5 Ways You Can Immediately Trim Your Food Budget and Thrifty Thursday Link-Up!

Last week I talked about some ways to save up for big-ticket items: treadmills, couches, cameras or whatever you have your heart set on. But when you're on a budget, it may seem difficult to find the extra money to save for bigger purchases.

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We all have unique situations and the word "budget" means different things to different people. Some of us may have more wiggle-room than others for spending. But sometimes there are little money traps that I fall into, especially in the area of my groceries!


There are little ways, baby-steps I like to call them, that allow us to free up more money in the food budget. Here are a few that have worked for us!


1.  Stop going to Starbucks {at least temporarily}. When you consider that gourmet coffee drinks cost between $4 and $6, you're spending almost $30 a week if you grab your morning joe each weekday. Try making homemade versions of your favorite drink. Here's a homemade frappuccino recipe and an iced coffee recipe for you to try!


2. Eat your leftovers. I know this is a no-brainer to some, but often I hear that people don't eat their leftover food. Keep a small list handy with what you have so you don't end up with a science experiment in the dark corners of your fridge {don't ask me how I know that}.


Try having a "kitchen sink" night at your house, where you set out all the leftovers from the past few days and everyone can help themselves. Mayo Clinic has some guidelines on how long to safely keep leftovers in the fridge.


3. Eat out one less time per week for a month. This is one area where I struggle right now. We eat out about once a week because we live in a very small town with no access to chain restaurants. But even when we do, I cringe when I think that I just spent $20 on food that isn't even that nutritious {we do try to go to Subway}. I figure that I could save about $10-$15 each time we skip the eating out, giving me at least an extra $40-$60 per month.


4. Use half the amount of meat called for in a recipe. I've alluded to this before in my saving money on real food post, but when we make easy crock-pot lasagna or spaghetti sauce, we cut the amount of ground beef in half and no one notices. We stretch our taco meat by adding black beans as well.


5. Drink water instead of juice, pop and other drinks. I'm a Dr. Pepper fan, especially during the weeks where I get less sleep than usual. But when a 12 pack costs between $3 and $4, that's an amount that's better used elsewhere (better for my waistline too!).


What money trap do you want to "escape" from so that you can save for something special?
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