Frugal Eating 101: An Introduction

Frugal Eating 101: An Introduction

Welcome Royal Students!  It’s yet again time to take another course in the Royal Savings Academy.  Get out your laptops and take some notes today as we talk about how to eat more frugally.  Whether you dine in or out, your food budget can quickly gobble up quite a bit of your cash.  So don’t bite the big one when it comes to your daily sustenance.  Instead, make a plan to save so that your grocery and dining out bills don’t eat the majority of your income.  Here are a few introductory tips on how to save cash and eat well, too.

• See what you’ve already got in your cabinets.  This is probably the most essential tip that I could convey. I’m often surprised at the great many number of staples that I always have in my cabinets that can make a delicious and nutritious meal.  Look over each item and brainstorm what dishes you can incorporate them into without going to the grocery store.

• Next, make a meal plan.  Each Monday on Queen of Free you can read what we’re having at the Royal Table that week.  I try not to repeat too many things from week to week so maybe you’ll have a spark by reading what we’re eating.  I base my meal plan off of two things: 1) What we already have in the cabinet and 2) What items will be on sale or are in season.

• From your meal plan, make a grocery list.  This list is your guide on your trip.  It keeps you from going down unnecessary aisles and making unneeded purchases.  This is especially important with buying perishable items that might spoil before you get a chance to eat them.

• Aim to spend as little time in the grocery store as possible.  The less you’re there, the less you’ll buy.  Set a time limit for yourself and see if you can meet your goal.  Pretend you’re on one of those game shows where you have to put your items in your cart as quickly as possible to get the groceries for free.  If your kids are riding in the cart, they’ll love it.  

• Cook ahead.  If there are individual components of a meal that you can make before the dinner hour, get it done.  Boil your pasta, grill or bake your meat, cook your beans, chop your veggies, bake bread, etc. days or even weeks ahead of time.  It will cut down the amount of time that you use when you’re starving and trying to fix dinner at the same time.

• Be flexible.  If you plan making spaghetti on Tuesday and all of the sudden realize on Tuesday at 5 PM that you didn’t dethaw your ground turkey or beef AND your microwave doesn’t work like mine then switch your game plan and fix Thursday’s meal on Tuesday and Tuesday’s meal on Thursday.  Or switch out side items if necessary.  I find that if you’re inflexible with anything, you’re more likely to fall off the wagon.  

• Plan to eat out.  We’ve gone through phases where we’ve not eaten out at all but this isn’t always practical.  When you meal plan, don’t be afraid to plan a “dinner out” slot, especially if you know you’ll be busy or you’re celebrating something.  I even like to pick ahead of time where we’ll be dining out based on coupons and specials to be sure we’re getting the best bang for our buck and visiting some of our favorite places at the same time.

Related posts:

Five Quick Ways to Save on Your Grocery Bill WITHOUT Coupons mPerks $2 Coupon PLUS Meijer Shopping Tips Three Things Thursday: Three Things that I Do Every Week to Keep My Sanity when It Comes to Dinner/Food Prep The $50 Grocery Challenge: What I bought