Hello, my dear hostesses! I noticed that you enjoy reading and learning new information about housekeeping. I confess that this topic is also very close to me. No wonder I have published a series of articles about and continue to write about the house. And today I will try to outline very important, in my opinion, the basics that will help you reduce the costs of the family budget.

I think every family spends the most money on food. This is understandable, we are people, and we must eat, replenish energy sources for further existence. But in unstable times, for example, like now, sometimes you don’t imagine what will happen tomorrow. Maybe I'm exaggerating, but you yourself understand what the situation is now in the world. Today one thing, tomorrow another ... In general, no one is immune from force majeure. Therefore, I am in favor of saving money, but without fanaticism. Although this is not a guarantee of future well-being.

In my previous articles, I wrote about ways to cut costs, shared advice on how to slow down the rate of spending. If you are interested in this information, be sure to read it and share it with your friends.

Well, today I want to talk about how to save money on food. I will not say that you need to eat less. And I honestly admit, maybe I will not discover America, but if the advice is applied in practice, then I guarantee the result will be. The catch is that our people are very lazy. Complains, complains, but does not want to do anything. Recently, I received a letter. In it, a woman complains that everything is bad, there is no money, there is even nothing to throw away (I mean), the job is low-paid, the president is bad, Obama is even worse and stuff like that. In short, I asked where she lives, about her family, and so on. It turned out that the situation is not as bad as it seems to her, at least I think so. It's just that she apparently likes to whine. I offered her the elementary - to go through. She explained that it was free, but it would help keep the house in order. She has these problems too, since she has a six-month-old baby in her arms. Can you imagine what she replied? - “It’s a whole 10 days to read your newsletter!” I am still in shock!

Something I started talking and distracted. In general, who wants to save on food, keep reading and putting the tips into practice, and not just read and forget.

How to save money on food: three simple rules

Plan!

Lists are something that can completely free you from a lot of problems. How did I start doing?

I made a list of dishes that I remember, love and want to cook in the future. As a rule, it will turn out to be impressive, but it plays into our hands. The more varied the food is, the more satisfied the husband and children will be, and the healthier you will be. There is no need to rush, take some time to this activity. It took me about 4-5 days. Flip through magazines, cookbooks. I didn't write down the recipes, only the names of the dishes. I immediately understood how to cook them. But if you have problems with this, then write down the recipe itself, or sign the source from where it can be viewed (title of the book / site, page).

Further, under each name, I wrote out the ingredients that I need for cooking, down to salt. What this is for, I will tell you later. I made out the entries on A4 sheets in the form of a table. An example can be downloaded. Remember to put them in a folder or files to last longer and leave room for your notes. Suddenly you will add a few more recipes to your records. By the way, for those who do not like paperwork, keeping such a journal in electronic form is suitable.

Now every week, for example, on Friday, plan the menu for the week, every little thing - breakfasts, lunches, dinners, snacks, drinks, snacks. Make a shopping list. Use the second column in our table, that's what it is for. Consider the stock that you already have at home. As a rule, these are cereals, pasta, meat or vegetables. Think about what else you need to buy. And do not try to buy in reserve, especially for all-season perishable products, the price of which practically does not change during the year. Keep them in stores.

Now you can go shopping. I usually choose Saturday or Sunday. There are times when you have to buy something during the week, for example, bread. This is fine. But try as little as possible without a reason to go to the store. I know from myself that it can end badly)))).

Freezing is a thing!

Is the situation familiar when a little soup or potatoes remain at the bottom of the pan, no one wants to finish them, because you cooked something new? I used to have it in my fridge until it disappeared. I had to pour out the soups and throw out the potatoes. But there is also a quite economical option - freeze! Ready food is stored in the freezer for a long time, up to a month. Therefore, be sure to consider this method. To do this, you need plastic containers that are suitable for freezing. Leftover food is easy and simple to store and retrieve when the time comes. This not only saves the family budget, but also time. Imagine you came home from work, you're tired, you've had a hard day, and you're not particularly in the mood to cook. Opa-la, they took out a portion of soup from the freezer, warmed it up and ate or fed my husband and children. In general, take a closer look and try freezing ready-made food in practice.

