Deciding on a Grocery Budget: Step Six

Step Six, Planning your TIME

All of the previous steps are nothing compared to planning your time and sticking to your menu. Here are some tips to help make it easier. Hopefully this will help you start seeing a difference in your budget. Take it one step at a time and remember even a little bit helps. There's a lot to be said about a little bit of planning and I promise you it will help not only your wallet but your health too!

Menu Tips for Week 1:

Shopping day- try to buy everything on your list that you will need for the month with the exception of your more perishable items. Less trips to the store = less money spent.
Properly store your groceries to maximize freshness- tips for each item can be found on Master Grocery List.
When roasting chicken, roast 2 at once. De-bone, shred & freeze 2nd chicken for use later in the month. Divide equally into 2-4 freezer bags.
Save broth & leftover chicken for soup later this week.
Leftover corned beef & vegetables makes excellent hash for breakfast.
When making spaghetti sauce, make double (or even more- it freezes well!) so you have enough to make your lasagna later this week.
If there is enough leftover chicken from Sunday’s meal, use it to make chicken salad sandwiches. Otherwise you can use canned tuna.
When making bread keep in mind the coming week’s menu. This can all be made from one batch of bread dough:  2 loaves French bread (spaghetti & lasagna), 1 dozen rolls (chicken noodle soup), 1 loaf bread (for chicken salad sandwiches)
Bread can be frozen to preserve freshness.  Even if using later the same week, store it in the freezer so it still tastes fresh baked when you use it.
Be sure to freeze any leftover dinner portions that haven’t been eaten. These make great lunches in the future.


Menu Tips for Week 2:

Be sure your roast is big enough to use leftover beef for stroganoff (a 3-4 lb roast is enough for Sunday’s meal with plenty leftover for lunches & enough for another meal)
Make double the potatoes that your family will eat on Sunday- You will use the leftovers for tomorrow’s meal.
If you have extra cabbage and ground beef, go ahead & cook it all. It freezes well & can be used in later meals.
Double your soup recipe; then divide before adding the noodles. You’ll use the portion with no noodles as the filling for your pot pie later this week.
Use frozen pre-cooked chicken in your soup if you have it.
This week’s bread batch: Runza bread pockets, Rolls (for soup), your choice for remaining two “loaves.” I like to have a couple loaves sliced for sandwiches for easy lunches.

Menu Tips for Week 3:

Wash & cut extra broccoli for Tuesday’s meal
Make enough sauce for both chicken parmesan & noodles in one pot. If you have enough frozen sauce, use that to save time. For a richer sauce add 16 oz cream cheese or even a can of cream of chicken soup.
Start chili in slow-cooker first thing in the morning. The longer it cooks (on low), the better the flavor.
This week’s bread batch:  Stuffed bread loaf, Sandwich Bread, Rolls, and your choice.
Use leftover pulled pork for Navajo taco filling. You can also use ground beef or chopped chicken or leave the meat out altogether. Also leftover chili can be delicious on a Navajo Taco.
Use leftover chili for pastafazool. Add 8-16 oz tomato sauce & 1 Tbsp Italian seasoning.
If you have leftover roast in your freezer, use that for vegetable soup. Otherwise use ground beef. You can also omit the meat & make vegetable soup instead.



Menu Tips for Week 4:

Again, be sure your roast is big enough to use leftover beef for stroganoff (a 3-4 lb roast is enough for Sunday’s meal with plenty leftover for lunches & enough for another meal).
Make double the potatoes that your family will eat on Sunday- You will use the leftovers for Tuesday’s meal.
When clearing the table on Sunday, “put away” food into a casserole dish- assembling Tuesday’s Shepherd Pie. Cut beef into bite size pieces- add leftover corn or other vegetables (if you don’t have enough, open a can of corn and green beans and add those). Cover everything with leftover gravy then top with mashed potatoes. Sprinkle with shredded cheddar cheese. Cover dish and refrigerate. Tuesday’s dinner is DONE!
If you have extra ground beef mix in freezer from Runzas, use 1-2 lbs of that for an easy Company Casserole. Otherwise follow recipe. It’s still a quick meal!
Use pre-cooked chicken for enchiladas, Chicken & Stuffing, and Tortilla Soup. If you don’t have enough chicken, you can make beef enchiladas (leftover roast is great if you have it! Otherwise ground beef) If you have leftover pork from last week in your freezer- you can use that or even just cheese enchiladas. For the tortilla soup, you can use beef as well or omit meat altogether.
This week’s bread batch:  2 dozen rolls, 1 loaf bread for sandwiches, 1 extra (your choice). I like to have a few extra pizza crusts in the freezer for quick meals

