living frugally.

Earlier this summer, I made the decision to register for a family finance class for this fall semester. Not only did it fulfill my "Quanitative Reasoning" GE requirement, but it also contained concepts that I always have desired to learn- concepts that I can implement with my own future family. Recently, we have discussed how to live frugally and my professor has given us suggestions that I am excited to implement and that will really help me to save money (and who doesn't love that?). If you are currently struggling with living within your means, there are two possible things that you can do: increase your income or decrease your expenses. However, it is much easier to decrease your expenses than it is to increase your income. Unless you decide to become an Uber driver or a dog-sitter on the side, but I personally don't want to do either of those things. You may be thinking "decreasing my expenses is harder than you think". The truth is that it really is not. There are little things you can do that can end up saving you a lot of money in the long run. Today I am going to focus on how to save money specifically on food. My professor's ideas are so smart that I am going to list them out for you.

So, you want to save money on food and live a healthier lifestyle? This is what you can do: 

1. Make a weekly menu and write a shopping list for the things that you need to buy for those menu items. When you go to the store, you should only buy the items that are on your list- as that is all you will need to fulfill your menu for that week. 

2. Take advantages of "loss leaders". Some of you may not know what a "loss leader" is. A loss leader is an item that certain grocery stores price a lot lower than usual. For example, the store I work at has specific weekly ads for donuts or soup or may other things. The reason stores do this is to draw you into their store. Then once you are there to buy that one item, you are most likely going to stay at that store to do the rest of your shopping. My professor's advice is to not do this. What you should do is go collect all the loss leader items that you need at various stores and then continue shopping at your normal store. 

3. Buy store brands. This is most grocery store's best kept secret. When you go to Wal-Mart, buy the "Great Value" brands. Those are the brands that the store makes. The only difference between store brands and other brands is the packaging. And they end up charging you more. The food tastes the same, the only thing you are missing out on is the cool packaging. 

4. Bring a homemade lunch to work. It is so easy to eat out every day, or even twice a week, at work. However, you end up spending a ton more money and it is actually really unhealthy for you. By packing your lunch, you can save $1,000s of dollars a year. 

5. Share a meal with someone at dinner if you do eat out. The portions at most restaurants are HUGE and end up being so filling that you normally can't finish your plate. By splitting a meal with someone, you are not only splitting the cost, but you are splitting the number of calories that you eat as well. 

Though these small acts don't seem like they would do very much, a little bit goes a long wall. I always think of the saying "by small and simple things are great things brought to pass." You can save so much money per week, per month, and definitely per year just by making these small adjustments to your lifestyle. 

That's my rant for the week. Go out and start saving! 

XOXO

Mikayla