Finding Frugality in Food
I’m not the type of person who goes and spends endless amounts of money on things I want. Actually, if I were to have some sort of spending issue (which I don’t anymore), it would be how much I like to give things. I told you a few weeks ago about how I had a rough time in between college and graduate school, trying to make ends meet.
One of the most difficult adaptations I had to make was to try and figure out how to cut costs. I had grown up in a home where we’d always bought name brand food. Never did you see the store brand stuff in my house, my family was “too good” for that. But, when I was trying to recalculate my budget and such, I realized that the only way I would eat is if I cut the costs there.
Another huge issue I had was with eating out. Living alone is really difficult at times, and it’s hard to justify making a huge meal when you’re in that living situation. And frankly, I’ll get sick of eating the same thing again and again. But, when you’re living paycheck to paycheck or odd job to odd job, you have to make sacrifices.
Did you know that it’s actually a heck of a lot cheaper to make your own food? Sadly, fast food’s appeal to people is that it seems inexpensive. But, when you really think about it, you’re paying more for that slab of meat on bread than you would if you made your own. Think about it: That little bit of meat, cheese, and bun is $1. You could get enough stuff to make 8 burgers of that size for 5-6 dollars. Bagel Bites are my guilty pleasure; I realized that it was cheaper to buy a 6-pack of bagels, a jar of marinara sauce, mozzarella cheese, and pepperoni. When I realized that almost everything was cheaper when I made it myself, I started to do so.
Eating lunch on campus was a big thing for me after I started graduate school, that is, until I realized that it was cheaper for me to make sandwiches or bring leftovers. That $5 got cut down to about $1.50. I realized more and more that food was a really easy way to reduce how much I spent!
Food is a huge part of everyone’s budget, but if you’re willing to take risks, cut corners, and take time to make your own food, you’ll discover, like I did, that you save a lot of cash per month. To this day, I spend less than $50 a month on food, and go on a “large” trip ($100) once every 3-4 months. I hope this helps you think about how you can possibly cut back on your own food budget.
