Inexpensive Meals 

Making the Most of Your Food Dollars 
Are you spending more of your family budget on food these days? Want to find ways to make your food dollar go further yet provide enjoyable meals? One way is to educated family members in making wise decisions about menu planning, food buying, and cooking. A varied diet of colorful, wholesome foods that you and your family eat and like is also important. There is no need to leave out all favorite foods to cut costs. Use the best buying practices to get the type of food you need. If including favorite foods results in high cost meals, serve them in smaller portions or less frequently. Money can be saved by serving less costly meals on other days. New taste experiences are needed, too. We live in a changing world. The family that experiments with new foods now can take advantage of best buys in the future. Plan to introduce new foods or recipes at meals when other familiar or favorite foods are also included. 

    Prevent Nutrition Problems 
It's less expensive to prevent nutrition problems than to treat them. The benefits of good nutrition may include better health, fewer absent days from work or school. and lowe doctor and dental bills. Avoid the following nutrition concerns found in modern society.

too few fruits and vegetables too few milk products no breakfast too much fat too much sugar

    Convenience Foods 
Are convenience foods for you? Convenience foods can make our lives a little easier, but it's a good idea to check whether time saved is worth the cost. It's also important to know that it isn't always less expensive to make recipes from scratch. For example, frozen fruit juices are a convenience item and will be cheaper than getting juice from squeezing fresh fruits. Baking mixes on sale are often cheaper than similar items made from scratch--especially if they have expensive ingredients such as nuts or special favorings. When it comes to convenience foods, consider your time, product cost, and uses in your family situation. 

    Leftovers vs. "Planned-Overs" 
When you plan your food purchases and preparations ahead, you can use a planned-over strategy to make your own convenience meals. For example, a large beef or pork roast can be served as a roast, and used later in the week for stew. When it comes to baking, save some energy costs and economize your time by baking many itsm in one session. Double batches of many baked goods will alow some to be repackaged, frozen, and used at a later time. If you family is small or you  live by yourself, prepare recipes for large casseroles and then divide them into smaller casserole dishes. Bake one for present use and freeze one for future use. When freezing your items, be sure you label and date them so they can be sued within a reasonable time. 

    Your Protein Dollar 
Protein-rich foods are important for meeting nutritional needs, especially of growing children and pregnant or breastfeeding women, but they can also be the most costly part of food budgets. To manage your food costs, remember that an adequate serving of cooked meat, fish, or poultry is 2 to3 ounces rather than 5 to 6 ounces or more. Balance higher cost sources of protein with lower cost sources to stay within your food budget as well. Casserole dishes that combine protein sources from meat, poultry, fish, dry beans, eggs, or cheese with vegetables and pasta or rice are excellent ways to stretch your food dollar. 

Saving Money at the Grocery Store 

1.	Compare prices at different stores. Mini markets usually have the most expensive food; warehouse stores usually have the cheapest food.
2.	Use your grocery shopping list to avoid buying impulsively.
3.	Prepare food yourself. Most boxed and pre-prepared foods cost more.
4.	Use coupons only for food you would buy anyway. Coupons are usually for expensive brand name foods.
5.	Watch out for sales that make you want to buy more: end of aisle displays food samples to taste fancy packages candy by the checkout counter
6.	Read labels and compare prices. Store brands and large sizes usually costs less. Additionally, unit prices are sometimes displayed on the store shelves below foods. (A unit price tells you how much the food costs per ounce or per pound.) You can use the unit price to compare the cost on different sized packages.
7.	Check the weekly newspaper ads for specials on food. Make menus and your shopping plans around the specials.
8.	Buy less expensive meats. Chicken and turkey legs and thighs cost less than breasts. Ground meat, chicken, and turkey are better buys than roasts or steaks.
9.	Find out when stores put food on sale. Meats, fish, or poultry are often marked down two times a week.
10.	Stock up on low-cost foods and foods on sale if you have room to store them.
11.	Shop only once a week or less. The more you shop, the more you spend.
12.	Shop when you and those with you are not tired or hungry.
13.	Check high or lower shelves for less costly items.
14.	Watch for mistakes in the checkout line. Make sure you get back the correct amount. Some states enforce strict laws which penalize stores that accidently overcharge customers with scanning devices. Check at the Customer Service desk.
15.	Keep foods fresh to get your money's worth. Pick up frozen foods, dairy, and meats toward the end of your shopping trip. Get foods home and in freezer or refrigerator storage as soon as possible.

Planning to Stay Ahead 
A spending and savings plan (sometimes called a budget) is a way to divinde your available money for the expenses to meet your needs and wants. Families say that making a spending and savings plan helps them feel as if they're more in charge of their money. They say that it helps them stretch dollars and get more for their limited money, work toward their goals with the smount of income that they have, spend wisely, and set aside a little money each month as savings or for emergencies. 

Developing a spending and saving plan for your family may take some time, but it is worth it. You can make a spending plan by following these steps. First, know how much money you have coming in each month. Second, find out how you usually spend your money. Third, make a plan for how you will spend your money in the future. Your spending plan might include ideas for how to meet your needs and wants for less money. A spending plan also includes a way to put some money aside for unexpected expenses and should include ways to meet goals your family has made. 

Copyright © 1999 Michigan State University Extension.  For information about Hunger Resources and Programming, contact <wrublec@msue.msu.edu>. 

Michigan State University is an affirmative action/equal opportunity employer. Michigan State University Extension educational programs and materials are available to all without regard to race, color, national origin, sex, disability or age. This information is for educational purposes only. Reference to commercial products or trade names does not imply endorsement by MSU Extension or bias against those not mentioned. 3/99