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How to Save on Groceries

Start a Neighborhood Dinner Exchange

How to save on groceries? The best frugal recipe to save money on grocery shopping is to share (expenses and time). Start a neighborhood dinner exchange club with other stay at home moms and fix cheap meal ideas, saving everyone time and money.

how-to-save-on-groceries-01; a neighborhood dinner exchange

You can save money on grocery shopping by buying in bulk.

But here's the bad news: if you buy in bulk and are unable to use it all before it expires, then you've wasted money, instead of learned how to save on groceries.

There is a solution however: make a lot of the same food.

The following two methods of bulk cooking and cheap meal ideas will have you getting your friends involved.

Also, see the Freezer Cooking section for more ideas.

Neighborhood Dinner Exchange

Do you know of other moms in the neighborhood who are pressed for time?

If so, get them together for a revolutionary idea: a Neighborhood Dinner Exchange.

This is a way to have a frugal recipe, home-cooked meal every night of the week, but only actually do the cooking once.

You'll need five moms participating.

Each mom will take one weekday, ideally whichever day she is least busy.

On her cooking day, she will make five of one of her favorite recipes, and will deliver the extra four meals to the other mothers participating in the exchange.

Then she's done for the week!

On the other four nights, one of the other moms in the exchange will feed her!

The Neighborhood Dinner Exchange is a great way to implement how to save on groceries. Buying 5 lbs of ground beef for one night's meal is much cheaper than buying 1 lb of ground beef five times. Getting a huge can of tomatoes at Sam's Club for $3.50 to make spaghetti is much cheaper than buying the equivalent 10 cans of tomatoes at Wal*Mart for $1.07 each.

The one supply you will need for a neighborhood dinner exchange is five containers to use to put dinners in. It works best if you receive your food in your own container. During the organization of the initial week of the Neighborhood Dinner Exchange, each participating mom should trade a container with each other participant. (Use a black marker to write your name on your containers.) During the week, as you receive your meals, trade a clean container for the filled dinner.

I like Tupperware Rock N Serve containers the best. You can learn more about Tupperware for Stay at Home Moms here, or you can order some used containers off of eBay below. Tupperware Rock N Serve containers can be frozen, used for reheating or cooking in the microwave, and put through the dishwasher.

Freezer Cooking with a Friend

how-to-save-on-groceries-02; two young friends preparing dinner

The other method of how to save on groceries by teaming up with other moms is through freezer cooking with a friend.

This is where you can plan on a once a month cheap meal ideas cooking spree.

You and a friend come up with a series of frugal recipe ideas.

Buy all the ingredients (sharing the cost) and then spend one whole day cooking.

One friend can take all the beef recipes, while another takes all the chicken recipes, and you can share all the pork recipes, for example.

Then you can bag the food, divide it, and fill your freezer!

The freezer cooking method is described in more detail here.

Amazon.com Widgets

Having a friend share the cooking is a great how to save on groceries method, and will allow you to have some fun as well! Your kids will experience new and interesting foods that you yourself have not previously prepared, and the neighborhood will come together in a unique way. Enjoy!

grocery-coupon-book; beginners guide to coupon shopping

Beginners Guide to Frugal Coupon Shopping

Grocery shopping got you down? Tired of watching the food bills climb?

This guide will show you how to use coupons and refunds to get free food and products at the store, and save you money!

The Grocery Coupon Book