I also freeze fruits and vegetables a lot. Recently I bought a bunch of bananas and it started to deteriorate rapidly. It became clear that we would not have time to eat it, and it will probably disappear. Then I cleaned them and froze them. From time to time I add bananas to the porridge.

It is better to cut meat, poultry and fish into portions immediately after purchase. So as not to defrost them ten times. After all, they thus deteriorate and lose their taste.

Bell peppers, carrots and onions can also be frozen, pre-chopped. Thanks to this technique, cooking. It is important for me to devote minimum time to cooking. You can freeze almost anything, so go for it!

Switch to healthy foods!

This is easier than it seems in reality. After all, you can start small. If you have sausages and sausages are frequent guests on the table, I advise you to drive them out of your life once and for all. Do you know how much they cost? Well, of course! But spend your money time and time again on colors, preservatives, and flavorings. Better to buy a piece of meat and bake it with seasonings in foil. It turns out tastier and healthier than the most “natural” shop sausage. Is this a store-bought cookie? Take it and bake it yourself, it will be healthier and cheaper! And time is spent on it no more than going to the store. Do you still drink carbonated drinks ?! I sincerely sympathize with you. It's poison! Homemade fruit drinks and compotes are a storehouse of vitamins and minerals. Buy special cups with a non-spill lid, pour clean water or tea and carry with you so as not to buy anything on the way.

The problem for many is that it is too lazy to do it. At the same time, a huge amount of money is spent that can be invested in pleasant emotions (go to the cinema, theater, zoo) or buy something useful and necessary.

It would seem that 3 simple and well-known, as it seems to me, tips will help you save on food! This is cool! Give it a try and share your results in the comments. I look forward to your feedback!

In connection with the next crisis, we have to adapt to rising prices and falling incomes. Saving on food is especially frustrating, but prices will continue to rise. To keep money in your budget for meeting other needs, follow a few rules.

The crisis in Russia is unfolding, its obligatory attributes are becoming more evident: rising prices along with falling incomes. Unfortunately, we have to cut costs, including for food. Inflation reached double digits, and in February, Russians cut consumption by 5% - not seen such a sharp drop in 15 years.

The fact that food in times of crisis becomes the main item of expenditure is quite a "normal" phenomenon. As a consequence, the vulnerability of this household budget item when it arises. It is significant that in February 2015, Russian residents reduced their food costs by 18.5 percent, and only lamb, bread, salt and pasta fell in price. Experts warn that prices will continue to rise, although most families now spend more than 40% of their income on food. In order to keep money in the family's budget for meeting other needs, you need to adhere to simple rules.

1. Plan your purchases

It is best to make a menu for a week, then it will be easier for you to calculate how much and what products you need to buy. But even if you can't bring yourself to live so organized, make a grocery list when you go to the store. This way you will not buy too much, and at the same time you will not forget anything.

2. Do not go to the store on an empty stomach!

It's no secret that we usually make ill-considered purchases in grocery stores on an empty stomach. If you go grocery shopping after lunch or at least a snack, your expenses will be reduced by 20%.

3. Don't go shopping every day.

You don't have to go to the supermarket every day. For many, such visits have become something of a habit. It is much more rational to make purchases once a week or even once every 2 weeks. Have you also noticed that you often buy at least something in the store so as not to go out empty-handed? Naturally, the less often you shop, the more money and time you will save.

4. A basket instead of a trolley

If you find it uncomfortable to go out to shop once a week, make it a rule to use a basket in the supermarket, rather than a large cart, which will seem empty even if everything you need is already loaded into it. A completely different thing is a basket - firstly, a lot will not fit into it, and secondly, the weight of the load sobering up many.

5. Pay in cash

Payments with a bank card are convenient, but dangerous - not seeing money, you lose the feeling of spending. It is much more difficult to let the bills out of hand. Going to the store, take with you an amount sufficient to purchase the planned - if you do not have money for extra purchases, you will definitely not make them.

