With all of the monthly expenses piling up, it’s good to try and save every penny you can, as the more you can free up each month, the more you can put towards paying off debt, building an emergency fund, or saving for retirement. You may not think it’s worth looking into what you’re currently spending on food, but if you take a look at last month’s debit or credit card statement and add up not only the groceries, but every time you went out to eat or grabbed coffee or snacks, you could be in for a surprise, and that’s not even including the bar tabs.
Go Grocery Shopping Instead
Sure, it’s nice to go out to eat on special occasions or even once a week to have a nice meal out after a long week of work, but the more you do, it quickly adds up and pretty soon you’re spending hundreds of dollars more than you would if you went grocery shopping instead.  Between brewing your own coffee in the morning, having breakfast on the go, packing your lunches, and a little meal prep in advance, you can really get into a routine that will save you a significant amount of money.
Entertain at Home
You can get some use out of your deck by hosting family or friends that would still cost less than a night at the restaurant or bar. If you still want to go out, try still having shareables at your house with drinks and order even more shareables at the restaurant, and at least they’re not full meals and you also saved a few rounds from drinking at home. Now is the time of year when it’s finally nice out and you probably have done a lot of work to your yard or deck, so why not show off your hard work.
Stick to a Shopping List
Going to the grocery store can be overwhelming, which is why you always hear about those that either go in for a couple times and come out with a whole cart or forget the item they went in for altogether. By making a list of every item you need from the store you can ensure you stay focus on your list, gather every item, and sticking to the list will avoid any impulse purchases that would quickly add up at the register.
Don’t Forget the Coupons
It may be a little different nowadays where you don’t necessarily sit down with the Sunday paper and clip coupons anymore, but that doesn’t mean the days of saving money are over. You actually probably get more in the mail now, and in addition, you can go on the grocery store’s website and load digital coupons to your card/phone number to be taken off at the register. You just may need to print out the list of coupons you loaded so you don’t forget which specific items you are looking for. For even more saving, and your sanity, try shopping mid-week, where you can find additional deals, and the later you go, the less you will have to deal with a crowd.
Ever since I stopped eating in the city I can save a lot.