Ways to save money on groceries

[Justine]

When I freeze stuff it tends to get freezer burnt if it's there for too long and I end up throwing it out. I only have a small freezer in my fridge anyway so it doesn't store very much.

[Litesandsirens911]

don't store meat in your fridge top freezer, it is what causes freezer burn, i saw this on the Foodnetwork...if you have a free-standing freezer, use that..i only have an apartment size freezer, and i wrap all my raw meat in aluminum foil and THEN put it in Ziploc freezer bags, it never gets freezer burnt, and i have meat that sits in there for 6-9 months sometimes because my BIL is a hunter and often gives us steaks, sausages, roasts, etc...if I do have to put it in the fridge freezer, it almost ALWAYS gets freezer burnt, it's gross..

[Justine]

don't store meat in your fridge top freezer, it is what causes freezer burn, i saw this on the Foodnetwork...if you have a free-standing freezer, use that..i only have an apartment size freezer, and i wrap all my raw meat in aluminum foil and THEN put it in Ziploc freezer bags, it never gets freezer burnt, and i have meat that sits in there for 6-9 months sometimes because my BIL is a hunter and often gives us steaks, sausages, roasts, etc...if I do have to put it in the fridge freezer, it almost ALWAYS gets freezer burnt, it's gross..

I live in a small apartment too and don't have a free-standing freezer unfortunately. But I will try your trick!

We just went grocery shopping today and now the entire freezer is totally full.

[Litesandsirens911]

We just went grocery shopping today and now the entire freezer is totally full.

Actually I saw that the more your freezer is full, the more efficient it becomes, so it shouldn't get freezer burnt that quick! I wish I could send you my little apartment freezer, it's getting too small and I have to get a little bit bigger one soon!

[etherealone]

How I save money everyday:

--cut dryer sheets into thirds. OR take 1/3 cup of softener put into a spray bottle of water. spray 4-5 times on teh wet clothes when they are in teh dryer. you would be amazed how good this works.

--mon-fri everyone gets a times shower (you decide how long) then on the weekend, everyone gets ONE long shower.

--buy reduced meat at Zehrs or wherever. I know butchers who regularly buy this up because they know the meat is just fine. Freeze it and use when you like.

--stock pile groceries/products you use. i have a store room with enough shampoo, personal care items, basic dry goods, tp to keep us going for almost a year. everything was bought on clearance, on sale and with coupons. If I have coupons for shampoo and its on sale with the end cost being $1 per item, i will buy as many as i can afford. the idea is to NEVER pay full price on any one item again. of course fresh veggies are excluded.

--i get veggies on clearance. i chop and/or blanch to freeze them. put into ziplock bags. i have bags in the freezer of green pepper, onion, celery, and carrots. i can just toss them in sauces whenever i need them. and they were all reduced. i get bananas reduced and put the really ripe ones in the freezer to make bread.

--store potato, carrot, turnip, parsnips, onion, and apples the right way! if you do, they will last more than a month and in some cases, a few months. find a dry cold storage, use a spot under the basement stairs.

--don't be loyal to brands. buy the cheapest. also, dont buy a product just because you have a coupon for it. ie: i had lots of great Maxx litter coupons and waited for a sale to use them. when they did come on sale, the store brand was still much cheaper and very similar in quality.

--Store only what you eat, and EAT what you store. keeping a stock pile is good for emergency preparedness like the loss of a job AND it saves you money. but only buy things your family uses/eats regularly. Buy $20 worth of pinto beans that were .25 a piece is no deal if your family hates them.

--buy bread at reduced prices or day old. then freeze. i love making bread BUT i have done the math and considering the extra heat to keep the room warm enough to rise the bread, the oven being on, the flour, salt, sugar, oil, and yeast, there is no way that this is cheaper. i make bread as a treat. unless you are buying red wheat, and milling it yourself, its just not cheaper.

--dont go to get just a few items across town just because its a great sale. go shopping when the opportunity strikes. you have to bring your son to soccer practice and IGA is nearby, so go then.

