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Tuesday, April 30, 2013

Saving money on FOOD!

I noticed how expensive it is to go to the grocery store this days. I can't imagine some families with more than 2 children. I would say, the most expensive 5 minutes of my life is at the grocery check out. So,  I come up with the list ideas on how to cut down expenses on food and sharing my experience with you. Hopefully, I can save more money at the end of the year. C' mon let's start saving some buck on food.:) wink..


Food Inventory -Check your pantry, freezer and fridge before shopping. It gives you an idea of what you of already have and the amount of food you need to buy.
* using leftover on smart way- for instance Fried Rice is perfect pair with Beef Paris . Don't forget! always come up with back up plan for left over food.
* Cook by for portion- is best way to avoid left over food.

 Weekly Sales Ad-  products goes on sale every other week or so, use this advantage to score inexpensive stuffs enough to go through until the product will gonna be on sale again.

* Rewards Program/ Store loyalty card- Don't think about it twice, Sign Up! some store give you discounts and rewards for the product you normally used. 
* Clip Coupons- Pair your coupons with weekly sales ad or reduced/ mark downed products.Don't buy the product just because you have coupons.
* Compare Prices- Help you determined which store is the best for your needs.

Meal Planning-  This will save you time browsing and thinking what you gonna get at the grocery store, and save you money for spending only to those ingredients you need on the menu.
* Plan your meal for what's on sale.
*Home-style cooking- cooked what you have on your freezer and pantry and recipes with same main ingredients for instance; Chicken and Ground beef
Monday-Chicken Stir Fry
Tuesday- Lechon Manok
Wednesday- Pancit canton
Thursday-Vegetable Stir Fry
Friday- Pansit-Bihon
Saturday-Taco Salad
Sunday- Chili
* Stick to the meal plan-

Shopping- there must be temptations along the way, but if you have this 2 basic ingredients before heading to the store, guaranteed you gonna save money, A little lesser than you normally spent at the grocery store. 
* First- Eat before you go- when you're hungry everything looks good, that's not a good thing. You ended up buying more than you anticipated.
* Second- Stick to the list!
Additional tips:
Shop Alone- shop without kids if possible,so that you can focus more on sales, rather than what the kids wants.
Try store brand products is little cheaper than brand name products. Like toilet paper, dish-washing soup etc.

Cooking - I cooked our food most of the time, especially dinner. Not only it will save me money from dining out. It also enhanced my cooking ability,learning new recipes, and having fun spending time with my kids at the kitchen. It doesn't mean, I won't order food outside or avoid dining out, I still do! but not as often as we used to do.


What's your favorite money saving meal ideas? I would love to know:) wink..












57 comments:

  1. The list! The list saves me a lot. When my mom left for the states, I did a week menu of meal planning before going to the grocery. I felt very adult that 3 weeks she was gone.

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  2. Hubby and I do weekly meal plans. The problem is: we can't always stick to the plan!!

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    Replies
    1. I have same problem too, this time around something gotta change... Hope I can do it.:)

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  3. Great tips! I have to shop with a list. You're right: It's a life-saver!

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  4. Meal planning is how we make sure to buy only what we will need. Great tips!
    -Jamie
    ChatterBlossom

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  5. great tips you have here
    i also do meal planning, i already assembled a 5 weeks planned meals (breakfast, lunch, snacks, dinner); walang nauulit na dishes for 5 weeks, my hubby kasi is so mapili
    tama ka stick to your plan for the day
    buying in bulk such as pasta, potatoes, carrots, oil ( i use canola and olive), rice, etc really saves a lot
    ngayong bakasyon and wala ang mga kids, free willing haha...basta dishes na kinakain ni hubby

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    Replies
    1. My hubby eat whatever I made, except fish. I do bulk buying to for stuff that we usually used. Good for you! enjoy your vacation:)

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  6. I strongly agree with a number of tips you gave here, such as signing up for rewards cards (we love SM Advantage!), sticking to a grocery list, and shopping alone. These make so much difference on the grocery bill!

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  7. nice tips sis, i am the one who takes charge of our daily food budget so i ts a way helpful to me..

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    Replies
    1. same here, little savings every week can help along the way.:) Thanks you!

