People who know exactly how much they spend each month on groceries are twenty times less likely to be deep in debt than those who don’t know how much they have spent.  When we include dining out, vending machines and fast food into the list of food related purchases, we realize how much we are spending.  Prepackaged and ready to eat meals also end up costing a lot of money.  Eating is a necessity but there are many ways to noticeably reduce your food budget.

First of all, stop going out to eat.  Eating out is much more expensive than a meal that could have been prepared at home.  Do not buy frozen meals.  When you buy frozen food, you are spending way too much for way too little.  Try preparing your meals from scratch when you have some free time for the rest of the week.  Don’t buy meats that are already cut.  You are paying the supermarket to cut up the meat for you.  You can save a dollar per pound of meat by cutting it yourself.  You should of course make sure to compare supermarkets. One supermarkets may price items $1.00 $2.00 more or less than another supermarket.  Buy the generic brand products which are usually processed at the same plants as the name brand products.  When you buy a name brand product, much of the cost goes to the expensive of the product.  This can save you over $500.00 dollars in a year!  Buy fruits and vegetables when they are in season because the price will be significantly less.  Eating vegetarian meals once a week can save a family of four about $15.00 a week.  Use Coupons wisely. A lot of people use coupons just because they have one.

Americans charged $51 billion worth of fast food last year