Week 5 Menu Tips:

Save leftover chicken on Sunday for stir-fry. You can also use leftover broth  to cook rice for more flavor.
Cook 3-4 extra potatoes for quick potato wedges on Wednesday.
Save extra pintos to make refried beans
Make enough extra sauce for your spaghetti to use on Pizza the next day
This week’s bread batch:  Hamburger buns (for sloppy Joes), French bread, Pizza crusts

Deciding on a Grocery Budget: Step Five

Wow! It's been so long since I've worked on this section of my blog that I decided to make a whole new menu (for illustrative purposes). So some of the information in this step may be repetitive from the previous steps. Bear with me- I'm a work in progress here! 

 

Step Five- Making a shopping list

Read through your menu and make a list of everything that you will need to make it happen. Then go through the list and cross of any items that you already have or don't want and add any extras that you may need. If you are careful and shop the sales, you can buy everything needed for this menu for about $200.

Meat
3 whole chickens                     (freeze at least one right away for later in the month)
2, 3-4 pound beef roasts [whatever is cheapest]      (transfer to freezer bags & freeze)
1 small pork roast (1 ½ - 2 lb)            (transfer to freezer bag & freeze)
10-12 lbs hamburger                 (freeze in 1 lb packages)
2 lbs boneless skinless chicken breasts         (transfer to freezer bags & freeze)

Produce- (Here are some of the things that we like best but we usually get most our produce from Bountiful Baskets. This allows us to spend as little as $16/week in produce. I usually just change my menu to fit what I get in my baskets. It's not hard if I already have a basic idea of what I want to make- usually just means changing a side dish.)
5 lb         Apples       
4 lb         Bananas   
2 lb         Berries       
2-4 lb         Broccoli   
2 heads        Cabbage   
3-5 lb        Carrots      
2 bunches    Celery       
6 lb        Corn      
1-3 lb        Grapes       
4 lb         Green beans   
1 bunch        Green onions   
2-3 heads    Lettuce       
1-2 lb        Mushrooms   
5 lb        Onions       
5 lb        Oranges       
5-10 lb        Potatoes [Russet]]
10 lb        Potatoes [red] (or just add more Russet potatoes)  
5-6 large        Tomatoes   

Any other fruit or vegetable you desire such as:
    Avocado,    Sprouts,    Spinach,    Lemon,    Lime,    Snap Peas,    Asparagus,    Peaches,    Pears,  Melon,    Winter Squash,    Summer Squash,    Cilantro,    Garlic
  
Canned - I treat almost everything on this list as optional. I've found that it's so much cheaper and healthier to just use fresh fruits and vegetables, especially with Bountiful Baskets, and make other things from scratch such as cream soups. This will, however, help you to make all the recipes on this menu in a pinch as well as give you some extra side and/or breakfast options.

Mandarin Oranges            10 cans (8 oz)
Pineapple tidbits                3 cans (15 oz)
Mushroom stems & pieces            8-10 cans (8 oz)
Cream of Chicken soup             9 cans (10 oz)
(try using this recipe instead)
Salsa                    32 ounces
Beans (kidney)                 4 (15 oz) cans
Beans (black)                4 (15 oz) cans
Beans (chili)                 2 (15oz) cans
  or small red beans if using dry  (1 lb)
Mayonnaise                 16 oz
Mustard                    1 bottle
Hot sauce                1 bottle
Tomato Sauce                28 (8oz) cans
Tomato soup                 2 cans
Diced Tomatoes                10 cans (15 oz)
Green beans (if not using fresh/frozen)    3 cans (15 oz)
Corn    (if not using fresh/frozen)        7 cans (15 oz)
  
Dry
Spaghetti Noodles            3 lb
Macaroni Noodles             1 lb
Egg Noodles                2 lb
Lasagna Noodles (or use this recipe)      1 lb
Flavored Gelatin                 5 small boxes
Small Red Beans     (if not using canned)    1 lb
Black Beans (if not using canned)        2 lb
Kidney Beans (if not using canned)        2 lb
Dry bread crumbs or Stuffing Mix
Tortilla chips
Ranch dressing mix (click here for recipe)

