The most frequent topic I hear about these days is the cost of food. Nearly everyone I talk to lately is struggling to find ways to reduce their food costs. This may give you some peace of mind knowing it’s not just you, but how does someone keep their food costs within budget when inflation has increased the price of nearly everything over the last few years? When looking at the Beareau of Labor Statistics’ Consumer Price Index report for June 2024, you will see that while food costs have gone up about 2% in the last 12 months, most of that is being driven by eating out.
The folks at Money Geek did an analysis of fast food prices and depending on your location and fast food brand of choice, you could be paying upwards of $20 for a single fast food meal. This has led to an interesting phenomenon while fast food sales are declining, dine-in restaurants have actually increased. This is likely due to the fact that since the cost difference between fast food and dine-in restaurants is shrinking, people would rather spend their money and get a sit-down meal and be served.
So the obvious answer to saving money on food is to shop and eat at home. But we know that since the pandemic all-food costs have gone up roughly 25%, so it is objectively more expensive to eat at home than it used to be. I have tracked my household spending over the last few years and come up with some strategies that I have found to significantly cut down on food costs.
- Meal Plan – one of the most effective ways to save on groceries is to meal plan. Prior to meal planning we often struggled with using all the food we purchased before it went bad. Buying only what you need ensures you don’t have spoilage. It also helps prevent impulse buying because without a list you may be inclined to buy something that sounds good or that may or may not be used at some point.
- Eat fresh – this often sounds paradoxical to people because there is a misconception that eating healthy costs more than premade foods. I have tracked costs as well as nutrition for different meals and the data is clear. You can check out budgetbytes.com where they have tons of recipes with a cost per serving. Many of the recipes are under $5/serving like their turkey burgers or baked salmon.
- Leverage discounts or coupons – most stores will offer promotions that can help you plan your meals for the week. Proteins are typically the most expensive part of a meal, so you can see what proteins are on sale and switch up sides that pair well. Look for discounts for any typical foods you rely on each week. Just this weekend our store had heavy discounts on fruit which let us buy all the fruit we need for less than $10.
