5 Simple Ways to Save Money On Your Larger Family’s Food Bill

Let’s get one thing out of the way right up front: an Extreme Couponer I am not. In fact, I’ve never been good at doing anything to the extreme. But with five kids – two of whom have entered adolescent boy territory and consume roughly four times their body weight each day – plus rising grocery prices, I’ve found my grocery bill slowly creeping up over the last few years. The good news? I was able to get it under control again by following some simple and easy steps:

1. Buy fresh produce only when it’s in season. For years I shopped the produce department religiously, every season of the year, reasoning that fresh produce must be “better” than frozen. But how “fresh” is that cauliflower that was picked who-knows-how-long-ago and imported thousands of miles? Frozen fruits and veggies are generally frozen when very fresh, so nutrients are locked in…and you can’t say that for the sad, wilted lettuce in the produce section in February. And it’s cheap, especially when on sale…which is why I’m going to stock up this week when bags are 10 for $10.You can also buy and freeze local produce when it’s in season, either at your grocery store or through a U-pick, farm market or CSA (Community-Supported Agriculture) This year we participated in a CSA for the first time, and as a result I have a freezer stuffed with organic veggies that would have been a lot pricier at the grocery store, like green beans, red, yellow and orange peppers, and blueberries….not to mention the rows of jams, preserves, and sauces I was able to make from the bounty. (And we’ll be eating CSA apples for at least another month.)I’m not religious about this “rule” – we still buy things like fresh lettuce and bananas in the off-season – but during the winter and early spring months, I make a very short list for the produce section and then zip through.
2. Keep waste in check. When my food prices began to rise, I had to take a hard, honest look at my buying habits…and realized I was simply buying too much food. With a big family, I’d somehow gotten it into my head that buying in bulk would be less expensive over time. But that’s only true if what you buy gets used up! I started buying smaller amounts of everything, keeping my refrigerator and pantry neater so that food wouldn’t get “lost” and go bad, and incorporating leftovers into our lunch and dinner plans twice a week.
3. Make your shopping regular and planned. Whether you grocery shop once a month or twice a week, try to do it on a fairly regular schedule. That will make it much easier for you to keep track of how much food your family goes through in X amount of time. And that last day or two before the grocery-shopping trip, when the fridge is getting empty and the kids are complaining about the bare cupboards, can be an opportunity to get creative with the contents of your freezer and pantry and use up leftovers….which will help reduce waste and save money in the long run.
4. Create a meal-planning system. Whether it’s a pad of paper stuck to your fridge, a smartphone app or a complicated database stored on your hard drive, making a shopping and meal plan you’ll actually use is critical. Experiment with a few different methods if you have to until you land on the one you don’t forget to use and that actually helps you stay organized…bonus points if you enjoy using it! Oh, and if you, like me, are not a regular couponer, do stash an envelope or mini file in your purse. Sometimes you’ll stumble across a coupon for a product you would buy anyway, and those coupons that print out at the register can be really valuable. You don’t want to lose track of free money.
5. Be brave in the kitchen. Meal plans are a great tool, but it’s hard to make them really work for your budget if you always shy away from unfamiliar cuts of meat (you know, the inexpensive ones) or avoid whole grains and dry beans and legumes because you don’t know what to do with them. The fact is, many of us grew up with limited kitchen skills, maybe because we were raised in processed-food-loving households, or perhaps because our own busy moms chased us out of the kitchen. So get a good cookbook or find an online tutorial and be brave enough to pass up the boneless, skinless chicken breasts! I like to look at sales as an opportunity to try new and unfamiliar foods and techniques. I might not get it just right the first time, but slowly I’m becoming a better, braver, cook…and I know our diets are more well-rounded and nutritious – not to mention less expensive – because of it.

What simple tricks do you use to save money on your family’s food bill?