Saving Food to Save Money - vol. 1

Throwing away uneaten or spoiled food not only makes me feel awkward and terrible, but also is like throwing away money. Here is my first post on tips and strategies I use to preserve the food I buy, and make the most of my shopping.

1. Use the Freezer! 
The freezer can be your best friend in regard to saving money and preserving food, but you have to use it properly. Here are some things that freeze well, in my opinion, that you may not be used to freezing:

• bagels 
• english muffins
• butter

Some basic guidelines - Don't 're' freeze anything. Be sure when you are at the grocery store and you buy meat that you take a look at the 'freeze by' date and be sure to adhere to the suggestion. Food with high water content (fruit, vegetables) don't freeze well, because as the water freezes and expands it affects the structure of the food.

TIP: Don't Let Daily Deals Expire!

Ok, so my first tip is somewhat basic, but can be overlooked. In the past, I've forgotten about my daily deal purchases until after the expiration date had passed me by. When you are trying to live frugally, this can be both frustrating and defeating at the same time. However, I have come up with a few ways to offset this problem and make sure that you get the most of your daily deals!

1. Use a spreadsheet or Google Doc to keep track of daily deal purchases
We all love getting the daily deal email that has exactly what we want, or proposes such a good idea that we can't pass it by. In the past, I've bought several Groupon, BloomSpot, TravelZoo deals that sometimes it can get hard to keep track of what I have waiting for me. A solution can be as simple as setting up a spreadsheet (in Excel or in Google Docs) that has at minimum, enough information to let you know what it is you have and when it expires. Consider naming the columns (from left to right) "What," "Expiration Date," "Purchased From?,"and if you'd like, "Category" (food, health, beauty, travel) and "Notes" (for comments.

2. Use a Calendar program, or even your phone to email yourself reminders about daily deal expirations
We may from time to time get overloaded with daily deal, promo and random emails, but it's not likely we're going to ignore an email from ourselves, right? What I like to do is use Google Calendar to send reminders to myself that my deals are going to expire in ______ days, often in increments (30 days, 15 days, TOMORROW!). You can also (typically) set up something similar on your phone. Many daily deal websites have their own phone apps as well, which can send reminders for you.

3. PRINT your coupons.
One step that is easily missed is printing your coupons. Not only does it save time later ("Your on the way out the door, but we don't have the coupon!"), but it also helps with visual reminders of what you have available to you. As an example, try keeping a folder of the coupons you have, even if it's only one. That way you can access them when you need them, or even flip through them any time you may need inspiration of something to do.


4. Get out of the house!
We all know that eating or hanging out at home can help to save money, but it's also important to get out of the house. Think about the daily deal coupons you have, plan an event around them, reach out to friends and feel excited that you are saving money (with your discount) and know that it's important to get out of the house.