Saving Series: Tip 2

TIP #2: CUT BACK ON FOOD SPENDING

Once I created my spending chart and saw where my money was going, I was able to start thinking about where I needed to make some changes. The first area I made changes was my Food category. I was eating out a lot more than I realized, at fast food places and restaurants, and my actual grocery spending was pretty high, too. I had to figure out how to make some changes.

First, I cut back on how often I ate out. Instead of grabbing fast food once a week, I aimed for once every two weeks. Instead of eating at a restaurant twice a month, I aimed for once a month, and so on. As for my groceries, the quickest way to lower my bill was to switch to store-brand items. Instead of buying Tyson chicken, for example, I bought Target's brand. Instead of buying Tostitos, I bought the off-brand tortilla chips, and so on. I now regularly buy off-brand chips, milk, frozen vegetables, canned goods, and other staples such as flour, rice and sugar. I still pay attention to labels to make sure that I'm buying safe and responsible products, but I spend a lot less. AND-- it all tastes the same.

Obviously people who maintain a vegetarian, organic, or vegan diet may find it more challenging to cut the grocery bill because those products tend to be more expensive and more limited as far as availability and choice. Unfortunately, I enjoy the blessings of animal products so I don't really have any advice for you, other than to come back to the good life!

Just kidding.

But while we're on the subject, another change I made, very recently, was to try to include more vegetarian meals in my diet. This has not only cut back the amount of fat and cholesterol I'm consuming, but it has also cut back on spending. Veggies are cheaper than meat. Who knew?

So, can you go from 8 meals out to 4 each month? Can you switch to off-brand versions of your groceries? Can you buy sugar-free drink mixes (sold in containers of 6 packets, each packet makes 2 quarts) instead of spending $2 on a 2-liter of soda? Try to embrace your inner chef. Instead of buying a burrito bowl and chips from Chipotle, make your own at home! Instead of going to Olive Garden for pasta and salad, create your own pasta dish at home and enjoy the leftovers for lunch. Finding recipes you like makes it easier to eat at home, and it saves you the extra $5 tip, plus the gas, you'd spend on a meal at a restaurant.