With both restaurant and grocery store food prices constantly on the rise, it’s painfully clear that saving money on food is not as simple as following the age-old advice to “eat from home”. Living alone has taught me a few things about frugal living—especially in the context of eating. Here are 6 practical ways a single person can save money on food now that prices are rising:
Spend Cash Instead of Using Card
You can eliminate your chances of overspending at the grocery store by leaving your debit/credit cards at home. To stick to your budget, bring just enough (no more, no less) cash necessary to buy the items on your grocery list (plus tax, of course).
Pro tip: save your coins and at the end of the year, wrap them in coin rollers and deposit them to your bank account.
Walk to the Grocery Store
Along with food prices, gas prices are rising like crazy (up almost 50% from this time last year). If you’re able, try walking, biking, bus-ing, train-ing—anything but driving—to the grocery store. Not only will this strategy save money on gas, it will save money on food. Since the number of grocery bags you can carry while walking is much less than the number of grocery bags you can throw into the trunk of your car, you’ll purchase fewer items from the store. Having to carry all those bags will make you consider what you truly need.
(Also, let’s not ignore the fact that walking and carrying shopping bags is a great way to get in some physical activity, which is great for your joints).
Grocery Shop Twice Per Week, Not Once
When you grocery shop only once per week, you’re limiting your food options for the rest of the week. Let’s say you went shopping on Sunday and picked up all the food you think you’ll need until the next Sunday. If, in the middle of the week, you have a new craving for something that you didn’t buy on Sunday, you’ll be tempted to go out and buy the food you actually want. Now you have just bought more food on top of the food you already bought on Sunday. If you simply allocate half of your grocery budget to one shopping day, and the other half to another shopping day, you’ll see how much money you’ll save.
Also, when you grocery shop only once per week, you’re more likely to buy food items that have a longer shelf life and will last you until your next shopping trip. These foods tend to be processed snacks and frozen meals—foods that are neither nutritious nor filling (and sometimes, expensive). You might also buy fresh fruits and vegetables, of which some will very likely spoil over the seven days in your fridge. Making two trips to the grocery store each week will help you to have more fresh produce and less processed food in your kitchen while eliminating food waste.
For these reasons, I like to grocery shop twice per week. On Sunday mornings, I buy food for Sunday’s lunch through Wednesday’s lunch; on Wednesday evenings, I buy food for Wednesday’s dinner through Saturday’s dinner.
Eat Less Often/Intermittent Fast
If you eat less frequently, you eat less overall, and therefore, you spend less money on food. Instead of snacking, try only three meals a day. Instead of eating three meals per day, try two. Intermittent fasting makes this task really easy. You can eat your first meal of the day (lunch) at noon and your last meal of the day (dinner) at 6PM. Or you can enjoy breakfast at 8AM, then lunch at 2PM. Eating adequate fiber, fat, and protein at these meals will help keep you satiated between meals. You can also enjoy coffee and tea breaks throughout the day. On days when I’m really hungry, I’ll have a small snack break of pork rinds or crispy chickpeas.
Do Not Buy Snacks For the House
When you live with other people, you likely buy snacks that you’ll want to (or have to) share with the household. Because of this, you’ll buy enough snacks for yourself, plus a little extra for everyone else—a dozen doughnuts, a variety pack of chip bags, a tub of ice cream. But, when you live alone, you only need a few snacks just for yourself. A single person can save money on food by being stingy with snacks.
When living alone, I think it’s best to buy snacks on a need-to-have basis rather than to have them stashed in your cabinets. Instead of buying a dozen doughnuts from the bakery section of the supermarket, wait until you crave a doughnut and go to a bakery to buy just one. Or, instead of buying a variety bag of chips at the supermarket, go to a corner store and buy a 50 cent individual bag of chips when you’re craving something crunchy. Or instead of buying a tub of ice cream, go to the ice cream parlor and get a cone.
Snacking outside the home makes snacking more festive by giving you opportunities to go out into the world. It also eliminates the possibility that you eat too many snacks, get too full, and never finish the groceries you prepared for dinner.
Go to Church (and stay afterwards for the Fellowship Meal)
With all the uncertainty in the world, now is a good time to get to know how awesome The LORD is. Many churches have after-service fellowship meals. Sometimes there’s coffee and cookies, and other times there’s a full spread of mac and cheese, candied yams, fried chicken, and potato salad. Also during the week, some churches serve pizza at Bible study.
Key Takeaways
There are several practical ways you can save money on food as a single person living alone. Try your best to employ these strategies and watch your savings increase.