Dairy
3-4 (16oz)        Sour cream      
1-4 (16oz)        Cottage cheese      
4-6 gal            Milk          
4 lb (according to taste)    Cheese [cheddar]      
1 lb             Cheese [Parmesan]  
1.5 lb             Cheese [ Mozzarella]  
2 16 oz blocks        Cream Cheese (optional)  
2 lb            Butter          
64 oz            Plain Yogurt      


Staples You shouldn't have to buy all of these every month. Most of these items are much cheaper to buy in bulk. Plan to buy one or two of these bulk items from this list each month to keep your pantry stocked.
Yeast                  (Usually cheapest to buy in 1 lb compressed block)
Bread Flour              
Flour
Brown Sugar
Corn meal
Baking powder
Baking soda
Pinto Beans                 2 lb      
Rice (white or brown)            2 lb
Oil (olive, or vegetable)
Dry Milk
Chicken Bouillon or soup base
Corn starch

  

Deciding on A Grocery Budget: Step Four

Once the recipe pricing is finished, you can easily put it all together into a menu that will fit your budget. If you need to buy extras one month (like this month's caselot sale) plan for more green meals. It's worth it to be able to stock up on sale prices. Just be sure that you are actually getting a good deal. Just because something comes in bulk doesn't necessarily mean that it's a deal.

Below is our menu for this month. Notice how cheap some of these meals are? That is because of all the planned leftovers and my awesome garden! I'm glad things will be cheap this month because I plan on spending the bulk of my budget stocking up with case-lot sales.

According to the per meal price, my total dinner cost is $103.51. In reality I'm going to be spending less than that, but I like to add the cost of each item that I pull from my food storage. In a sense, I "buy" from my own food storage and set that money aside to stock up later when those items go on sale.

Anyway, this should leave me plenty to buy diapers, re-stock some of my staples and buy a few extras that my family enjoys. Although, I still have to plan carefully for all my purchases if I want to stay under budget
.
By the way, if you're trying to decipher my code on my menu... LO= leftover

Deciding on A Grocery Budget: Step Three

Have you had a chance to make your own price list? You're welcome to copy mine, but it isn't completely up to date. It still gives you a good idea of food prices, though, so it's a good place to start. So now that you've got a price list on hand, what to do with it? Of course it will help you in your monthly shopping, but it is also a great help for when you are planning your menu! I went through all of my family's favorite recipes and figured out how much each one cost. This helped me to plan a menu within our means.

Meal Prices 010001

Notice the red, blue and green? My target grocery amount is $250 so the most I figured each dinner should cost would be around $7 keeping in mind I still have to provide breakfasts and lunches. So my color code is as follows $5 or less = green; $5-6 = blue; and anything above $6 = red. There are some exceptions.. some meals are priced below $5 and I colored them blue because the recipe usually doesn't make enough for a leftover lunch the next day. Also there are some pricier meals, like my chili, that I colored blue instead of red because it makes enough for TWO meals. Also, depending on the season prices may change per recipe. Stir-fry, for example, would actually be very cheap for me to cook right now because of all the vegetables I have growing in my garden.

The more you plan on spending on your groceries, the less you have to worry about planning. But if you are seriously trying to find ways to stretch your dollars the extra effort is worth it. Sure it's a lot of effort up front, but if you just keep working at it, soon it will be a breeze!

P.S. Several of these recipes are already on my blog, but if you'd like any others on this list, just send me an email at mikeandsheryl@q.com

Deciding on A Grocery Budget: Step Two

Now that you have a list of meals and grocery items that you'd like to incorporate into your monthly menu, it's time to find out how much everything is going to cost. This is my list that I came up with a couple of years ago when I did this for myself. Some things are slightly out of date- but still shows a good representation of the cost of food. There are a lot of things on this list that are cheaper now, like grains. There are also several items that are more expensive, like canned goods. Overall, I've noticed that on average groceries are substantially cheaper right now than they were two years ago. Remember when wheat went up to $30 for a 45lb bucket?! You can now buy it for about $14/bucket. Phew! But keep in mind, food is definitely on the rise again, so now is a good time to stock up.
So on to Step Two:

