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The Easiest Way to Save Money on Food--Eliminate Waste

From Saving Advice.

"There are many ways, including coupons, shopping the sales, buying store brands, and buying in bulk. But if you want to know the easiest way to save on food, here it is: Stop wasting it.

1. Check Expiration Dates. Check the expiration dates in the store, before you even add it to your cart. Get the best date you can to give yourself the most time you use the food.

2. Buy less: Buying in bulk/stockpiling is a popular money saving idea, but it only works if you use everything you buy.

3. Eat Leftovers: If you end up with leftovers, use them.

4. Ask For A Doggie Bag: If you can’t finish your restaurant meal, ask for a doggie bag.

5. Rotate Your Pantry: When you buy new items, move the old food to the front of the pantry or fridge and put the new stuff in the back.

6. Buy Only What You Know You’ll Eat: If you want to experiment with a new food, buy a very small quantity the first time.

7. Learn To Store Food: Don’t just dump food into the fridge and hope for the best. Master the art of tightly wrapping leftovers.

8. Donate Excess: If you still end up with excess food, donate it to a food bank or homeless shelter (but do so before it goes bad).

All the best bargain hunting, couponing, and money saving tips about food won’t help you if you’re wasting a lot of food."

...

"Once you get that down, then you can think about saving money on the food you do need to buy and find more ways to cut the food bill. But the single best way to save on food is to use what you buy."

See original article link above for further details on each.

This is all true--once you manage the waste going OUT, you can then manage the waste coming IN (mostly by shortening the shopping list, and buying with less packaging). As for the pitfalls of bulk buying, I previously wrote this back when I lived in a small apartment.

Posted by Cute at 8:59 PM

Labels: food preparation and use, food purchases