Woodrow Hoover; Macy Ramirez; and Francisco Torres
$$ How do I get more bang for my buck? $$
Learning how to save money is part of becoming an adult. Understanding your individual needs for either just yourself or others can be a survival tool to help you grow as an adult. Using different resources and doing your research is necessary to save money. Below are just a few!
Eat at home!
By eating at home, you can plan meals. Cook in bulk, freeze it to make sure you always have food available. There are many resources and recipes from other individuals on the internet who meal prep that can help. It is easier to keep track of calories when you prepare your meals. You have all the information on what you put into your food, therefore knowing exactly what you are putting into your body. The cost of cooking for the whole family can be equivalent to what you might spend at a restaurant just for yourself. Restaurants can seem like an easy way out since others are prepping the food for you, but the costs eventually add up and hurt your bank account. Restaurant food tends to have more preservatives and ingredients such as more sugar, salt, etc., but if you are making your own food, you have control over what goes into your meals!
Look for food on sale!
Review store ads for their weekly deals. Shop at multiple stores as long as they are close to each other. Many stores offer sales where you buy one get one free take advantage of those deals. Make sure to consider shelf life, find out which items can stock up without spoiling, and don’t overstock up on produces you might not get a chance to use this time around. Once at check-out, look at the lower bottom of your receipt, where you typically find a percentage of the amount you saved on your purchases. Make it a game to save 30% or more when you grocery shop. Saving money doesn’t need to be boring or a chore. Signing up for different apps or mail-in coupons can help send coupons right to your fingertips. With the rise of technology, grocery stores have made their own apps to make an account and earn points or even coupons just for using the app.
Try substitutes!
Be open-minded to different outcomes. A recipe may call for 1-pound of beef, but the meat isn’t on sale. Switch it up with a pound of Turkey or Chicken. Finding different ingredients to substitute with may help save money and even make the meal healthier. Researching what different ingredients can help substitute others will help you better understand and learn more about cooking. Try to find substitutes for your own tastes, for example, if you prefer sweeter tastes over saltier tastes or vice versa. The possibilities are endless when you learn new and different options.
Make a list!
Before you head to the grocery store, please review what you already do have and necessarily need, create a list, and stick to it! You will be more likely to stick to your budget and less tempted to buy items that will add up quickly. Make sure to make a point of which it