For Hard Times or Saving Money

Sometimes life gets challenging and finances get slim. 

Sometimes we want to save up some money for a purchase or to pay down a debt.

Sometimes picking up extra work isn't an option.

As we look at our bills we are quick to realize that the most flexible and readily available change we can make is to our grocery spending.  

We've enjoyed the benefit of a better financial situation in the past 2 years which has allowed me to increase our grocery budget and indulge in foodstuffs and household products I have had to pass by in the past.  However, I know finances are easy come-easy go, so I like to keep it in the back of my mind how I plan and utilize a more austere budget.

Lately, my grocery spending has been very high.  With all the children home instead of in public school, and with hubby not working weekends right now, and thus he likes to shop with me and help me try new recipes, we've increased our spending significantly.  However, I would like to back off a bit in order to refocus the funds towards a credit card we'd like to pay off.  

Below, I will list many different ways to save on the grocery budget.  Some are just simple changes while others extend deeply into austerity.  

1.  No more juice, seltzers, sodas, or specialty waters.  Tap water becomes the beverage of choice.
2.  No more packaged snacks.  My kids can pack away snacks like they grow on vines outside the window.  It would save so much money if I left snacking to bread and butter/peanut butter/jam.
3.  Limit cleaning products.  It's so fun to buy new cleaning products, but a simple vinegar and water cleans much, or a concentrated Awesome from the dollar store will stretch the budget.  I can't compromise on my toilet bowl cleaner.  I've tried every product out there, but only Lysol works.
**As a side note, I don't recommend making your own laundry soap.  Nor do I find the very cheap detergents like Xtra to work well with my hard water.  So, I would have room in the budget to stock up when sales and coupons create great deals on laundry detergent. 
4.  Cut back on condiments.  Just get the basics.  A lot of fancy sauces and dressings are fairly easy to make, anyway.  

5.  Elbow macaroni.  It's funny, macaroni is macaroni, but it is cheaper to buy a big box of elbows than it is to buy the other fancy shapes of pasta.  Elbows work well for almost all of your pasta needs, anyway.  
6. Question any pre-made or packaged item you are buying.  Can you make it cheaper?  Sometimes you can.  Sometimes it is cheaper just to buy it.  For example, Aldi once had a sale on pineapples.  For 99 cents I bought a couple of pineapples I was going to can.  Well, they only amounted to the same amount of canned pineapple as the 89 cent a cans at Aldi, plus I paid for the processing, the electricity used.  It was cheaper to just buy the already canned pineapple.
7.  Save your scraps.  Bits of meat and bones, veggie ends, bread heels....all those are useful!  Make broth.  Make a meat pie.  Make bread pudding or crumbs for breading.
8.  Have a soup night and a meatless night.  
9.  Make your own yogurt in the crockpot.  

10.  No more K-cups.  I have a reusable insert, so I could buy a fancy coffee (with a coupon, sale, and/or rebate) and fill that instead of using expensive K-cups.
11.  Check out sales on beef.  I've often noticed that cuts like London broils can be cheaper per pound than ground beef, sandwich steaks, or stew beef.  Buy the London broils and make your own cuts and ground beef.
12.  Make your own instant oatmeal "packets" with quick cooking oats, maple sugar, brown sugar, and reusable jars.  
13.  Reduce your use of butter.  Butter is pricey.  Instead, I will use bacon grease to fry eggs and brown meats.  I make a lot of baked goods using only half the butter and replacing the other half with lard.   In biscuits and pie crust I use only lard.  
14.  In spring look around your yard.  If you have an untreated yard (no herbicides, chemical fertilizers, or pesticides) you may have a salad in the making:  dandelion greens, plantain, purslane, and clovers are all edible.  In the summer, lambs quarter is healthier than spinach and is a very common weed.
15.  Inexpensive vegetables like carrots can be utilized in quickbreads and "cakes" that make inexpensive and healthier desserts.  Replace the oil in the recipes with an equal amount of applesauce for a healthier option.  They make great breakfasts, snacks, and desserts.
16.  Find ways to cut back on your hot beverages.  Often, teas, especially basic herbals, can be bought in bulk.  Peppermint grows wild in several different varieties around my property.  Drying those leaves can replace those pricey boxes in the grocery store with only 20 bags.
17.  Eat less.  We do tend to eat more than we actually need.  Cutting back on portions and snacking can save money.
18.  Be careful when buying in bulk.  I've often noticed that the super-sized packages aren't always a better deal than their mid-size counterparts.  Also, it isn't a good idea to buy more than you can use before it goes bad.  
19.  Stick with a rotation of basic recipes to avoid one-time specialty purchases or wasted leftovers.  
20.  Don't get sucked into those great coupon-rebate app-sale deals if it isn't something you typically would use.  Foodstuffs I can usually find a use for, but I can get sucked into personal and household items I wouldn't normally buy, but because I can get them so cheap through an app and a coupon, I waste my time and money on them.