Canadian Finance Blog

Posted: 02 Jun 2011 02:00 AM PDT

How much money do you spend on food each week? Do you run to the store after work to pick up a last minute feast? Do you eat out or grab food to-go, simply because you need to eat and your fridge is empty? These habits are costing you and with a bit of organization could be happily avoided. Reducing your grocery bill is a really simple process. All you need to do is get started and once you do you will see a difference in no time. Here's how:

Making your list

Put your food list together and go shopping on a Sunday or Monday; get ready for a week of organized cooking. When you are complying your list plan for five varied meals, for example:

A curry or casserole with rice
Fish and salad
Meat with Potatoes and vegetables
A pasta dish
A large salad, such as Chicken Caesar

By putting together a varied menu, not only are you setting yourself up for a balanced diet but you are allowing room to suit your cravings. Sometimes when we vaguely plan meals with little thought, meal times can be a repetitive bore, you may not be in the mood for what is in the fridge, tempting you to grab something else on your way home, by keeping things varied you are more likely to eat what is waiting at home. Saving your cash!

The list above holds a combination of food with different preparation times that will fit within your schedule, if Tuesday night is your busiest week night, salad and pasta is an easy meal. For nights with more available time, whip together a delicious curry!

When you are putting your list together, think of which food items can be overlapped between meals. In this list, there are two meals that contain salad, think about how much you need for covering these two and stick to this. Your curry/casserole will include vegetables, try and use these with the pasta dish or as a side with the meat and potatoes.

For the remainder of your list you may want snacking items. These cost a lot less when bought in bulk, if you tend to regularly snack on cookies or chocolate pick up a multi-pack. Taking food to work makes a huge difference to your weekly outgoings, so plan what you are going to take in and add it to the list!

No more grabbing

Grabbing food in a thoughtless fashion adds weight to your pockets. This is why it is essential to create a list before hand and stick to it! Often us folk walk round the supermarket throwing items into their basket on impulse. What then happens to these items is they sit still, perish and eventually get thrown away, an unnecessary process. Think before you grab, if it is not on the list, do you need it? If you are grabbing through culinary inspiration that you plan to follow through, then grab. If not, keep walking.

Expiration Dates

Pay attention to expiration dates as you shop. Take a couple of seconds to check that the items you are picking up will still be edible by the time you plan to eat them. Also, bare this in mind when you are deciding what to eat, throwing away expired food is an utter waste, stopping this from happening is your responsibility, so plan accordingly. If you have bought some meat but doubt you will be eating it till later on in the week, store it directly in the freezer so that it keeps fresh and there is no risk of it going to waste.

Freezer containers and labels

To make your pennies stretch even further, buy a selection of containers that are suitable for freezing along with sticky labels. Get a couple of sizes that suit a meal portion for one as well as two people (or even more, depending on how many you are!) So, when you have gone to the effort of cooking a casserole/curry you may as well cook enough to freeze a couple of portions. Often when people freeze meals, they will freeze a large batch that once defrosted can not be re-frozen, resulting in waste. Use the sticky labels to name your delicious home cooked delights and add the cooking date.

Do you chuck away condiments and sauces because you are unsure of when you opened them? My grandma taught me a great tip to keeping on top of this: By labelling the items on the date of opening. If the sauce that you have bought expires in a month, you will know exactly when to get rid of it.

When not to shop

Times to avoid shopping the grocery store are as follows:

Hungry- When we are really hungry we tend to go on shopping binges. Your well-thought out list is not guaranteed to save you when hunger strikes. As a last resort, grab a snack before hitting the shops.
Full up- Having over-eaten or being in a state of well-fed bliss, tends to be when we are at the height of frugality. Bare this in mind as you move around the shop as you don't want to get home with nothing but a couple of seeds and an apple!
Emotional- When going through a period of emotional unrest we tend to comfort eat. $50 worth of chocolate and cake is not going to see you through the week.

Shop online

Shopping online is a fantastic money-saver. With no in store temptations you can keep your purchases limited to the essential and needed. My mother is an extremely thoughtful shopper; every food item has its function. So, I was very surprised that since shopping online she has reduced her weekly shopping expenditure by $60 a week!

Author Bio: Anne Davies is an avid guest blogger, writing articles on a range of topics from bridal sets to travel tips. Anne is the Social Media Consultant for Kranichs, purveyors of mothers rings and more!

Food for Thought originally appeared on Canadian Finance Blog on June 2, 2011.