6. You are not required to pay the manufacturer's advertising campaign

The price of goods, especially those that have recently appeared on the market, often include the cost of advertising. Look at the adjacent shelves, most likely, there you will see a cheaper and in no way inferior product in quality. This rule also applies to beautiful packaging: it is pleasant to hold bread in a bright bag or cheese in a beautiful box. But the packaging will be thrown away immediately after you take the product out of it. The boxes are completely pointless, but not free. Do not follow the lead of cunning manufacturers, try to avoid such irrational spending.

A must-have trick for network marketers - the most expensive items are on the shelves that catch your eye first. There are usually products that are nearing the end of their expiration date. Now you know about these "tricks" and will be more attentive to the top and bottom shelves.

8. Save safely

If, in order to save money, you decide to buy products in the wholesale markets, carefully study the expiration date marks. You don't have to buy a pack of yoghurts if you can only eat them for three days. It is especially dangerous to purchase products at reduced prices, always look at the release date so as not to buy kefir or another product whose expiration date will expire tomorrow.

Promotions are usually arranged to sell stale products. When buying expired food, calculate how much it costs one day of hospital stay. Never take stale meat, fish, eggs, mushrooms and canned food - this is very dangerous. The only exception can be made for vegetables and fruits, if they are a little wilted, but still quite edible. Do not use foods that are moldy or rotting, however cheap they may be.

9. Prepare food at home

A jar of yogurt costs several times more than the same product made on your own from milk, sourdough and sugar. Pork is twice as expensive as raw pork. Semi-finished products are always more expensive than dishes cooked from start to finish. And there is no need to talk about quality and usefulness.

Meat

Vegetarians can do without animal protein. We will not discuss the optimality of vegetarianism, and those who are used to meat can switch to chicken and eggs, which are a complete source of protein and vitamin B. Whole chicken is cheaper than parts of it. By butchering the carcass yourself, you will find use for all of its components. Do not cook meat as a separate dish, but with a side dish. For example, pilaf, stew or casserole. Meat can be replaced with offal. Very tasty dishes are obtained from a beef heart or liver.

A fish

Must be on the menu at least once a week. Inexpensive fish like flounder and herring contain omega-3s, protein, iodine, phosphorus and vitamins, just like sturgeon and salmon. Squid, one of the cheapest seafood, can be an excellent substitute for fish.

Dairy products

A necessary component of the menu of any person. You can save money by buying regular milk, and not one that is stored for months.

10. Strike a balance

There is no need to save on food by eating pasta and tea. Our task is to survive the crisis and maintain health, therefore the menu should be balanced, with a sufficient amount of proteins, fats and carbohydrates. In the case of products, a high price does not always mean better quality. Switch to food with domestic products grown in season - this will be good for your health and for your wallet. Cook vegetable soups, buckwheat with milk, cabbage salad, omelets, and baked chicken wings. You will spend more time in the kitchen, but you will appreciate the quality of homemade food.

I wrote the title of the article and was horrified. The phrase "saving on food" sounds so monstrous that poverty, poverty and empty counters materialize right before your eyes. But if you are reading this post, then you have the Internet and everything is not as bad as it might seem at first glance. 🙂

I just intuitively don't like the message. "Save on food" , so I'll modify it a bit to "To reconsider the cost of food, in order to reduce costs and overall health of the family" . Let's try to find a balance between tasty, healthy food and economy.

I've been running a family budget for several years now, and I know for sure that food costs amount to 20-22% of the total budget every month. The amount is pretty decent, it is almost a quarter of all expenses per month.
The first thing to do is to understand how much you actually spend on food. The figure should not be approximate, but quite specific - taking into account food at work, cafes and restaurants on weekends. And don't forget your coffee at lunchtime.

1. So let's write it down - the first thing you need to do is introduce food cost accounting... Yes, it's boring, but not fatal. 🙂 Two months of collecting checks is enough to understand the scale of the disaster. Next, you need to try to cut the budget in the first approximation by at least 5-10%.

2. In the regime of austerity, it is better to say “no” right away to sit-downs in a cafe, ordering pizza and sushi, or buying ready-made food in a supermarket. So much for a 10% savings.

