In today’s economy, we are all being forced to find ways to tighten
our belts and make our dollar go further.
Certain things can be eliminated or scaled back on, but food isn’t one
of them. Here are some helpful tips I’ve
found over the years that you may find useful, too.

-
Get creative with leftovers. It doesn’t have to mean reheating what you
had for dinner last night. If you have
leftover chicken, make up a batch of chicken salad for lunch. If you have leftover turkey after
Thanksgiving, make more than turkey sandwiches – try turkey tetrazzini or a
turkey pot pie! If you have leftover
ham, use the ham bone in a batch of beans, add to omelettes or a breakfast
casserole, include it in your scalloped potatoes. I’ve literally made ten meals with leftover
ham in the past! If you still have some
left, freeze it for later.

-
Do your bananas go bad before you’ve eaten them? Don’t throw them away! You can peel them and put them in the freezer to use for a
smoothie or make up a homemade batch of banana nut bread.

-
Here’s a tip for your onions, bell peppers and
celery that will keep them from spoiling before you use them and to help save
time. (I can’t tell you how many times I’ve
used a couple stalks of celery and then thrown the rest away.) Chop them up and put them in the
freezer. Whenever a recipe calls for
these ingredients, you’ve already saved yourselves a few minutes in the
chopping process!

-
Buy the store brand.
Certain items are made by the same company as the name brand and they
just don’t have the fancy label on them.
This is particularly true of canned goods, and there is usually at least
a 20% savings. I’ve also found store
brands to be as good as name brands for things like cereal in a bag, milk,
eggs, butter, juice, and chips. One item
I won’t skimp on, though, is toilet paper.
Enough said.

-
If your schedule allows, go shopping at off times. While this isn’t necessarily a money saver,
it is a time saver, and we know that time is money. Sunday afternoons and weekday evenings are
the busiest times to go.

-
Coupons and sale items are a double edged sword, so
beware. If you find yourself buying
items that you wouldn’t normally use, you haven’t really saved any money. If, on the other hand, the item was already
on your list, it’s worth it! If you have
the time, you can even investigate the stores that honor double and triple
coupons, and shop there only for those items.

-
Stock up on commonly used household products when they
are on sale. I don’t know about you, but
sometimes my bill seems so much higher than others. That’s normally when I’ve had to purchase
detergent, shampoo, soap, paper towels and other non-food items. Buy in bulk on these items – you’re always
going to need them and they won’t go bad.
Speaking of buying in bulk, are you recouping your membership charge in savings by shopping
at the bulk wholesalers? Is it even
worth the extra trip?

-
Go to the dollar store before you go to the grocery
store. More and more dollar stores are
selling food, and they’ve always had good deals on household cleaners. My favorite dollar store now sells my
favorite brand of bread, so I pay $1 for a loaf instead of $2.50. Just be careful not to buy things you don’t
need with the justification that, “It’s only $1.” In the past, I’ve run up a triple digit bill
in the dollar store with that rationale.
Kind of defeats the purpose…I’ve seen me do it, and it wasn’t pretty.

-
Make your menu for the week and then do your grocery
list. Most importantly, stick to your
list. Do not stray from the list, no
matter what. The list is your friend.  Impulse buys can account
for a large percentage of your overall bill.
To help with being able to stick to your list, make sure you don’t go to
the grocery store when you’re hungry. It
will keep you from buying the Twinkies.
Your wallet will thank you and so will your waistline.

- This one is big:  If your circumstances permit, DO NOT TAKE YOUR CHILDREN WITH YOU TO THE GROCERY STORE!  This is true on so many levels.  A) They don’t want to be there, B) Because they don’t want to be there, there’s a good chance they will misbehave, causing your nerves to be shot and possibly steering you from THE LIST, and C) You will buy things you don’t need simply to appease them.

-
Time and money saver:
Your slow cooker! By spending a
couple minutes preparing for dinner in the morning before you head out the door,
you won’t be tempted to hit the drive-through on your way home, knowing you’ve
got a tasty meal to come home to. One of
my favorite things to cook in my crock pot is a batch of beans. Dried beans are cheap (usually under $1), are
so good for you with few calories and high fiber, and are very tasty.

We’d love to hear some of your tips and tricks, too. Just comment at the end of the article to
share your secrets!

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About Stacey Winder

Stacey Winder has lived in the Northwest area of Houston since 1978 and Cypress specifically since 2005. Married with two children, she is actively involved in the Cypress community in non-profit and faith-based work.  She has a passion for the people that live in Cypress, and is enthusiastic about the opportunities available to the residents here.Stacey has worked in commercial and residential real estate, but her real passion is for writing.  Stacey is an accomplished writer whose works have been seen in numerous publications.  She is now the Editor of TheCypressTimes, and as such will be a frequent contributor.  In addition to her work as the Editor, Stacey is a child advocate for Compassion International, with the goal of “releasing children from poverty in Jesus’ name”.

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