10 ways to save money on food

With the cost of living only increasing, more and more people are struggling to pay for the basic essentials of life. But it doesn't have to be that way. There are still ways that you can save money on food.

Get odd bunch box

Odd bunch is a subscription service box of fruits and vegetables. They give fruit and vegetables that are not totally perfect to sell in grocery stores. However, they are totally good to eat. The cost is $20-$46 depending on the size you want. The small box still has a lot of food in it. A medium box is enough to last a small family 2 weeks. It is a cheaper way to get solid produce, and it supports local farmers.

Get a meat subscription box

A meat subscription box is a great way to support local, and get great quality meat at a good price. A great one I love to use is called Trulocal. You can use the option that works best for your family based on what you eat. Once you have their bacon, it will be hard to go back to the regular bacon you get at a grocery store. With main grocery stores increasing their prices, this is a great way to lower your cost and support local.

Cook more at home

A great way to control your food cost is by cooking and eating at home. Even just a cup of coffee. If you get Starbucks every day, you can spend upwards of 40 a week just on coffee. Take one day in the week to do some meal prep. Having cooked food in the house to grab whenever you need something quick and easy is a great way to save money. There will always be times when time gets away from you, and you are starving. In those times, it's very easy to get take out. But that can add up very quickly. So make sure that you have a lot of ready to go food to ensure that you aren't mindlessly spending on take out.

Go to farmers market

A lot of times you can get a great deal on food at a farmers market. A lot of the extra cost are taken out as you get it direct from the farmer. And again, it can cost you a lot less this way. If you want high quality food, going to a farmers market is a great way to get high quality food at a lower cost.

Make sure that you shop sales and flyers

Never go into a grocery store without a plan. Look at the flyers, and make your grocery list around what is on sale that week.

You also need to do a grocery list, and a meal plan. Shopping without a plan is the way that you will spend the most money.

Look at different ways of eating

We need to accept that we are in a different time. So we need to look at eating and doing things differently. Maybe adding in a day doing no meat, like Meatless Monday. It will expand your mind, and can reduce your cost as well.

Use cashback apps

If you are not using cashback apps already, then you really need to. A few apps that work in Canada are; Checkout 51, Swagbucks and Eclipsa. These are apps that you submit your receipt after you purchase things, and you get money back. Swagbucks does a point system, but then you can redeem those points for money back or gift cards. Checkout 51 does deals for specific brands, but they switch it up every week. Eclipsa does more deals of normal items, such as 0.25 money back for cucumbers.

Use a point system

There are so many point systems out there. You can do it on cards or credit cards, or even both. If you are purchasing any ways, then these are great systems to get money back. If you use a credit card, make sure you are using a card that gives you cashback. Most cards that do this gives you more money back for food purchases.

Make from scratch

Learning to make more things from scratch is a great way to reduce your overall cost. And then you know what is in the food. You may think that it is hard. However, you will be surprised that it's not as hard as you think.

Use coupons

Yes, there are still coupons that are out there in stores. You just have to look for them. Different stores will have different coupons. Make sure you know the stores in your area. And where to find coupons. In my area, I know that to find the most coupons is at Fortinos. I will go there just to get coupons when I am in that area.

There are still ways that you can save money on food. Look at different ways of doing things. We need to look at doing things differently in this time.

-T