3. If at work you are used to ordering a business lunch, then know that it is another hole in the budget... Try to take food with you from home.

4. The hostess is very helpful. It still remains a mystery to me why this works, but with the menu available, I personally experienced a real budget savings of about 10-15%.

I will share my little life hack regarding the menu for the week. I was madly weighed down by the idea of ​​making a weekly list of dishes and I came up with my own version. In Excel, I made a table, divided it into three columns (first, side dish, second), gathered my will into a fist and filled out the table once. Include only the meals your family eats. For example, there is no fish soup on my list because no one really likes it. Second courses can be the simplest. Do not forget that you still have to cook them later.

This table works very simply - you stupidly go through the list. The borscht is over, we look what's next and buy food. If for the second pilaf, then we do not cook the side dish. We repeat the cycle every time. Try to think over and diversify the menu, include fish at least once a week, do not put chicken on the list, followed by chicken breast cutlets. Voila, your “endless” menu is ready! From time to time, you can cross out and add something. We buy products exactly for the planned meals.

Next, go to the grocery basket

5. The first applicant to be delisted from the product list is sausages... This is far from the healthiest food in the world. And a normal sausage costs from 450 rubles per kg. - significantly higher than the cost of meat.

But what if the family loves sandwiches? We offer an alternative! I give the simplest recipe for a la "sausage" for sandwiches.

Pastorms. We take chicken breast (whole) and soak it in saline solution for a day (for 1 liter 60 g of salt). In the evening, put the breast on a napkin to dry it, and then coat it with spices (pepper, mustard, garlic). Choose spices according to your taste. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees, set the breast for 30 minutes. Next, turn off the oven and leave the breast to cool in it until morning.

In addition to pastors, you can make liver pate or smoked brisket. There are a huge number of such recipes on the Internet.

6. Do you often buy snacks? Seeds, chips, peanuts, croutons? You'd be surprised how much money goes into all this. By the way, crackers can be perfectly dried at home.

7. Packaged juices and lemonade are sent after the chips. From a nutritional point of view, these are not healthy foods.

8. Sweets for tea. It's somehow completely sad without sweets. I will not urge you to remove sweets and cookies from your diet, but be sure to analyze their quantity and quality. Especially for cookies. Margarine is used for baking on an industrial scale, which is not good.

What then to eat?

9. Meat. It is better to take the chicken in whole carcasses. Thighs, drumsticks and wings can be fried, the breast can be used for pastor or simply used in salads, and from what is left, boil the broth. By the way, the broth freezes perfectly.
Beef is now quite expensive. Try replacing it with turkey (thigh).

10. Vegetables. This is a huge layer to study. We somehow got used to the set - potatoes, cabbage, peas ... oh. Focus on the season. You should not buy eggplants and zucchini in winter at exorbitant prices, but in autumn these vegetables will perfectly diversify the menu. Don't forget about legumes - beans, chickpeas. It is a healthy vegetable protein.

The first advice, paradoxical: do not save too much on food. Buying rotten vegetables and low-quality expired products is not our method. Then spend a hundred times more on medicines than you save on groceries. So we save - but in moderation, without fanaticism.

Planning is a must

When it comes to food savings, planning is the most important thing. First you need to estimate how much you are spending now. Where are the weak points? What expensive products do you buy and do you really need them? Be sure to highlight what you can refuse. Perhaps you are addicted to croutons and chips, are crazy about soda, or consume tons of ice cream. This is not only a serious hole in the budget, but also a blow to health.

You also need to highlight those expenses that you do not intend to give up: for example, your favorite type of coffee or dairy products from a good manufacturer.

Now think, maybe some products can be replaced with cheaper ones? For example, expensive yoghurts from an advertised factory? Or very expensive juices of a well-known brand. In general, be careful with brands: often the products of a promoted company, which are on store shelves in the best places, are much more expensive than even better-quality products of less well-known brands. Therefore, saving is also a reason to study the market well.