Make a Master Price List

Food Prices 2

Just in case you've never made a price list for every little grocery item that you buy before. here are some pointers. First, gather all of your receipts. Anything at all that may have any type of grocery item on it. If you haven't been saving them then start now! By saving your receipts you will not only be able to keep track of food prices, but you'll be able to see just how much you are currently spending on groceries. I know I've asked a lot of people how much they spend each month and there are quite a few who didn't even know. Write down everything, even if it's not a regular purchase.
If you are one who normally writes out a shopping list already, then start saving those and fill in the prices of food as you cross them off your list. You could even just bring a pen and notepad with you to the store. When you see an item that you normally (or even occasionally) purchase, write down the price per ounce or pound or however you normally buy it.
Also make a notation whether the price is a "normal" price or not. Normal to me is always a sale because with some careful planning, you'll never have to buy anything that's not on sale. I can usually count on ground beef, for example, going on sale somewhere for aout $2/pound at least once per month, so that's the price I use on my list.
Once you've started keeping track of prices, make sure you have a way to organize your information that's easy for you. I just make a table on my word processor which makes it easy to delete and add rows as necessary. Excel would be easy too. I just don't have it, therefor I do not use it. I know... ridiculous...
In addition to my computer file, I print a copy to keep in my grocery folder. This way I can bring the list with me on grocery trips and update prices as I go. I can also use it to gauge the quality of a sale. Is it a deal or a steal? Nothing else will do!

Deciding on A Grocery Budget: Step One

A friend of mine recently commented to me that she's perused my blog, looked at tips and recipes and still couldn't figure out just how I make it all work for the budget amount I use (which is about $250/month for our family). So I decided to clear things up a little bit and give a step-by-step tutorial on just what I did to make things work for us.Who knows, maybe it will help you too! I've added a seperate label that should help to keep things in order, since I can't promise to make consecutive posts on this subject. I will try to finish them as soon as possible, but I'm sure I'll be adding recipes once in a while in between posts.

Step One: Make A List of Your Favorites

Before you decide on a budget amount, you need to stop and think about what's truly reasonable for your family at this point. You don't want to go from eating like a king to eating rice and beans. Your goal should be to eat like a king without having to pay a king's ransom!
So first you need to decide what's important to you in your menu. What do you love to eat? Make a list of your favorite meals including when you go out to eat. Does your family love snacks and dessert? Don't forget to add those to the list!
Here's a list that my family uses. Of course it's a work in progress. We add things all the time and even take things off the list as our tastes change.  As I try new recipes, my family votes on whether or not they make "the list." If it falls short, it is promptly discarded... unless of course I veto the vote, which is my right as a mother. Overall, this is a good guide and gives me great ideas when I'm planning my menu. This list is not all-inclusive, nor is it meant to be. But it is a good starting point and everybody needs to start somewhere, right?

THE LIST

Baked Spaghetti
Beef Stew
BBQ Pork
Burritos
Calzones
Chef Salad
Chicken and Broccoli
Chicken Cordon Bleu Casserole
Chicken Casserole
Chicken Enchiladas
Chicken Noodle Soup
Chicken Parmesan
Chicken Pot Pie
Chicken Stir-fry
Chicken and Stuffing
Chili
Chili Verde
Cobb Salad
Company Casserole
Corned Beef & Cabbage
Eggs Fu-Yung
Egg Sandwiches
Egg Drop Soup
Enchiladas
Enchilada Casserole
Flat Bread Sandwiches
Fried Rice
Gnocci
Golden Chicken
Ham & Beans
Hamburgers
Lasagna
Lemon Pepper Chicken
Macaroni And Cheese
Minestrone
Meatloaf
Mini Pizzas
Nachos
Navajo Tacos
Pastafazool
Pintos, Rice and Cheese
Pizza
Quiche
Raviolis
Red Beans and Rice
Runzas
Salmon
Sloppy Joes
Shepherd Pie
Spaghetti
Stroganoff
Stuffed Peppers
Sunday Dinners
Swedish Meatballs
Tacos
Taco Casserole
Taco Pizza
Tortilla Soup
Vegetable Beef Soup
Vegetable Lasagna
Zucchini Bake

Notice "the list" consists only of dinners. Two reasons why.. One: Dinner is the most expensive meal. It's easy for me to add breakfasts as needed without a big upset to my budget so I don't do as much planning for them. Lunches are usually just leftovers from the previous night's dinner so nothing fancy needed there either. And Two: My family HATES having breakfast for dinner. I totally love it though, so should I ever find myself familyless in my days ahead I will have to have breakfast for dinner every night to make up for the past decade or so. So basically I plan my biggest expense first. Then I add in my "Extras" list. These are things that my family loves to have but can go without if necessary.

