Money-Saving Tips For Food

We all have to eat – but there are ways of purchasing food more economically.

Here are some tips:  

Buy ‘no name’ brands: you may find the quality is equal (and sometimes better) than the national brands

Eat in more: eating at restaurants is significantly more expensive than eating at home

Preserve food: it lasts longer and is readily available when you need it

Cook from scratch: avoid processed, packaged, instant food. Fresh food you have to cook from scratch is less expensive and is packed with nutrients  

Brew your own coffee: drive-through coffee on your way to work can add up in a year and can cost you hundreds extra

Pack a lunch: ‘brown-bag’ as often as possible – your wallet and your waist will be grateful

Use coupons: clip and organize coupons by item and expiry date and take them with you when shopping

Read flyers: special deals can be found and are worth pursuing

Buy in bulk: stock up on items you use regularly 

Plan in advance: plan menus in advance for your shopping trips. By knowing what you need, you will be able to buy in larger quantities (less expensive) and cut down on convenience food purchases (more expensive)

Use leftovers: refrigerate extra food within two hours of preparation and you’ll have a meal for the next day 

Avoid snacks/junk food: these foods are ‘empty calorie’ and expensive 

Buy seasonally: seasonal produce is fresher and cheaper  

Cook just what you need: unless it can be a part of another meal, don’t overcook as this is wasteful

Limit food shopping trips: visit the grocery store just once a week and you will avoid making smaller, unnecessary purchases

Avoid ordering food in: cooking from scratch at home is significantly cheaper

Avoid convenience store purchases: purchase snacks, fruit and drinks for your lunch at a local grocery store. Convenience store purchases cost significantly more.

Buy at cheapest grocery store: surveys have shown that there can be as much as a 10-15% difference on identical grocery items at two different stores in the same area.

Avoid vending machines: snacks and drinks always cost more from a machine than from a grocery store

Grow a garden: great way to save money on veggies. Best gardening vegetables for beginners: salad greens (lettuce, spinach, arugula), green beens, onions, strawberries, peppers, cucumbers, peppers, zucchini, tomatoes, basil, potatoes, carrots, sweet potatoes, pumpkins, eggplant, squash

When socializing, follow these tips:

Instead of meeting a friend for dinner (always the priciest meal), suggest meeting for breakfast, lunch, or even coffee – you are likely to have just as much fun and you will pay less.

If you’re dying to check out an expensive new restaurant, why not go early for a drink and split an appetizer - you’ll get to sample the ambience and the menu for a fraction of the cost.

Rather than going out for dinner with your friends, have ‘$10 Nights In’. Each person can spend $10 on food made for sharing – like pita bread, olives, a bowl of hummus, a pasta salad or a small pizza – and then combine funds to buy a few bottles of wine.

Be fashionably late. Eat dinner at home before you go out to meet your friends. Then you can snack on an appetizer or skip the meal altogether and just have a drink or two with your friends.

Eat early. Most restaurants and bars have happy-hour specials between the hours of 5 and 7 p.m. on weekdays, with drinks at half price and a range of menu items for under $10. Why not meet a friend right after work for a half-price drink and appetizer and then head home for dinner?