Finally, it is advisable to make a menu for the week and make a list of products for it. You roughly calculate the amount you need, take it with you - and to the store. Just one piece of advice: take a little more than the required amount with you to have room for maneuver and not to feel constrained by something in the store. And whatever one may say, you also need to please yourself.

What products do we overpay for

Very often there are tips for thrifty housewives to do everything at home and by themselves. To buy a yoghurt maker, to sculpt dumplings in huge quantities, and so on ... Yes, these tips are based on, indeed, homemade dumplings are of better quality and cheaper than purchased ones, and much tastier. But it will take half a day off to stick a lot of them.

Nevertheless, it is worth reconsidering your attitude towards semi-finished products. So, for example, purchased cutlets at cost are much more expensive than homemade ones, sausages and sausages cost a lot of money, ordinary goulash can be bought much cheaper than a kilo of sausages, and goulash is meat, and not an incomprehensible fatty something. Etc.

Preference - seasonal

We will not stop buying vegetables and fruits anyway. Of course, it is winter now, so fresh food is quite expensive. Nevertheless, you can choose what is useful and cheap. For example, oranges. With them, you can keep within 40-45 rubles, tangerines, however, are already running out and becoming more expensive, but pears are still quite affordable, about 50 rubles. Also, don't forget about domestic apples. If we talk about vegetables, we will give preference to white cabbage, carrots and beets. You can also add celery root, some pumpkin and fresh salads from the greenhouses closest to the city. In general, we choose those products that were not brought to us for a long time, but were grown and stored in Russia or brought from our south.

Choosing domestic

No matter how trite, but often not too beautifully designed products of domestic production are half the price of imported counterparts. And with the fall of the ruble, the difference will become more noticeable. For example, walnuts from our south are exactly half the price of their Mediterranean counterparts at fairs.

Paying attention to new products

For example, pearl barley - does it often appear on your table? And millet? What do you make of it, besides milk porridge every six months? Meanwhile, cereals are an excellent and inexpensive basis for a winter diet. 15-20 rubles per kilogram, and this kilogram is enough for 5-6 meals for a family of three.

Take a closer look at new varieties of fish, especially domestic ones. For example, foreign salmon will be successfully replaced by domestic coho salmon, expensive beef - by cheaper turkey or other poultry fillets.

A Few Savings Ideas

• Buy whole chicken, not parts. Then you will cook soup from the wings and back, and the rest will go to pilaf or chicken beef stroganoff.
• To save on meat dishes, do not cook them separately, but make casseroles, pilaf. That is, combine meat with a side dish in one dish.
• Don't make portioned meals. That is, fried chops for each family member (and often also with additives) can be replaced with beef stroganoff or lazy cabbage rolls. Less meat will be consumed, but everyone will be full.
• Replace meat with offal. For example, beef heart is much cheaper than regular meat, and it costs two times, or even three times cheaper. And the heart can make good goulash, stuffing stuffing for casseroles, etc.
• For a festive table, you can replace purchased smoked sausages and hams with homemade boiled pork. It is much cheaper and tastier.
• Subjective advice: Look to Jewish cuisine. Its creators for centuries had to save money and come up with cheap, but very tasty dishes.

You yourself will come up with such tips - a thousand, as soon as you start, how saving turns into an exciting activity, the dishes come up by themselves.

Modest menu for a week

Collected here are ideas for inexpensive and hearty meals. Perhaps you will cook some of them for two days, soups for sure.

Monday

Breakfast: Oatmeal with dried fruits and nuts
Lunch: Pickle with a heart. Rice with vegetables
Dinner: Potato casserole with beef heart and onions.

Tuesday

Breakfast: Lazy dumplings or cheese cakes
Lunch: Cabbage soup with chicken broth. Boiled beets with walnuts and dried fruits.
Dinner: Chicken breasts stewed in sour cream, wheat porridge with onions.

