9 ways to save money on grocery bills.

Well in my last post I mentioned that there have been a lot of bills recently and that I need to cut expenses. I decided to to do some online research. Something I have been doing frequently recently looking for thrifty ideas and lifestyles. 
So Pinterest here I came. So many different things pinned with 5,10, 15 or whatever ideas to save money. Well let me tell you folks I just hate clicking on those to find it takes me to the blog and then that the article is only a list of links to posts by other people on their blogs! Originality Guys! 

I know it is only right to give credit where credit is due, but please I want to know what the author thinks of these ideas. What works for them. What they don't agree with! 

Often the various links given have all more or less the same sort of advice. Inevitable as there are only so many ways we can reduce things such as grocery bills. 

What is very obvious to me is what I have already started doing and that is planning ahead and not doing impulse buying. In my case I have been guilty of being maybe busy knitting and just not planning ahead so at the last moment I don't even know what I shall cook!
 I also buy ingredients with the best intentions and then never get around to making the meal. Then it gets to the expiry date and that is sheer waste! Organization that is the key! So here I will make a list of my own with what I need to do to economise based on my experience in the past few months.

1: Organization!
Do a meal plan. Not a rigid day by day thing but an idea of meals for the month, or at least a week. Maybe I will make pizza on Wednesday instead of Saturday or do a roast on Tuesday! You get what I mean. The important thing is to have the ingredients available.

2: Make a shopping list! 
Work out the ingredients I need beforehand! I always seem to forget something!  My DH calls me a "chittara scordata" (Scordare is a way of saying forget and a guitar that is scordata needs tuning for those who are curious!) His way of saying I am always forgetting things! (As if he remembers them!)
Stick to the shopping list without impulse purchases.

3: Cook meals from scratch. This one I am doing fairly well on. I rarely used package foods anyway. 

4: Avoid using canned foods. I must take the time to cook beans, chickpeas, lentils myself instead of just opening a can. Again that goes with planning ahead but I can also freeze them ready cooked if I have freezer space.

5: Take the meat out of the freezer and cook the stuff!
We actually have our own beef and although it is tough it has a great flavour. I always forget to remove it in time and that means I have to substitute something else, often canned meat! One of the best things I have bought is a thing to grind raw meat. The cuts that were too tough cook beautifully as polpette or hamburgers! 

6: Avoid buying soft drinks.
I have stopped drinking any kind of alcoholic drinks and don't buy them, but lemon or peach tea, lemonade etc can be costly and are also bad for us. Drinking water is better. I should also start making tea in the summer again and letting it cool instead of buying all those bottles. Less plastic to recycle that way as well!

7: Check expiry dates and use things up! Mozzarella cheese that is you I am looking at! I always forget. I should freeze it before it expires. Organization!

8: Cut down on buying ice cream! 
Really one of the biggest things this month! It has been so hot and ice cream seemed the only thing nice to eat. I actually have 2 ice cream makers! Get them out girl and make some. I would even know what goes into it! Lol! Also make some lemon granita. We have our own lemons and I never make the stuff!

9: Use up leftovers.
Waste not want not. That is what I was taught as a child and I really need to remember again. Left over food can be served up as ingredients in other dishes.
Too much gets just thrown out otherwise.


Well that is it for now. I will stop at 9 because it is a number I like!  When the weather gets cooler I will start baking bread again and maybe some cakes. I will continue trying to find other ways to save on food bills while still producing good food to eat. Actually the meals will probably be far better than usual!
Recipe books here I come! 

What other suggestions do you have? 

When your output exceeds income...

When your output exceeds your income , then your upkeep will be your downfall.

This is sound advice and is also almost a copy of something Charles Dickens wrote in David Copperfield :

'My other piece of advice, Copperfield,' said Mr. Micawber, 'you know. Annual income twenty pounds, annual expenditure nineteen nineteen and six, result happiness. Annual income twenty pounds, annual expenditure twenty pounds ought and six, result misery. The blossom is blighted, the leaf is withered, the god of day goes down upon the dreary scene, and - and in short you are for ever floored. As I am!'

Micawber is known for asserting his faith that "something will turn up". His name has become synonymous with someone who lives in hopeful expectation. This has formed the basis for the Micawber Principle, based upon his observation.

A Micawber is defined as "one who is poor but lives in optimistic expectation of better fortune"

Although Mr Micawber's story is not the way I want to end up! Better to be more practical!

You may be wondering where all this rambling is leading to. In recent months it seems that our financial output exceeds the income every single time! Bills bills and more bills! 

Every month there is something extra to pay. This time there were my DD's school books. Nearly 500 euro! I did, albeit reluctantly, take her old ones to see if I could sell them. Only 3 were still in use and I received the great sum of 20 euro for new condition books! Most of those she needs this year are new adoptions so weren't available secondhand either. 

I really need to sit down and take a good hard look at our expenditure. 

I started this month by writing down every single thing we have bought. I need to know where the money is going and where I can cut spending.

I have also written down all the meals from this month and am trying to work out a meal plan for September. I hope to be able to make a grocery list with just the essentials. I will try to cut food waste to a minimum. This is something I had already been trying to do. 

By trying to walk a greener path I have already made several changes to my lifestyle. Now I need to take this further in order to decrease spending. Water bills are always high here so "turn off that tap" is a must do. Electricity costs so washer loads must be run when there is a full load. Too often I do a half load because I hate having dirty washing lying around. I line dry my clothes and have stopped ironing un-necessary things. Saves money and time!

In the summer I almost never use the oven as it is so hot. When the weather cools I will go back to baking bread again.

The phone and internet is one fixed monthly amount so no problems with that for now. I use a prepaid card for rare international calls to family. With national ones I could talk all day if I liked!

So hard to find other ways to cut spending. I rarely buy clothes unless really necessary. We don't go out for meals. We don't smoke or drink.
 From this month's spending the only thing I can see we could have cut down on was buying icecream!

I will be scouring the web looking for ideas. I need to tip those scales back the other way.

In what ways do you save money? Any thrifty suggestions?