Trophy Tips

Good evening!

Two posts in two days, one could say I'm on a roll.

I've decided to do a post on tips and tricks to saving money and eating well. I know I've included some of these in some of the posts, but here is an itemized list you can refer to more easily.

I get a lot of feedback on my twitter page on my blog posts (and on my life in general...) so I'll try to also answer some common questions that come up.

1. MAKE A LIST WHEN YOU GO GROCERY SHOPPING! I know the first time I went grocery shopping after I moved out, I was like "OHHH DUNKAROOS! OHHHH FROZEN PIZZA OMG! YES GIVE ME ALL OF THEM!" I didn't have a list. Or willpower. Or a budget apparently. Try to look at the flyers beforehand too and make a list of things that fit your needs and budget. I don't drive, so I just flip through the flyer for the store right in my apartment building, but if you drive and it's worth your while, you can go through all the flyers and go to Wal-Mart and price match everything and really save some of your hard earned (or maybe not so hardly earned, I'm not judging) money.

2. Meal plan. This is almost as important as the first "rule". This is a crucial step in healthy eating as well as following a budget. You need to know how much you're spending before you walk into the store and the easiest way to do this is to plan your meals and know what you're spending for each item. This might be a bit difficult the first few times, but after awhile you'll know approximately how much your groceries will cost. 

3. Balance. I like including some items in my meal plan that make me feel like I'm not eating like a poor person and pairing it with super cheap staples. I'll get a steak and pair it with potatoes (cheeeeap) and some frozen veggies (cheeeeeap!!!!). You feel like you're having a super fancy dinner, but will have spent the fraction of the price of what you would have paid to go out to eat. (Check out my salting steak post to see how you can stretch your steak dollar even further!) Buying staples such as potatoes, brown rice and quinoa can also help in cutting down costs, especially if you have a store like Bulk Barn where you're buying in bulk and not paying for any packaging. 

4. Do it yourself. I don't think I've ever bought boneless, skinless chicken breasts. Or prepared stir fry veggie mix. Or pre-seasoned pork chops. I would rather do everything myself and cut down on costs. It literally takes me minutes to peel and cut carrots and I'm saving money by doing it myself. If you simply do not have the luxury of time I have to prepare meals, try doing all of your peeling/chopping when you get home from getting the groceries and freeze or store whatever is needed for each recipe. Boom, instant time and money saver. You're welcome.

5. Grow it yourself. Related to my post yesterday. I spent pennies on seeds and pennies on soil. I've been rewarded with 12 cucumber plants (the majority of which I'm donating), planter boxes FULL of herbs, lettuce, radishes and kale. 

6. Preserve. This is something I'm hoping to learn this summer. I think I'll try pickling with some of the cucumbers I get and maybe making jam out of our strawberries if we get enough. If you have a garden/orchard/access to massive amounts of fruits or veggies, preserving them is a (relatively) easy way to be able to stretch them out instead of leaving them to spoil. Keep your eye out for a blog post on that soon-ish! 

As you can see, it really isn't difficult to organize and plan your eating and spending. I do admit I sometimes just fall off the wagon, but this method is tried and true. I know it can seem overwhelming, but just try one step at a time. Maybe start with the meal plan. Once you have something that works for you, work on buying things that require you to do most of the work. You'll be saving money in no time which just means more money for wine, right? Right...? (Sorry mom)

What are your favourite money saving tricks? 

D.