Wednesday

Breakfast: Milk porridge with jam
Lunch: Cabbage soup with chicken broth. Vinaigrette with sauerkraut
Dinner: Barley porridge with vegetables and cutlets

Thursday

Breakfast: Buckwheat pancakes with mushrooms
Lunch: Cream cheese soup, green bean salad and crab sticks
Dinner: Chicken or pork pilaf

Friday

Breakfast: Hot sandwiches
Lunch: Vegetable soup (pumpkin, carrot, potato). Boiled carrot, beetroot and nuts salad.
Dinner: Lazy cabbage rolls, boiled potatoes

Saturday

Breakfast: Potato pancakes with sour cream
Lunch: Vinaigrette with herring, borsch
Dinner: Pancakes with meat, fresh vegetable salad

Sunday

Breakfast: Omelet with cheese
Lunch: Olivier with chicken or meat, borscht
Dinner: Vegetable stew, beef stroganoff

Why do we leave a lot of money after going to the supermarket for groceries? And if you look closely, not many products were purchased. Or they went for bread and milk, and bought something completely different and "only" for a couple of thousand. And it seems that we do not eat delicacies, such as black caviar (only on holidays, and then a little), and the money is spent on food not small. The most important thing is not how much we buy, but what we buy. Most of the cost of food goes to all sorts of empty foods that have no value for the body (except psychological). These are various sweets, chips, beer snacks, soda, fast food (where can we go without it) and other nonsense.

So can you save on food? Can! And even NECESSARY!

If you have an image of concentration camp prisoners, thin and sickly in your head, you are deeply mistaken. You can easily reduce your food costs while eating healthier, more nutritious, and healthier. And most importantly - no restrictions in terms of diets (hunger is not about us). In general, the usual natural food! What are we doing? Changing eating habits and spending money in stores.

Simple ways to save on food

• buy only from the list. This eliminates the likelihood of buying unnecessary products.
• do not go to the store hungry. Collect a lot of unnecessary products
• use discount cards
• buy a product for a promotion. Let's say you sell sunflower oil with a 30% discount. Buy several bottles at once in reserve, let's say for a year. Imagine investing this money at a 30% rate of return. Agree - not bad at all
• buy long-lasting products in bulk, or take in large packages
• if you ran into the store only for bread (milk, yogurt), do not take the basket - you can collect a lot of excess
• go to the store as little as possible, say once a week. Daily hikes are fraught with unwanted purchases of excess (and useless) food
• no semi-finished products and ready meals. Natural products are many times cheaper and healthier
• do not buy an item located at the checkout. As a rule, this is any expensive nonsense (chocolates, chewing gum), or stale goods that need to be sold quickly. Standing in line, a person mechanically considers all this, and often buys. And this is again an extra waste.
• know the prices of at least basic products and always check the receipt. It happens that the price of a product in some "fabulous" way doubles in the check. Apparently, while you were walking to the checkout, inflation also did not stand still - :)
• the most expensive products are located at eye level and on the shelf above and below. Accordingly, we look even higher and lower - and there they look at us and wait for them to buy products at the optimal price for us.
• according to statistics, 30% of products go to the trash (not finished, rotten, tired), and along with them go to the trash and money paid for these products. Consider whether you need to reduce the volume of meals prepared or the amount of purchased, perishable foods
• no "empty" and harmful products. We also have our own national sweets: juice in packs, soda can be replaced with fruit drink and kvass; fast food for pies and pies; chips, crackers for seeds and nuts, and so on.
• buy seasonal vegetables and fruits. Make supplies (canned food, jam, freeze, salting) for the winter.
• try to buy only local products. They are both cheaper and fresher than those brought from nowhere, and no one knows when
• the more beautiful the packaging, the more expensive the product. We pay attention to the composition and quality
• analyze prices in nearby stores. Surely, in one store, some products are cheaper, in the second - others.
• Take the package with you to the store. Of course, the savings are small, but if you count it over a year?

By using these tips (all together, or just a few), you can save up to 50% of your food costs. I am not calling for an ascetic lifestyle. If you really want to pamper yourself with something tasty and harmful, why not. The main thing is to observe moderation. After all, in order to enjoy the taste of chocolate, it is enough to eat 1-2 slices, and not gobble up the whole bar. You will get pleasure in both cases.