Here are 4  tips to save money on food and groceries.  If having the kids home for the summer  is wreaking havoc on your food budget, hopefully we can help you out.

1- Drink water!

It’s better for your body anyway.  If you are like me you may drink a 32 oz (or more) of soda each day.  That Big Gulp can cost anywhere from $1.00 – $1.50.  At a dollar a day that’s $365 a year!  One thing we have tried to do in our home is rather than buying a drink at the gas station, we buy 2 liter bottles at the grocery store when they are on sale for $1.00.  It still saves money.  The same goes for coffee. Fancy coffee drink are expensive! Can you substitute a regular coffee in place of your latte or cappuccino?  By doing that you might save $2 a day that’s $730 a year!

2- Don’t dine out as much.

I admit this is a struggle for our family.  When it’s hot outside in the summer the last thing I want to do is cook dinner.  Even barbequing is even tough for me when it’s hot.  I would much rather go sit in a restaurant basking in their air conditioning.  Dinners out can cost my family of 4 anywhere between $25 and $35 on average.  I can make dinner at home and spend $5-10 per meal!  If you cut out one restaurant meal a week you can save your family about $780 a year.

3- Plan your menu and stick to it!

It’s a breeze around here when we plan our menu and stick to it.  I post the menu on the fridge and there is not arguing about the food.  The kids know that unless there are extenuating circumstances what is on the list is what is for dinner.  This helps a lot with lunches in the summer too.  If I have a plan then I am more likely to prep in the morning or throughout the day.  I have at my house what I call the “Witching Hour.” It’s that time of day before dinner when people are getting grumpy and hungry.  If we are prepped, ready and we know what’s for dinner it helps!  Again this keeps us out of the fast food line.

4- Make a shopping list and stick to it!

Make your shopping list and menu based upon what is on sale in your local grocery store that week is a great way to save money on food and groceries.  Even without coupons, just shopping and meal planning off the local ads can make a huge difference in your grocery budget.  Don’t forget if you find a great deal in your ad, stock up!  Compare prices while you are shopping.  Take a calculator with you and compare the prices per serving between container sizes and brands.  You might be surprised to see the differences.

Of course you can save money on food and groceries by combining the grocery add prices with coupons! Here are some links to printable coupons: Coupons.com,  Smartsource.com and Redplum.com

You can also use cash back grocery services like SavingStar, and Checkout 51 to save even more money on groceries!

*The one exception to the shopping list is… don’t forget to check the clearance bins.  I ALWAYS look through the clearance bins at the grocery store.  My local store has bins for canned goods, boxed goods, deli, meats & dairy!  Watch the prices to make sure they really are clearance worthy and also be sure to check the expiration dates.

One final note:  there are great places to shop for groceries online.  Be sure to check Amazon for their Subscribe & Save and also for great quality meats checkout Zaycon.