the produce away for free, I guess I’m just more sensitive to the relatively high price of fruits and veggies on the East Coast. That’s why I look for seasonal fruits and veggies and save up to 2 bucks per pound!
Shop at your “discount” supermarket. Yes, these are often crowded, noisy and do not have the widest stock, but MAN CAN YOU SAVE SOME MONEY HERE! And since they’re often located in high-immigrant areas, you can find some tasty treats you wouldn’t find at more mainstream markets anyway. A good example in New England is Market Basket. Don’t be picky; try it!
Use coupons. I’m not necessarily talking about the ones that come in the Sunday paper or in the mail (these are difficult for me, since they are often aimed at families – like, buy 10 get 1 deals). I mean the ones that print out with your receipt AFTER buying groceries. Food manufacturers are crazy sneaky about how they target customers, and it works. So I’ll often get coupons for some of the more “gourmet” items I like to munch on, like Greek yogurt or dark chocolate. Hey, it feels really cool to save even fifty cents since I’m going to buy the product anyway!
Eat a frozen meal once or twice a week for lunch. Whenever I buy lunch for work (which happens more often than I’d like), I can dole out $6-$9 on a sandwich or meal from Au Bon Pain. But there are somewhat “good” frozen meal alternatives out there for about $3.50.
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I have to agree with shopping seasonally – this is one of the best ways to save money!
One thing I do is plan our weekly dinner meals around what produce is on sale at the local supermarkets. Not only does it give you the opportunity to save money, but it also allows you to experiment with different kinds of produce you don’t normally use. (That’s how I ended up cooking turkey-filled wonton soup with baby bok choy tonight! Man, it’s delicious!)
Didn’t really think about eating a frozen meal once a week. Good idea!