--you should always have enough food stocked up so that you are never forced to rush out to get dinner items/snacks for kids lunches the next day. you will have to pay full price if you do.

--have one media free night. lap tops, computers, radios all add up in power usage. and they are usually at a premium during the night.

--unplug ALL appliances like computers, tv, stereos. or use the proper power cord to shut it off!

--we keep our heat at 65 at night. and 68 during the day. we use sweaters and blankets. and for our efforts, the kids get delicious hot cocoa made with cocoa powder, and skim milk powder....

--buy powdered milk. you can use it for baking. you can make sweetened condensed milk with it too! tastes just like eagle brand. use the powdered for things like smoothies, cooking, cereal. save the fresh milk for drinking. also, some families mix half powdered milk and half fresh for drinking. the savings are rediculous!

--pick a few absolutely delicious vegetarian dishes your family loves and have them twice a week. some of our favourites are garam masala, and baked root veggies in a white sauce, homemade mac and cheeze!

just some suggestions!

[melodiemar]

All Great Ideas!!! Very inspirational....

in our house it's lights....keep them off as much as possible! And we just replaced our toilet with a low flush to save on water. Shorter showers. Having a meal plan, I find is a real time and money saver. It takes a bit of work to plan it out each week, but once it's done...its a no-brainer for the rest of the week.

[haneylaw]

--buy bread at reduced prices or day old.

--buy powdered milk. you can use it for baking. you can make sweetened condensed milk with it too! tastes just like eagle brand. use the powdered for things like smoothies, cooking, cereal. save the fresh milk for drinking. also, some families mix half powdered milk and half fresh for drinking. the savings are rediculous!

Just to play devils advocate... I grew up with powdered milk, unless you REALLY can't afford it, do not make your family drink this... its soooooo gross! It is great for all the other things mentioned though!

And my mother provided for years by becoming friends with our baker. We took home the "past day olds." Perfectly good bread and sometimes pies that he gave us for free.

[etherealone]

Just to play devils advocate... I grew up with powdered milk, unless you REALLY can't afford it, do not make your family drink this... its soooooo gross! It is great for all the other things mentioned though!

And my mother provided for years by becoming friends with our baker. We took home the "past day olds." Perfectly good bread and sometimes pies that he gave us for free.

lol. that made me laugh....i agree too....my kids have tried a taste of it and they HATE it. but on cereal, they said it tastes no different.

[thecountess]

And my mother provided for years by becoming friends with our baker. We took home the "past day olds." Perfectly good bread and sometimes pies that he gave us for free.

OMG!

Free pie?

[secheltsaver]

Gotta agree on the powdered milk taste-not for drinking anyhow.I used to do a lot of cooking and baking (10 loaves of bread 2x/week)from scratch,and used powdered milk.....if we ran out of fresh milk I'd put a drop of vanilla extract in the powdered stuff,helps alot with the taste.There's also non-instant powdered whole milk(instead of skim)that you can buy at health food stores.It tastes way better and it's still cheaper.You can freeze homogenized milk too-if you find it on sale or marked down it's handy to have around.Give it a shake when its thawed and you're good to go.

[Steenibambini]

Wow, that's so funny about powdered milk - it's something I never would have thought of! I always said it was way more convenient to give my babies formula because you just carry around a water bottle and a tupperware container of formula, and just mix it when you need it. I should have thought that I could continue doing the same with just powdered milk when they were old enough! It would have been great for day trips to the zoo when we're out in the heat all day long and only have tiny insulated lunch bags.

[Nice Sass]

Nothing has helped me save on groceries more than having a plan: I try to make every main meal large enough that the leftovers can become a lunch or second dinner, so this eliminates prep for one meal, and ensures that the we consume all that we made. When it's not enough to be a primary dish it becomes a soup with the addition of some broth, and a salad served on the side. I don't think I've found a dish yet that can't be converted to a soup. Perhaps pizza??

