Ways to be creative and thrifty with your food bills

Hi folks,

Being the "Home Minister" of our household, aren't we ever creative in experimenting ways to trim our food bills?

Here are some tips and tricks which I learnt:

1. Shop alone (not with a hungry stomach)

One simple and fast way to shop if you could (I understand there are some parents who just had to bring their kids along), do it alone after filling up your tummy.

I normally do my grocery purchase or marketing once a week and whenever possible I try doing it off-peak hours and after I have fill up my tummy.

With tummy filled and hands free, I find I have both the time and less tension to do some quick comparison shopping. So if you could get your partner stay with the kids while you shop with a list at hand, I think this might helps too.

I find that I normally spent less money and less time when I do it alone. Just compare MYR80 spent in 30 minutes with MYR270 spent in 90 minutes.

2. Understand how stores marketing works

Products are displayed at the ends of the aisles and at paying counters are meant to catch our eyes (or most cases the eyes of our kids, think sweets, chocolates, ice-creams and soft drinks). Think Do a quick mental check whether it is a plain bargain which you need or don't need. Sometimes it is merely a "WANT" and the bargain becomes the reason of not refusing to buy.

3. Buy store brands or generics

The less-costly store brands are often good enough for most items. Since I packed from home very often and my specialty for potluck parties are fried vermicelli, I often bought few packets of store brand (e.g. Tesco brand Bee Hoon) vermicelli as standby at my pantry. It cost RM1 lesser per packet compared to another brand which is my family's favourite. It taste as good if not better.

5. Use points and coupons

Check your hypermarket's weekly flyer or ads for coupons or points collection.  Many hypermarkets or supermarkets now have super-savers and point's collections for their membership program. Sign up for it, the membership is often FOC or minimal compared to the savings you can accumulate in the long run.

This month alone, I save enough point to get another set of color pencils and perhaps pencil box free for my daughter's upcoming birthday gift.

6. Buy in bulk

Buying in bulk for non-perishables or most-often used items, for example paper products, cleaning supplies, stationeries, dried food, etc.  For bulk purchase on most-often used perishables, separate large packages into smaller ones as soon as you get home. Divide burger patties, etc into daily portions and freeze for later use.

Tip: Frugal shoppers know they can get a price break by buying day-old bread or bagels. And you can make a game of cooking fine foods with produce you picked up at a bargain price just before it became over-ripe. But try reversing the strategy by buying only the freshest items and they'll last longer in your refrigerator.

The other two more tips which I have yet to practice it regularly and is found to be very useful by many are

1.       Weekly Menu Planning

When I managed to plan in advance, for example cutting vegetables in advance and list out the menu for each day, I find it great as when I woke up late, hubby would know what's available in the fridge and can take over the cooking task for me. It applies for older member of your family too.

 

2.       Grow own vegetables

In my former landlord's house which has a bigger piece of land for growing vegetables, I have harvested nice and sweet pumpkin, basil and mint leaves for spaghetti and soups, green vegetables and chillis.

 

Now I would love to do the same with the limited space I have in the balcony of my apartment. This can serve as a teaching tool and fun time with our kids too!

What other budget saving strategy you adopt for your food bills? Let's share!

Be Creative and Have fun too!

 

Cheers!