Save Money by Cooking at Home

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Due to the challenging economic times, most people can't eat out as much as they used to. Cooking and eating at home can be a very positive experience though; not only will you save money, you'll more than likely be eating healthier, and as a bonus spending more time with your family.

1. 
   Plan to eat at home most days. If you work outside the home then you already know how tempting it is to pick up some fast food on the way home from work. After all you're tired and there's nothing at home that's easy to fix right?
   
   The way to avoid this scenario is to make sure that it's easy and convenient to eat at home. This means planning ahead.
   
   If you have the ingredients for several easy to prepare meals in your kitchen at all times, you won't be so tempted to stop at the fast food joint. So keep a full pantry and fresh foods in your refrigerator and frozen food in your freezer.

Shop wisely and make sure you save money at the grocery store. Use coupons, buy generic, watch that the items you purchase are rung up correctly by the cashier, don't shop hungry, and go shopping alone.

Avoid packaged and frozen meals as well as most salty and sweet junk foods if you really want to save money. Go for the real foods, not the prepared meals that are full of chemicals and other things that you really can't afford in more ways than one.

Prepare as much of the evenings meal ahead as you can. Cut up vegetables as you bring them home from the store, ready for salads or snacks. Package the meat you purchase into family sized packages and freeze for meals. Cook extra every time you cook, then label and freeze the extras for dinners or work lunches later on in the month.

Choose water to drink, and eat healthy snacks like fruit. You'll save money and improve your health too.

Always take your lunch to work, include healthy frugal food and snacks and bring your own drinks. Stay away from the work vending machines.

Don't waste food, and use up all your leftovers in the next days work lunch or dinner. Throwing away good food is just like throwing away hard earned money.

Eat a healthy breakfast like oatmeal, eggs, whole wheat toast, a bowl of fruit or yogurt and fruit, or granola. It'll fill you up and is much better for you than sugar and chemical laden cereals.

• Make real foods like vegetables, fruits, legumes, and rice a bigger part of your menu.
• Get a simple basic cookbook if you don't know how to cook. It'll save you money.
• Don't stress about eating at home more, you can still eat out once in awhile as a treat.

Photo Credit

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