When it comes to saving money, there are a few things that you can’t cut back on too much because you need them to survive, such as clothing, shelter and food.

You can take the bus to work and not buy a big screen TV, but you will not live very long if you don’t eat!

However, buying food doesn’t have to be as expensive as you might think.

If you wince in horror everything you take out your wallet at the supermarket, there are many ways that you can cut down your food bill while still eating healthy and tasty meals.

Keep It Simple

Learn to cook simpler, basic recipes which involve only a few ingredients. For example, soups, chilies, stews, and ratatouille and pasta dishes.

For a delicious spaghetti and meat sauce dish you only need ground beef, tomato-based pasta sauce, onions, green peppers, mushrooms and pasta.

These ingredients can be bought for very cheap and are versatile enough to be used up in many other dishes.

Cook Cheaper Cuts of Meat for Longer

When you are buying meat, take a look at the cheaper, tougher cuts such as stewing beef which will be much less expensive than other cuts such as sirloin steak.

The trick is to buy these tougher meats and then marinate them or stew them for many hours in a soup, stew, curry or meat sauce.

This requires a bit of planning ahead for your meals, but it will give you rich, flavorful meat which falls apart sumptuously in your mouth and costs much less.

Don’t Worry About Brand Names

Do you really need to buy the most famous brand name ketchup, peanut butter, orange juice, mayonnaise, or soy sauce, when the “generic” store brand is usually $1 (and sometimes $2) cheaper?

You have been brainwashed by advertisements to choose the brand which is most familiar to you, but the generic brand items taste almost exactly the same and if you were blindfolded you would likely not be able to tell the difference.

Plan Your Meals

When you come home from work and the kids come home from school, everyone is tired, cranky and starving.

This makes it very easy to give up on the idea of cooking and eat out at a restaurant or order takeout instead, which will drain your food budget very quickly.

Instead, think about what you are going to have for dinner in advance so that you can start cooking it before you get too hungry.

These are just a few ways that you can cut your food bill down and save your hard earned money.