THE "EXTRAS" LIST

Juice
Cookies
Ice Cream
Cheese Sticks
Crackers
Other Desserts

Ok, so the extras list looks pretty short for us. Keep in mind, though, crackers means ALL crackers and so on. A good way to start making your list is to think back on what your family has eaten for the past few weeks. Also peruse your grocery receipts if you keep them (which you should) to see what other things you've been buying. If it's something that comes up often then it should probably be on the list. Now get busy with making your list while I work on my next post!

How to Save Money on Groceries

Really when I started this blog I had great dreams of detailing menus and money saving tips as well as sharing receipts and food storage ideas... I had no idea how much time all of that would take, though- so this little project of mine has turned more into just another recipe blog.. oops, sorry! But for the most part, at least, these recipes are all fairly inexpensive and I hope I've been helping at least a little bit. For this post, I decided that I'll get back to basics a little bit and share some money saving tips like I originally intended. Then if I have time, I will add a couple more posts with the recipes I've made the past couple of days: Vegetarian Lasagna, Chicken and Broccoli Bake, The "good" Brownies.

Change your perspective and increase your knowledge. To be effective in your new spending plan, you must change your perspective and to do that you may need to learn a few things. Some will essentially be starting from scratch as far as grocery budgeting- others may just need a few pointers to continue down the right path. Either way, knowledge is the foundation of change. We need to open our minds to new information and ideas. What could you do with an extra $20 a week? How about $50.. Or even $100? No matter what your food budget, there are always ways to save. Here are some basic steps to save money on your groceries:


1. Find your motivation. Why do you want to save money? Chances are, in today’s economy you-like so many other families- are just trying to make ends meet. The grocery budget is one of the few expenses that is not “fixed” in a family budget- therefore it is a target to save some money. Even if you have the good fortune of not having to worry about the cost of your food, there is always something that we’d like to do with our money “if only we had a little more.” Find your purpose and focus on it!

2. Save your receipts. This allows you to track your expenses month to month so you can make adjustments where necessary. A lot of people I have talked to have had a vague idea of how much they spent on groceries, but usually forgot to count those extra little trips to the store for milk or a bag of chips when they say “I spent X amount of dollars on food.” Also, It allows you to identify and cut out the junk. If you realize how much money you have been spending on things like chips, cookies and any non-essential it makes it less of a temptation in the future. This also helps you to keep track of changing food prices and plan
accordingly.

3. Be aware of the cost of food. Keep a notebook of average prices for the items that you buy most often. I have made a list of all the things I buy each month. After each shopping trip, I come home, open my notebook, and record the price of each item that I bought. Again, saving your receipts will help you with this. I know when food prices are on the rise and I can also tell when it’s time to stock up on a deal. This way when something goes on sale, you know if it’s a good deal or not. Most stores will advertise a “sale” on an item just to move it though the store, even if the “sale” price is pennies less, or even the same, as the regular price.

4. Figure out the cost of your favorite recipes. Keeping track of food costs will help you figure out how much it costs to make things yourself. The $12 frozen lasagna is a lot less tempting when you know you can make it yourself for less than $5. But don’t throw out your expensive recipes. Most can be modified to use cheaper ingredients and save you a ton of money without changing the taste of the meal significantly, if at all. As I find meals that are cheap, I stick them into my folder so that I always have some inexpensive meal ideas at my fingertips.

5. Get your family on board by allowing them to contribute ideas. Make goals together . Reward yourself as well as your family. Let’s face it, change is never easy. We all have our habits that we hold on to-for good or bad. Remember that this will be a tough process, but it should also be rewarding. Be creative and look for ways you can give yourself and your family a metaphorical pat on the back. Money need not be involved! Take the kids to the park. Give yourself a nice warm bath with a good book. Stay up a little longer after the kids go to bed and give your spouse your undivided attention. Bottom line--enjoy life! Life is not about money-it’s about happiness.

