There are days that even a dedication to coupons isn’t enough to keep your grocery budget where you can easily afford it. There are steps you can take beyond the basics, like meal planning, though that can help you cut your food budget. A little thinking outside the box can be enough to move you towards cheap, yet tasty eats.

1. Plan around staple ingredients: Planning out your meals for the next week isn’t enough — it’s too easy to wind up buying some ingredient only needed for one dish that you won’t use again until you feel like having that dish again. I try to plan meals that rely on similar ingredients: for instance, I’ll make chicken noodle soup and baked macaroni and cheese in the same week, so that I can just buy one bag of noodles.
2. Keep snack foods on hand: Getting into cooking at home can be a real boon to your wallet, but it’s easy to slip up when you just want a little rather than a full meal. Rather than grabbing something at the nearest vending machine or buying lots of unhealthy snack food, keeping simple snacks like popcorn or cereal on hand can help manage not only your food budget but your health as well.
3. Double your cooking: It may sound counter-intuitive to cook more food in order to cut down on costs, it’s a relatively simple approach. By doubling batches of favorite meals and freezing them, you can effectively have your own tv dinners on hand for a fraction of the cost. On days when you’re just too busy to cook, it’s just a matter of pulling something out of the freezer.
4. Invite friends over: Once a week, I share a meal with friends. We rotate responsibility for main dish, side and dessert — it’s easier to plan for all of us, and I’ve actually noticed that I wind up spending less on those nights, even when I’m responsible for the main course.
5. Stock up on spices: Buying in bulk can bring down the overall cost of your groceries — but trying to eat what amounts to the same thing every day can make it harder to stick to a meal plan and a budget. But it is possible to make each piece of chicken in the giant pack you bought (or anything else bought in bulk) seem like a different meal, if you have a variety of spices on hand to help you differentiate.

These tips are just a starting point, of course. Depending on how much you want to cut your budget by and how many family members you need to feed, you may get varying results out of each tip. But it is possible continue cutting your grocery budget after you’ve taken care of the low-hanging fruit, like making a shopping list and getting the right coupons. Each of these tips comes from something I actually do to help manage my grocery budget.

Do you have any tips that have helped you cut your grocery budget? Please share in the comments.

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I’ve shopped at Sam’s Club pretty much all of my life. After all, paying 12 cents a piece for my packs of ramen has always appealed. In mid-October, I started a special Sam’s Club experiment. In one morning, I dropped $400 at the local Sam’s, and another $100 at the Wal-Mart next door. Sounds like a lot, right? But since that trip, my grocery store runs have been limited to milk, eggs and fresh fruit (under $10 a week).

There’s only been one major exception to my inexpensive shopping trips, and that was picking up the Thanksgiving ham. I could have gotten it during my initial bulk buying run, but I just couldn’t figure out how to get it into my freezer with my other purchases.

I still have plenty of food left, too: my husband and I are comfortably stocked for another at least another two weeks. Assuming that we only make it that far (though I am planning to see just how far I can stretch it), I will have spent approximately $580 for food for two adults for two months. That breaks down to about $35 per week per person — or less than $2 per meal. That’s actually on par with the baseline amount some states use for food stamps.

I do have a few tips to share that make the bulk buying experience easier:
Prepared foods drive up your food bill. The more you can make from scratch, the cheaper you can eat. The biggest obstacle for most people seems to be bread — but there are many recipes that require just 5 minutes of your time to make a loaf.
You don’t have to make everything from scratch, though — crackers are an example of your time being far more valuable than the effort it would take to make a certain food.
Ingredients store better than prepared food, despite the preservatives. You can store flour almost indefinitely, but a loaf of bread may not make it through the week.
Soups and stews are your friends: they’re easy ways to use frozen or canned vegetables, as well as any leftovers.
Break down anything in your freezer into meal-sized portions. For instance, if you buy a 40-pack of hot dogs, you don’t want to have to defrost the whole thing for just one meal.
Indulge in a few of your favorite foods. For me, I have a weakness for cheese. I bought a big block of Gouda and ate it on practically everything (and often by itself).
Plan your shopping trip in advance. Pick items you can use in multiple meals and draw up at least a general meal plan.

These tips come out of my experiences — and my mistakes. I think my experiment has shown that buying in bulk can be an effective way to save money on food — and I don’t have to spend nearly as much time grocery shopping as I’ve needed to in the past. Since I was already used to cooking from scratch, I think I may have wound up saving time as well as food.

Popularity: 19% [?]

I have to admit — going to the grocery store is one of my favorite things to do. Many people view it as a chore, but I love cruising down the aisles and picking out all my food for the week. But lately the price of food is putting a damper on my grocery trips. After spending way over my budget a few weeks ago, I decided to look for a few strategies to help me save next time around. You’ll notice that these tips allow you to continue buying the food you like (it’s not practical or healthy to only buy the cheapest foods at the store). You can save some serious cash by following a few key strategies. Read on for seven tips that work for me.

1. Make a firm grocery list and don’t stray from it.
   Before you hit the store, take stock of what you already have in your refrigerator/cupboards and cross off those items. You’ll avoid buying extra items you don’t need.
2. Bring coupons.
   Check the newspaper and save coupons that come in the mail to bring to the store. Stick them to your refrigerator or put them right in your wallet so you don’t forget them. Also, read this Wealth Junkie post “Save Money with Coupons” to get some specific strategies.
3. Buy store brand items.
   Read the food labels and ingredient lists. Many store brand items have the exact same ingredients as the more expensive name brands. Definitely follow this rule for non-food items.
4. But toiletries elsewhere.
   Many toiletries and personal care items are overpriced at the grocery store (for example, toilet paper, shampoo, bar soap, dishwashing liquid). You can buy larger amounts for much cheaper at discount stores such as Walmart. Make the trip to the discount stores once a month and stock up on non-food items. You can also keep a look out for sales at CVS, Walgreens, or Rite-Aid. Their credit back reward cards can save you a significant amount of cash.
5. Don’t buy convenience items.
   Prepared vegetables or fruit, marinated or seasoned meats, and prepared sandwiches can all be traps for spending extra. I think the stores count on our culture to go for whatever is quick and easy. To save yourself some money, buy the separate, unprepared items and enjoy a little quality time in the kitchen.
6. Check quantities for the best price.
   Sometimes buying in bulk is cheaper, but not always. Stash a small calculator in your pocket or purse and take the time to look at prices for the amount of food you’re getting.
7. Pay attention to your food waste at home.
   One of my strategies is to buy organic milk. I’ve noticed that I only drink milk in small quantities, so if I buy conventional milk, half of it spoils before I’ve used it. Organic milk is more expensive, but it’s expiration date is much later than conventional milk because of the ultra-pasteurization process. For me, its actually cheaper to buy organic milk because I don’t waste it and it lasts much longer. Study your own refrigerator for items that go to waste on a regular basis.

Popularity: 14% [?]