Trying to find the "starting point" of being more frugal can be like searching for a needle in a haystack. This guide page and the supporting posts I've linked to, can help you figure out how and where to start learning how to reduce your grocery budget.
The first, and most essential step, in reducing your grocery budget, is meal planning. Without a meal plan, and corresponding shopping list, you end up making last minute trips to the store because you forgot a key ingredient or running for takeout because you have no idea what to cook. Not only do I include my meal plans here for you, but I have written an article on How To Plan Your Meals. This is your basic building block for reducing your grocery budget.
If you need ideas for your meals, you can check out my recipe databases: Breakfast Recipe Database, Lunch Recipe Database, and Dinner Recipe Database. If you're looking for Make Your Own substitutions for items such as Bisquick, cake mix, cornbread mix, etc, check out the Make Your Own recipe database. I also share my own meal plan every week to help give you ideas!
Building a stockpile of items that you commonly use is one of the best ways to get more frugal with your grocery budget. I keep a stockpile because my husband's hours are never guaranteed. Some weeks he gets eight, some weeks he gets fifty. A stockpile enables us to have groceries on those weeks when he only gets eight hours a week, without the worry of trying to find money that simply isn't there. Guides to stockpiling can be found on What is a Rainy Day, Stockpiling 101, and Estimating Your Needs. How do I Preserve... discusses the food preservation techniques of fresh foods that you may want to stock up on when they are on sale.
To get started couponing, check out Couponing 101 and Advanced Couponing.
If you've read all of this, and you still have questions, I'm happy to answer them for you! Simply leave a comment here, email me, or send me a message on Twitter!
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