Food Buying Basics

Well I was almost entirely out of food. So not only am I hungry but I know the grocery bill will be huge to boot.

Your grocery bill for any given month should not be any less than 200 dollars and will depend on your preference and quite frankly your size. A little lady such as myself can get by on 200 dollars but a 6'2 195 lb man probably couldn't. So take a look at your eating habits and your personal situation.   To get a rough idea of what you spend on groceries every month look at your food receipts for last three 3 months to see where you are averaging out. 

Now that you know how much you wanna spend take a look at what you are buying and think about how you can make that money stretch further. Are you buying name brands? Are you buying a lot of ready made foods? how much of your food are you throwing out each month?

Buying Brand Labels:
Did you know that Store brands are often the same product just with a different label. To make some big savings try your grocers store brand to see how it compares. I have come to prefer the Super Store No Name and PC brands to the Brand labels in a lot of cases.

Buying Ready Made:
Not only are you pumping your body full of extra sodium but in most cases the items can be easily made at home. There are a ton of great free cooking websites that have all kinds of recipes so you can make delicious meals from scratch. Try allrecipies.com or join a foodie blog such as Bite or Suzie the Foodie or you could join a facebook group - I happen to manage the Occasions Magazine page and we post lots of great recipes!

Trust me, your meal will be delicious and rewarding since you made it yourself rather than just opening a box.
Don't get me wrong I have a couple of TV dinners in the freezer for emergencies, but you should limit this habit as much as you can. 

The Garbage Bin:
If you end up throwing out a lot of food every month, you should take a look at why. Are you trying to eat healthier but it just ends up going bad in the fridge or are you forgetful and leave ingredients out on the counter or maybe you are just buying to much at once.

If you buy what you like you will eat it. Point and case. Don't be afraid to try new things but when you are on a budget its not the time to be risk money on guesses at every turn.

Treat yourself:
Don't forget to treat yourself every once in a while. Get that steak or box of cookies. Even on a budget you have enjoy life. Buy something once a month to make meal time fun and extra delicious!