CHARLOTTE – We all love to eat, but we all know that your food bill can add up.
In fact, according to the USDA, the average family spent 11.3 percent of their disposable income on food last year. And it was split about 50-50 between eating at home and eating out, with about 5.62% eating at home and 5.64% eating out.
Action 9’s Jason Stoogenke is always looking for ways to help save money, and he says a great place to start: the kitchen.
1. Make extra food so you can freeze some for later.
2. Don’t just make a grocery list so you don’t forget certain items. Make a list so you don’t duplicate what you already have.
3. Consumer Reports says that the average household throws away about a third of its food each year. In dollars and cents, that’s about $1,866. AARP says keep your pantry and refrigerator organized so you can see what you have. We suggest people make space in their fridge. Even put it in a small bucket, said Neil Wertheimer. All the food you probably threw away in a few days, but you have to eat it first.
4. AARP also says to cook at least one meal a week based solely on what’s left in your kitchen. It’s a great way to use up what you have before you go shopping and replace and get new food for the next week, Wertheimer said.
5. Plan meals in advance. Stoogenke explored many strategies for this—Clemson University’s nutrition program has one she really likes. (See this program in this link.)
But you have to plan, because if you don’t have something in place, a lot of times, driving is an easy option, or Uber will eat the delivery or deliver it to your home, said Clemson’s Brooke UK.
6. You can even use AI like ChatGPT to plan your meals.
Here are a few final tips for those of you with the time and interest (not all of them):
7- Make your own coffee.
8. Cut fruits and vegetables yourself. The more they’ve worked with it, the more it’s going to cost you, British said.
9. Buy large bags of chips and crackers and divide them into smaller bags for lunch.
10. Use self-checkout. A number of retail groups point to a study that purportedly shows that people who shop alone are also less likely to make impulse buys.
Here are two bonus tips, specifically for all carnivores:
- Use a slow cooker. You can achieve great success by buying cuts of meat much cheaper.
- AARP says to use ground chicken instead of ground beef. It is much cheaper these days.
(See: 9 Reviews: How Restaurants Are Using Ghost Kitchens to Deliver Online-Only Orders)
This browser does not support the video element.
#tips #eat #spending #money
Image Source : www.wsoctv.com