As I make my way to the grocery store for my bi-monthly trip I notice that the price of food keeps rising. It seems that every where you look prices are rising faster then ever before. Everyone is looking for ways to save and most people are cutting out items that they can live without. But food we cannot live without. Here are some simple solutions to saving big on your grocery bill.
1. Cook from scratch. Pre-made items are much more expensive than cooking from scratch.
2. Try meatless meals. You can substitute meat with beans or tofu for a much cheaper meal. Check out allrecipes.com for some great meatless/vegetarian recipes.
3. Buy fruits and veggies that are in season. Check your local farmers market for those items that are in season. In season fruits and veggies are much cheaper than buying out of season.
4. Always use coupons when shopping. Check out your local ads before your trip to see what you can save on and correspond those items with the coupons in the Sunday paper.
5. Check out HotCouponWorld.com for the best ways to save on groceries. They have forums that let you know whats on sale at each major grocery store and what coupons you can use with those sales.
6. The Grocery Game is a website that can save you hundreds of dollars on your grocery bill each month. Log in, spend a few minutes with a pair of scissors, and your off to win The Grocery Game. For first-timers you can join for $1 for a 4 week trail membership and than after that it is $10 for every 8 weeks.
7. Eat at home more. Eating out will cost you as much as it would to cook two to three times as many meals depending on the size of your family and where you eat out.
Other coupon sites to check out: CouponMom.com, Wow-Coupons.com, and TheCouponClippers.com.
Green tip of the day
When shopping for fruits and veggies, try to stay away from ones that were shipped from out of state or outside the U.S. Buying local helps your community. Also its good to know that a tremendous amount of fossil fuel is used to transport foods long distances. Combustion of these fuels releases carbon dioxide, sulfur dioxide, particulate matter and other pollutants into the atmosphere, contributing to global climate change, acid rain, smog and air pollution.