I developed a rule of "one at a time", meaning that we can only have one cereal open at a time; one box of crackers at a time; one salad dressing, etc. Prior to this rule everyone had their favourite cereals, plus those purchased for when family visited, so there were about five on the go until they went stale. Growing up we couldn't have sweeter cereals (Corn Pops, Lucky Charms, etc.) unless we were on vacation, and I continue this trend now with my kids.

My veggie sides are always seasonal; for instance right now at RCSS I can buy a bag of carrots, onions and potatos for $1 each, so these have been a good portion of our sides. I keep an eye on prices...although I'm all for fresh fruit and veggies, every now and then things spike so at that time I have to reconsider. For instance, until last week, for about the past month mushrooms were going for $4; I can live without at that price.

Sorry to the Dairy Farmers of Canada, but I buy my butter in the states; it is SO, SO much cheaper. We buy several blocks of butter stick packages, and then freeze them. We buy our milk here because we like it fresh and aren't in the states often enough to buy it there, but I know several "commuters" (daily border crossers) who bring a gallon of milk home regularly because it's so much cheaper in the US.

When I find that my freezer goods have been hit with some freezer burn, I simply toss them into a casserole; the melange of flavours in a casserole will always cover it up, and I can adjust the spices at whim to cover unwanted flavours up.

Like the slow cooker suggestion, I find that cheaper cuts of meat or cheaper seafood options are just fine in a casserole dish.

[nv_jenn]

LOL, I am way picky and whatnot about my food, I read all of these since the last time and it would kill me to do half of them.... Not meaning there is something wrongwith the suggestions, just meaning something is wrong in my mind....

I could never go without meat, .... maybe one night a week I could..... however I have boughten those cheap steaks and put them in the slow cooker and they are just as good as a $25 one!

[Steenibambini]

Nothing has helped me save on groceries more than having a plan: I try to make every main meal large enough that the leftovers can become a lunch or second dinner, so this eliminates prep for one meal, and ensures that the we consume all that we made. When it's not enough to be a primary dish it becomes a soup with the addition of some broth, and a salad served on the side. I don't think I've found a dish yet that can't be converted to a soup. Perhaps pizza??

I developed a rule of "one at a time", meaning that we can only have one cereal open at a time; one box of crackers at a time; one salad dressing, etc. Prior to this rule everyone had their favourite cereals, plus those purchased for when family visited, so there were about five on the go until they went stale. Growing up we couldn't have sweeter cereals (Corn Pops, Lucky Charms, etc.) unless we were on vacation, and I continue this trend now with my kids.

My veggie sides are always seasonal; for instance right now at RCSS I can buy a bag of carrots, onions and potatos for $1 each, so these have been a good portion of our sides. I keep an eye on prices...although I'm all for fresh fruit and veggies, every now and then things spike so at that time I have to reconsider. For instance, until last week, for about the past month mushrooms were going for $4; I can live without at that price.

Sorry to the Dairy Farmers of Canada, but I buy my butter in the states; it is SO, SO much cheaper. We buy several blocks of butter stick packages, and then freeze them. We buy our milk here because we like it fresh and aren't in the states often enough to buy it there, but I know several "commuters" (daily border crossers) who bring a gallon of milk home regularly because it's so much cheaper in the US.

When I find that my freezer goods have been hit with some freezer burn, I simply toss them into a casserole; the melange of flavours in a casserole will always cover it up, and I can adjust the spices at whim to cover unwanted flavours up.

Like the slow cooker suggestion, I find that cheaper cuts of meat or cheaper seafood options are just fine in a casserole dish.

I didn't know you could freeze butter!

[Nice Sass]

Absolutely! I take it out the night before baking. This is the tip from dairygoodness.ca:

"If you plan to freeze butter for longer storage, cut it into 1/2 cup (125 mL) portions and wrap each portion in plastic wrap then in foil or place in an airtight container or freezer bag and freeze. This makes it easier to remove a small amount of butter at a time and avoid refreezing."

I just buy sticks and freeze the whole box; works just fine without any extra (wasteful) wrapping.