In today’s economy its more important than ever to save money. Groceries represent one of our largest monthly expenses, so it only makes sense that people try to save money when buying food. Clipping coupons, buying store brands, and searching for the best sales have all become commonplace.
We fail to realize, however, that we can save money not only by making cheaper purchases, but also by wasting less of what we do buy!
This can be accomplished by conducting your own food audit. A food audit is accomplished simply by taking a quick look into your trash can, refrigerator, freezer, and cupboard to see what you’re consistently throwing away, allowing to mildew, or leaving forgotten and unused. We lose money when we don’t use or when we throw away food that never gets eaten.
Check your garbage. See what foods you are consistently tossing out. If you routinely throw out old brown bananas, then you may want to consider cutting back on them, even when they’re on sale! If your trash is full of stale bread, focus on buying fewer or smaller loafs.
Too many left-overs in the garbage? Consider making additional meals from the original course. Leftover chicken, for example, can be mixed with spaghetti sauce or tossed onto tacos to make additional meals. Alternatively, you can make twice as much of the original course and freeze half to reduce the amount of left-overs.
Take a look inside your freezer/refrigerator. Check closely for perishables that have lingered beyond their prime. Do you consistently find spoiled milk in the back of the fridge? Perhaps you should buy the half-gallon jug instead of the one gallon jug, even though the per unit cost may be more.
Alternatively, consider freezing some of the milk you buy when you see a sale too good to pass up. Are you discovering large containers of yogurt gone bad or salad consistently wilted? Again consider cutting back on the amount or portion sizes you purchase.
Examine the back of your cupboards. Cupboards are great places where purchase go to die. Often you’ll find cans or packages purchased months ago, and which may never be used again. Once again, use what’s left in your cupboard to guide future purchase decisions. Unlike the refrigerator or trash can, abandoned items in your cupboard are generally non-perishable and can easily be donated to local food shelters or holiday food drives.
By taking account of how we let food go unused or wasted, we can better plan future purchases, saving valuable cash in the process.
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