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  8. Thanks for sharing these tips. I always check out what on sale in the grocery and buy in bulk. I do meal planning too.

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  9. Menu planning does help reduce unwanted grocery costs.. Hope it works for you.

    Dominique @ Dominique's Desk

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  10. Ay feeling ko totoo na you have to shop without the kids. Kasi I remember growing p, we used to go grocery shopping with my mom, andami namin nilalagay sa cart.

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    Replies
    1. Hehehhe that's so true, lalo na pagbusy si mommy.. thanks!

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  11. I agree with you. Minsan ung dala mong 1K konting ikot lang sa grocery or palengke, ubos na. tapos kokonti lang mapapamili mo.
    we used to bring grocery list. This will also help save you money and time.

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    Replies
    1. It gets expensive every time. Always stick to the list:) Thanks!

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  12. Grabe mahina na talaga buying capacity ng pera ngayon. We really must find ways to maximize our hard earned money.

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  13. Meal planning is indeed very important as it gives you an idea of how much you'll be spending listing down ingredients helps save you frequent trips to the grocery. It would be nice also if you can grow some food items, those that are easy to grow and maintain. That way, those plant foods would be available for picking, instead of having to buy them.

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    Replies
    1. Gardening can also help minimize some produce cost, tsaka fresh from the garden pa:) Thanks! Aileen:)

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  14. if we can still eat the food, recycle it.. hehe :)

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  15. i am not the grocery shopper in our household so I am not updated with the current list of prices of food items nowadays. It's really better to check on it every now and then.

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  16. Nice tips! I always have a list when I shop, pero meron pa rin ako kinukuha na wala sa list.. hehe

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  17. I wish coupons were available in the Philippines too. Whenever I watch Extreme Couponing, I envy those shoppers who could go home with more than five cartfuls of goodies without paying anything for it!

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    Replies
    1. I watched that Extreme Couponing too, GOSH! yung iba nga binabayaran pa ng store to take the goods out the store. I hope so! talagang makakasave ng kaunti:) Thanks

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  18. Preparing a list for the entire week end is great. I will try doing that.

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  19. I agree with you. We can save money from food. So what we do is to do our grocery once a month. We also do a grocery list based on what we need so we will not forget anything, save time and money as we can avoid buying those we don't need. Also, we do a weekly menu and we always cook at home.

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  20. Some excellent tips here.
    Have a great weekend.

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  21. I do the same thing. I have a list of the grocery items that we need to buy each month. Twice a month kami nag gro grocery. It helps din suguro if we buy in big containers those items na madalas gamitin sa house like cooking oil, sugar, laundry detergent, diswashing paste, shampoos, etc.

    Thanks for the great tips. It helps.

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  22. I agree. I do not go to the grocery very often but when I do, I am always surprised how expensive one small basket can turn out to be. But I know that careful planning and cooking at home would still turn out less expensive than always eating out, so I better master that art too. :)

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  23. I love your shopping tips, im a bargain shopper most of the time i have list and stick to my budget. Hey girl im envious on your pande coco :)

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    Replies
    1. Thank you! Girl..I have the recipe on my blog..:)

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  24. thank you for sharing these tips, sis! great for when you really want to save. i, too, check what's available before doing the list and I make sure that I make do with left overs, too. :-)

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  25. This is a nice tip. My father always have to think what meal to cook in which sometimes we can have the same kind of dish for the week.:)

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  26. I definitely need to utilize these tips :) thank you!!

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  27. Hi Melgie! I love all your money-saving meal tips! I admit that I really am not a good cook, but I know how. I just leave the marketing to my mom and the meal planning too. But I feel like I do need to step up now, it's about time, and do the cooking. Thanks for all your nice money-saving tips!

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    Replies
    1. welcome..little extra can be spent in other way.

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  28. Tried that meal planning before, but after some time, I stopped. I should bring it back. :) Thanks for the money-saving meal tips, too!

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    Replies
    1. I'm just starting up, I hope! I won't tired of it and continue my journey to save money on food and meal planning.:)Thank you

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  29. I share your sentiment. i end up in the grocery check out counter na "tuliro" haha. Great tips, Melgie

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