There’s no denying that cooking at home is cheaper than eating out (where you pay for the experience as much as the food). But that doesn’t mean that your grocery bill is cheap by any means. However, you can still find ways to save on cooking. If what you love about dining out, for example, is that you get to socialize and you don’t have to make your own food, you could still get the social experience you crave and save some time and money by hosting regular potlucks at your house for family and friends so that cooking duties and costs are spread out and everyone can participate. Of course, it isn’t practical to do this every night. So here are just a few tips to save you some money on everyday cooking.

Cook in bulk. You’ve no doubt heard of the concept of buying in bulk, and thanks to wholesale warehouse stores like Costco you can save a ton of money by purchasing items in bulk that you use frequently. However, you should also consider cooking in bulk. This is not only a great way to save time since you can cook and freeze several meals at once, and then simply thaw and reheat them on nights when you don’t necessarily feel like cooking, but it can also save you money. You’ll see less food waste from spoilage when you use up all the ingredients you’ve got. And when you have quick meals readily available at home, you’re less likely to splurge on outside dining options.

Go continental. Europeans traditionally hit up their local grocer daily to get the fresh items they’ll need for their meals. We could take a page from their playbook. Instead of shopping for weeks’ worth of meals at a time, increasing the potential for spoiled food, consider adding at least a couple of trips a week to your schedule. It may seem a bit more time consuming, but you won’t have to get as much stuff on each trip. And if you ride bikes to your market, you and your family can squeeze in some exercise and reduce fuel costs at the same time.

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