Unusual Ways to Save Money on Groceries
The average Swiss family of two adults and two teenagers spent 277 Francs (US$279) per week on food and drink (excluding eating out) in 2015, according to the Federal Statistical Office.¹
This compares with weekly spending of £58 (US$75) on food and non-alcoholic drinks consumed at home by the average UK household of 2.4 people², and weekly amounts of $78 on meals at home plus $60 on eating out for the average household in the US.³
If you can’t think of any more ways to save money on groceries when you already budget, meal plan, and cook meals from scratch, why not try these less well-known ways to cut your weekly spending on groceries?
Put One Item Back
Before you head to the checkout, look in your shopping cart and find one item that you really don’t need. It could be salt, tomato ketchup or an extra packet of cheese. Put that item back on the shelf and note how much money you’ve saved on it.
Once you’ve done this for a few weeks, start putting two items back on the shelf. After you’re comfortable with this, you could increase it to three items and so on.
Just saving five Francs or dollars a week will add up to an annual saving of 260 Francs or dollars.
Double Cheaper Ingredients and Halve Expensive Ones
Swiss families spend more money on meat and fish than any other type of food or drink, spending 66 Francs per week on average. To reduce the amount you spend on meat and fish, try this simple strategy.
When making a recipe for a main meal, double the quantity of cheaper ingredients, such as onions and pasta, and halve the quantity of more expensive ingredients, such as meat and fish.
When I made spaghetti Bolognese by doubling the quantities of onions, carrots and tinned tomatoes and halving the amount of minced beef, my family didn’t notice any difference at all!
Following this strategy could halve your spending on meat and fish, leading to a significant saving of 1,716 Francs per year.
Look for Cheaper Substitutes and Omit Unnecessary Ingredients
If you buy all the ingredients for some recipes, you’ll spend a lot of money on just one meal. To counteract this, buy cheaper alternatives to some ingredients, make use of what you already have at home, and leave out unnecessary ingredients.
For example, if a recipe says use fresh basil and you already have dried basil at home, just use that. Instead of an expensive cheese like Parmesan, choose a cheaper cheese like Cheddar.
For pasta or rice dishes, buy large bags of dried pasta or rice at low prices. They’ll last for several meals.
Some recipes include extra ingredients that you don’t really need, such as fresh coriander for a garnish or Worcestershire sauce for extra flavoring.
If you don’t already have these extra ingredients, just miss them out. That way, you won’t waste money on buying them, especially if you won’t use them for anything else and will end up throwing the rest of the pack away.
Grow Your Own Herbs, Vegetables and Fruit
The average Swiss family spent 31 Francs a week on vegetables and 25 Francs on fruit in 2015.
If you grow your own vegetables, fruit and herbs, you’ll not only reduce your grocery bill, but you’ll also cut your food miles to zero. In addition, you’ll know exactly how your produce has been grown, so you won’t need to be concerned about the use of pesticides, for example.
Even if you don’t have a garden or allotment, you can still grow herbs in pots on your windowsill and tomatoes in containers or growing bags on your balcony.
Start with produce that’s easy to grow. Mint is the easiest herb because it grows rapidly, even in shady places that don’t get much sunlight. Salad leaves can be easily grown in pots, while strawberries can be grown in containers or hanging baskets, as well as the ground.
Make Your Own Cleaning Products
Store-bought cleaning products can be expensive. As an alternative, why not make your own cleaning products based on cheap ingredients bought in bulk, such as:
· Bicarbonate of soda
· Vinegar
· Lemon juice
· Water
From all-purpose cleaners to toilet cleaners, many easy recipes for making your own cleaning products can be found online.
A further benefit of making your own cleaning products is that they won’t contain any potentially harmful chemicals that are often found in ready-made products.
Once you’ve concocted some purse-friendly cleaning products, put them into empty spray bottles that can be bought cheaply from discount retailers.
Instead of buying cleaning cloths, why not use clean socks with holes in, old clothes and old sheets cut up into squares? This was a tip from an older relative who grew up during World War II, a time when people had to be very resourceful and use everything to its maximum, because most things were in short supply.
Try these unusual ways to save money on groceries and track your savings each month. The money you save can be used to boost your emergency fund, or to save up for a credit card-free vacation or early retirement.
References
¹ https://lenews.ch/2017/11/27/what-an-average-swiss-family-spends-on-food-and-drink/
³ https://www.fool.com/slideshow/heres-what-average-american-spends-these-25-essentials/?slide=6
