My biggest savings on food is what I grow and preserve for us. I rarely have to buy fresh garlic, all kinds of peas and beans, corn, peppers, tomatoes, okra, pickled vegetables, jellies and jams, many fresh fruits and fresh lettuces and greens. If my husband gets a deer, then that's about 50 pounds of clean, low fat, wholesome venison for the freezer. He hasn't gotten one for the last two years so hoping this hunting season will be productive. I make most of our bread from scratch.
I'm thinking about dropping my Costco membership. It's about $80 per year. That means I have to save $80 per year on what I buy there, compared with what I'd spend for the same food at Kroger or Walmart, just to break even. Everything sold at Costco comes in gigantic quantities and there are only the two of us to eat/consume it. Therefore, the only things that I tend to buy at Costco are coffee, olive oil, bottled marinara sauce, mixed unsalted nuts, big blocks of cheese, beef and pork. I don't like their chicken because it is injected with water, salt, sugar and who-knows-what-else. I have to repackage the meats into small portions for the freezer which increases the cost.
I'm not keen on ordering groceries that are delivered to my house because I live in a very hot climate so the manner of transport is crucial to preventing spoilage, and I like to personally select my food rather than rely on some other person to do it.
I try to make sure we eat leftovers and not throw them away. My New Year's resolution every year is to stop wasting food.
