Gourmet or novice, cook with only the freshest savings ingredients.

By Alayna A., Savings Advocate

A few glorious years ago, back when I was still in college, Thursday Night was Nacho Night: A cheese-and-jalapeño heavy evening that stained our fingers and left us $20+ poorer going into the weekend. It was a ton of fun, but it was also a bit of a financial “last call” for me.

Now that my undergrad years are behind me, I’ve started to own up to real life things like student loans, credit card debt, paying bills on time and such. I’ve also moved to the city of Philadelphia, an awesome town but a place where $20 nights out aren’t really on the menu. So, I decided it was time to start eating better without going broke.

Yep, I started cooking for myself.

I’m not saying I’m a gourmet, but I can hold my own in the kitchen. (At least that’s what my friends tell me.) I grew up in a family of foodies who frequently cooked together. That, coupled with a few lazy afternoons in front of The Food Network, put me off to a pretty good start.

But, as is too often the case, this attempt to save money quickly became a vacuous hole, sucking up way, way too much of my paycheck. Reliable spaghetti and meatballs morphed into butternut squash lasagna. Affordable flounder became pricier Chilean sea bass. Chocolate cake: good. But over-the-top tortes? Even better—and deliciously expensive. At one point in my feast of culinary bank-breaking, I’d spent so much on groceries that a simple dinner out with friends was no longer doable. Huh? The reason I’d started cooking was to help finance the occasional dinner out.

So I decided to take a close look at the budget and the menu and start chopping away. Here are a few of my tasty takeaways:

First and foremost, list it. Instead of listing everything you think you’ll need, first plan your meals for the week and then buy the ingredients you’ll actually need.

Know the price of convenience. Cut out high-priced convenience items like pre-cut veggies, learn how to de-bone a chicken, and try to shop locally whenever possible; not only will this save you money, it’ll bring you that much closer to your food.

Be hip to clip. It’s a bit of a chore sometimes, but scanning the circulars in the Sunday paper coincides nicely with Sunday afternoon list making, budget writing and grocery shopping. People say coupons are only good for the high-priced name brand stuff no one really wants or needs. Don’t listen to the coupon haters. I always find a good amount of everyday items that I planned on buying in the first place. That saves me $10 to $15 in the checkout line. Coupons can also help set spending boundaries. Have a thing for fancy granola? Me too. But waiting to purchase it during sales or with coupons has helped keep my gourmet cravings (and the grocery bill) in check.

Develop an appetite for cash. For me, learning to rely on cash-only shopping trips has made the biggest difference. Knowing that I’m shopping on a strict budget eliminates the impulse buys. So when I say I’m only going to spend $50 for the week, I only spend $50 for the week. Funny how that works.

Get cooking creatively. Hand-me-down cookware, tips from friends and family, and learning how to reincorporate the all-important leftover into imaginative new meals can all help you develop into a more adaptable cook—and Saver.

So far, things are going well – but I’m pretty young and have a lot to learn. Still, I’ve saved enough money for a few extra nights on the town each month, and taught myself some invaluable skills with sharp knives (the whole deboning-a-chicken thing? Yeah, I did that). And though my mashed potatoes could be just a little tastier with the addition of some crème fraiche, I’m the only one who really notices. (Either that or my guests are being super polite.)

So what ways are you saving in the kitchen, on the menu or in the store? We love to swap recipes for saving.

Tags: Cooking, Groceries, Savings