Cooking on a budget takes practice. That does not mean you can't start saving right away, it just means as with anything, improvement gets better with time and experience. Taking on cooking on a budget isn't all that unfamiliar to most of us, unless you belong to the fortunate few who have yet to face hardship in some way. Cooking on a budget will also hone your cooking, home-making and maybe even your finance skills a win-win adventure.
How you plan to cook on a budget should really depend on your situation. If you are the type looking for immediate savings, recently laid off and forced to a one-income household or are expecting twins with no pay raises in the near future, you can get aggressive with your planning. If you are the type that is looking for changes for the long haul and long-term saving are options you may take a financial approach with investments. Or maybe you are just more interested in making your income go farther or hoping for disposable cash after said and done, you may take a step-by-step approach and find the best fit for your budget and lifestyle. Whatever your case, you may want to begin with a way to note your planning ideas, spending and cost comparison tracking. The best tip here would be to start a portfolio, of sorts, that helps you keep track of planning and costs. A journal, a bin for coupons and a ledger book or an electronic spreadsheet for cost tracking will help you get on your way to practical methods to saving cash on your cooking budget.
Investing in food storage up front is one way you can't go wrong. When cooking on a budget, especially for a family, food storage is a key method for saving money. Many, if not most of us are accustom to preparing more food than will be eaten and leftovers likely get tossed in the trash. Taking a new approach to food storage can help stop that waste. Vegetables and fruits are the most wasted of food items out there. Everyone can save here, even if you are the type mentioned before, that is looking to make disposable cash at the end of the month; you can typically start and stop with plastic storage like Tupperware or Ziploc bags. Make frozen vegetables go further by dividing portions into smaller sized bags for the serving you expect to be consumed. The food goes further this way as well zipping the food individually versus holding all in a large bag, which leaves room for oversized portions or waste by freezer exposure. Avoid purchasing the already small portions at the grocery stores as they are more expensive in the long run. Take advantage of sales on your favorite vegetables. Follow the same practice on fruits and plastic bin storage. Freezing fruits can be hard, but some will store better and longer than others. Peaches freeze well and keep much of their texture when unfrozen, and make a great way to keep fruit for pies. Strawberries do ok also but aren't good alone after freezing. Things like Cantaloupe and Watermelon don't do well after freezing and should be sealed tightly in a container and refrigerated. Making fresh vegetable last is another way to save cash. Understanding the vegetable and how best to store them, air tight or with room to breathe, is where your journal comes in handy.
Food storage for the long haul savings type consumer takes a different approach to investment. Cupboard, refrigerator and freezer storage space is likely to come in handy here. Building additional cupboard space is not the typical way to save cash, even over the long haul unless it is a permanent situation. I'm referring here to pickling and preserving and putting away in dark cupboard space for those with the opportunity to do so to cook on a shoe string budget over years. Most of us can go with adding a shelf or two in the kitchen or garage to hold larger quantities of items you find on sale, or get the chance to preserve. A larger refrigerator can make your dollar stretch further by giving more storage space. Investing in an efficient model with ample storage space is ideal for saving money. Freezer storage is the best way to store perishables like meats and vegetables. Typical consumer type freezers range in price from $200 to $1500 depending on space needs. A moderately priced freezer can help save cash in the kitchen in the long run when you are diligent about storing foods and leftovers.
The most common way we all save money when cooking for our family on a tight budget is coupon clipping and sale scouting. This is a grocer's primary way of reaching you, the consumer, and retaining your business. All major grocery stores compete weekly with sales, specials or repeat customer programs that help save money. Taking time to read up on a store, what they have to offer and noting the best strategies in a journal will lead to a well practiced money saving method at the register. Most major stores now have a card you can apply for and receive discounts at each visit, typically earning you something for future savings. Study up on these on how to take full advantage. Many stores, especially lower cost stores, will typically have special sales on items to attract consumers in hopes to sell higher cost items typically with higher profit margin. You can take advantage of this by planning you routes to different stores on your way from work or on the way to a weekly event like soccer or dance class; and journal what stores offer more produce for the buck like bunched green onions or cilantro and the freshest meats. And always, always get the Sunday paper to find what deals will be there for you to receive throughout the week. Don't forget the other stores, like your local pharmacies, that love to compete for your business too, but avoid the ones that don't such as convenience stores and gas stations. I have yet to find any remotely fair deal at any seven-eleven or gas station.
Another way to cook for the family on a budget is to make a menu for every meal of the day, including snacks. You can plan this according to what you journal on which stores have the best deals on particular items or what you may have stored in the cupboard or freezer. You may hear I am so hungry for some spaghetti, but you might not have that stocked and deviating might cost you if the ingredients aren't on sale. Sticking to your guns will keep you saving. Young children can be notorious for knocking plans like these off track, making it key to be on top of what items to keep more in stock and avoid late afternoon trips to the store for a menu change. When planning a menu, make it a practice to pull from and rotate your food stock. This will force you to use up the older stock in danger of perishing, and wasting money. Rotating leftovers in can stretch the dollar even further especially on days when hunger is running rampant with the little ones who have played hard or after Dad worked in the yard all day. You will find that when hunger strikes big, variety can help.
One good way to cook on a budget and make you a better cook is to practice emulating recipes in your family's favorite restaurant or their favorite side-in-a-box. Learning to cook with spices, sauces and to add life to a meal with things like tomatoes or avocados can be a good way to keep them away from the restaurant and bad foods with preservative overload. This comes in handy with side dishes like rice. Getting a large bag of Jasmine rice and coming up with your own style of flavored rice as a side will save money. Yes, even as cheap as rice-a-roni is these days, you can beat the cost of mass produces sides, if you practice. Cooking side dishes that store better like rice and potatoes is a good practice along with keeping large stocks of spices that go better with them; like oregano for potatoes or rosemary and thyme for rice.
Either way you slice it or dice it, cooking can be done cheaply with the right mindset and approach. Ignoring the convenience glaring you in the face on a daily basis can be tough to overcome, but what you learn in the process will likely change your mind on how you view theses conveniences and their wasteful approach to consumption. Good methods and practices adhered to will enrich both you and your family, short term or long haul.