Cutting Cooking Costs

Tips for Saving Money in the Kitchen

By Tawra Kellam

For many people, cutting back on their grocery budgets can be an overwhelming experience. They know they're spending too much, but don't know where to begin to cut. Often, they fear that they will deprive themselves and their children if they become frugal. The good news is that there are ways to have your cake, eat it and save money at the same time.

Cooking frugally is like changing your diet. You need to learn gradually how to do it. Don't expect that you will get your food bill down to $150 for four people in the first month if you are spending $600 a month right now.

Try cutting just $25 or $50 a month. Even if you cut back only $50 a month, you will save $600 a year. If you save just $1 a day, that's $365 a year! You can then apply that $365 a year to paying off your credit cards. At 21 percent interest, you will save more than $70 a year. This will eventually cause a snowball effect since the more you pay off, the less you pay to interest. When you pay less to interest, you have more each month to apply to paying off your overall debt. This means that as you pay off the debt, the rate at which you can pay it off increases.

• Before you shop, take a tour through your pantry and your refrigerator. Be organized! Don't buy what's already hiding in your kitchen.
• If you're a fan of coupons, remember this: It's not what you save, it's what you spend. If you save 30 cents on something you wouldn't ordinarily buy anyway, you haven't really saved anything.
• A typical fruit item is significantly larger than one serving. Most people would be just as happy eating a small apple as eating a large one – so buy smaller fruits! You will save money by the pound.
• This month, try two meatless meals a week – or one, if you're a diehard meat fan.
• Make simple meals. One-dish meals can contain your meat, your vegetable and your bread.
• Drink water for your meals. If your family is used to drinking milk, juice or pop for every meal then start by cutting juice from one meal or snack a day and drinking only water. After you get used to this, cut from another meal until you drink only water for meals and a glass of juice or milk at snack time. You can also try allowing one glass of juice at meal times and then water after it is gone. You can save more than $500 a year by cutting just one glass of juice per person per day for a family of four.
• Don't assume homemade is cheaper. If you get a very good
  
  
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