6. Plan a menu for an entire month (or pay period). By organizing your menu and your meals in this way, it will allow you to plan your shopping for the entire month. This will also eliminate the “what’s for dinner” syndrome. This will also give you direction when watching the ads. Every month I know what I need to buy and I know what is not on that list. I won’t spend my precious extra money on something, even if it’s a fantastic sale, that we hardly use or need. It’s not a good deal if it goes to waste.

7. Make meals ahead of time. Time is money. We’ve all heard it and it’s true. Spending a little time now will save you a heap of money in the future. This step virtually eliminates impulsive eating out and will allow for more family time in the evening when everybody is home.

8. Buy in bulk and Compare prices. Bulk prices are not always the cheapest. Again, be aware of the cost of food and take the time to compare prices to make sure you’re getting the best deal. Cook and freeze portions needed for monthly dinners when you get home from shopping (or in the next day or two). This keeps kids from eating everything and keeps your food from spoiling in the refrigerator. Wasted food is money down the drain.

9. Make it yourself! Most things made from scratch really are cheaper than store-bought convenience foods. It’s also a healthier way to feed your family. When you make things yourself, you can avoid the added salt, fat and sugar- not to mention artificial flavors and colorings and who knows what else! You have more control over what junk your family is eating, or more importantly, what they are not. I have a mix for just about everything from hot chocolate, to stew, to pancakes, to sloppy Joes. By preparing these things ahead of time I find that I save a lot of time when cooking, and money too.

10. Get Organized! None of this will work if you don’t have a plan--a way to track what’s going in and out and what’s needed to buy. When you are running low on something in your pantry then you know it’s time to start really watching the ads for that item. Shop sales and bulk to replenish what you use. Keep a folder or some other way of keeping track of what you have. By setting up your pantry in this way, it allows you to use sale prices on almost everything that you put into your meals. What a difference!

11. Change your shopping habits and practice other cost cutting tips. . Use your own judgment and do what works for you and your family. While the previous steps will help you reduce your grocery budget, you may need a little extra help. Following are a few ideas that can further help you to cut costs.
Make a list and stick to it.
Only use cash to pay for your groceries.
Bring only enough CASH for what you plan to buy. If you come across a deal that is too good to pass up, come back for it.
Don’t throw away food - ANY of it!
*Re-use bacon grease for frying eggs, flavoring muffins, greasing tins, etc.
*Use juice from canned fruit as a marinade for meat or drink it yourself.
*Cut moldy cheese (white non-fuzzy mold only) off cheese block (hard cheese). The rest is fine to eat.
*Freeze leftovers for “TV dinners”.
*Return unsatisfactory products.
*Grind leftover salad and add to vegetable soup.
*Re-use leftovers in another meal.
*Save dry bread, heels, even the crumbs from cutting bread in freezer and use in recipes calling for bread crumbs.
*Use uneaten (or clearance priced) chocolate bunnies, hearts, etc as dipping chocolate.
*Sour milk can be still be used for cooking/baking.
*Use brownie, cake, pie crumbs for ice cream topping.
*Soften hard marshmallows by placing in a re-sealable bag with a few slices of fresh bread.
*Save butter wrappers to grease pans.
*Egg whites (uncooked) can be frozen for use later on.
*Freeze things before they go bad.
Half the amount of meat called for in most recipes. Cheaper and less calories!
Don’t serve seconds on meat, juice & milk. Use bread, rice, pasta as fillers if still hungry and drink water for refills.
Don’t serve your entire roast. First set aside amount needed for planned leftovers or to use in other recipes.
Cut your meat into smaller pieces. It will go further in stews, soups, casseroles, etc.
Drink Water.
Try to cut out the non-essentials. (do a little at a time so you don’t feel deprived)
Get organized. Know what’s on hand. Don’t let food go bad in your fridge or pantry.
Educate yourself. If you don’t know how to cook, then learn! Practice makes perfect.
Shop the edges of the store. Everything you need should be in produce, dairy, meat and sales. Everything else will cost you extra.
Shop around for the best deals. Try to plan your shopping with other errands in the area.
Buy direct from the manufacturer things that you use often. (if it’s a better deal)
Try store brands.
Don’t buy an item just because it’s on sale or to use a coupon.
No matter how good the deal is on soda, chips, etc, you still didn’t need to buy them in the first place!
Shop sales and bulk and stock up. (pay attention, make sure you’re really getting a deal)
Plan all your shopping in one or two trips to the store. This helps cut down on impulse buys.
Eat only what you need.