Let’s face it, we’ve all got our own little food indulgences. In fact, some people have quite large food indulgences!, but even if you are living on a very low income indeed, chances are you still buy the odd chocolate bar now and then.
So, by food indulgences I mean anything which is not necessary to a normal healthy diet. Food indulgences range from Maccas and $2 chocolate bars, all the way up to fancy restaurants and artisan wines. And fair enough – we are naturally drawn to tasty treats, and these things are, to most poeple, genuinely enjoyable, so there’s no need to deprive yourself for the sake of saving money.
However, deprivation is not necessary to save money. You can still have your food indulgences while still keeping a little more cash in your pocket where it loves to stay. Here are some ideas on how to save money while still enjoying your favourite edible indulgences from time to time.
Google your food indulgence and look up a recipe. Then cook it! I’m not kidding – just about everything you can buy ready-made can be created right in your very own kitchen, using the normal kitchen tools that you’ve already got. Sometimes a recipe might call for slightly more unusual ingredient or piece of equipment, but chances are that the small price of this special thing will be paid off very quickly – within once or twice of making the food at home and eating it. If you love chocolate truffles, yes, they can be made at home (they are heaps faster and easier than you think, too!) If you’re a beer lover, try a homebrew kit. If you love a good cheese, why not go to a cheese-making evening course with a friend and the buy a kit that will make you many times the amount of blocks of delicious homemade cheese than you could have bought from the store for that money. Grab some flour and make a batch of hot bread rolls – man has been making bread for thousands of years, surely you can do it too. And if hot chips are your favourite pick-me-up, grab a bottle of oil and a deep saucepan and start chopping up a few spuds. In many cases, making a food indulgence yourself actually works out to take the same time as it would have taken you to go through a drive-through or walk to the shops.
If your food indulgences involve the experience of dining out and popping open a bottle, but the budget prohibits doing this as often as you’d like, then try frequenting BYO restaurants instead of licensed restaurants, taking along your own choice of wine.
Simply eat it less. Whatever it is. Say, every second time rather than every time… Yes, this does mean a little sacrifice, but the payoff comes twofold to the person who successfully follows this tip. After all, not only will you hold on to more money, you will also enjoy your indulgence more when you do have it.
Or what about getting creative? If there’s a restaurant you like a lot for the good coffee and desserts, and the great atmosphere, then eat a simple home-cooked meal first and go out for coffee and cake at your favourite hangout afterwards. Or, if it’s a simple takeaway with the kids that you like to enjoy, they why not buy the fish and chips as usual, but go home for ice-cream. That way, you won’t have to fight with your kids about how many scoops of ice-cream they can get – a large tub of vanilla or chocolate ice cream from the supermarket will set you back less than the price of a double or triple scoop ice-cream in a cone from the corner store! Even mum and dad can have a double scoop.!
