A huge amount of our monthly budgets are set aside for food.

Food is a strange expense because it can kill a budget but it is not the kind of spending that you could just cut out if you wanted to. You do have to eat, but you do not have to spend massive amounts of money to do so. The food industry has devised very clever ways to make sure we spend more than we should on this most necessary of expenses.

If you can understand some of these ploys, however, you can stop falling into their trap and begin taking control of how much you spend on food each month.

It Starts at Home

The restaurant business must start their ploys before you ever set foot in their establishment.

Food has a lot of very strong emotional and psychological strings attached and the powers that be in the food industry know this. That is why they spend millions of dollars every year on television commercials. When you begin seeing images of food and family and friends having fun together while you’re sitting at home watching television, it gets the wheels of your mind turning. These images can have a powerful effect on your decision making.

The way to avoid letting these images change your budget is to have a set night of the month or nights of the month that you designate as evenings you will eat out… if your budget permits eating out.

Stick to this schedule and when you begin to feel tempted by what you see on television, jot down on your calendar what restaurant you would like to visit on your night out. You will then have something to look forward to and not feel you are at the mercy of advertising.

Another great trick is to look at a restaurant’s menu at home before ever entering the establishment. According to financial author John Pacenti, restaurants actually employ menu engineers to design a menu that works on your psychology when you are hungry. However, if you look at the same menu online when you are not hungry you will most likely choose something entirely different, and usually less expensive.

The Convenience Trap

The fast food industry also uses television images to work their magic, but in most cases our own crazy schedules and lack of planning, provide plenty of opportunity for them to swoop in with their quick drive through windows and sabotage our food budget for the week.

The fast food industry has done everything in their power to make their restaurants the fastest, simplest option for dinner, but they are not the cheapest option. The money you spend on one fast food meal for a family of four could generally be used to buy three times that amount of food in a grocery store.

The trick to beating them at this game is plan, plan, and plan and then have a backup plan.

If you are blessed with a large, busy family you cannot just leave meals to plan themselves. If everyone is working outside of the home then you have to be even more careful to plan out what will be eaten when. Menus made up a week or two ahead of time will give you a sense of control over the whole, “What’s for dinner” dilemma. Some websites provide menu planning that can help you get accustomed to planning meals in advance.

Grocery Store Games

Grocery stores are next in line when it comes to manipulating you into what to buy. Grocery stores are arranged in such a way to make sure you pass expensive items over and over.

The key here is to take the menus you have created each week and write a very detailed list of exactly what you are going to buy, and then stick to that list as if your life depended on it. Decide what you will buy while you are still in the safety of your home, before you begin to get bombarded with advertising psychology at the store. Also never shop hungry, you will buy more unnecessary items just because of your own hunger.

The Biggest Food Related Money Saving Tip Of All

Eat. Healthy.

Contrary to popular belief, it is much less expensive to eat healthy than not. Boxed meals are quick and convenient and seem inexpensive. The truth is though, you can often make twice as much of a dish for the same price when made at home. It may take a few more minutes to prepare the meal from scratch instead of from a box, but the savings will add up.

The real whammy comes down the road though. Eating your whole grains, fruits and veggies may save you from a heart attack, high cholesterol or diabetes. Aside from your health, you can save thousands on medical expenses by preventing them in the first place.

Our food is one of our largest expenses. Fortunately it is one expense that we do have a great deal of control over. Happy eating!