You'll be surprised as to how much money you can save on groceries by adopting a little more of a frugal lifestyle. Following are nine quick tips to assist you in getting started.

1. Plan Meals Ahead and Buy in Bulk

Planning meals can help you save a bundle of cash. If you know what you're going to cook the following week or month, you can buy foodstuffs in bulk and reap the benefits of wholesale. You'll also expel the hassles inherent to thinking up the night's dish.

2. Compile a Price Book

A price book compiled over time will store a wealth of information as to the products that you've bought, along with the date, price, size and store. With this kind of information, all you'll have to do to save on groceries is compare the prices that you observe in grocery shops to what you have in your price book, then take advantage of the better deal.

3. Grow Your Own

Growing your own fruits and vegetables is easier than you think, and the garden that you create will yield produce for years to come, as long as you maintain it properly. The process of gardening will also help you get more exercise and reduce some of the tensions of day-to-day living.

4. Make Your Own

Much of what you buy at the grocery store can be made by yourself for far cheaper. Simply look up the recipe and cooking instructions online, buy the ingredients, and start cooking. Have fun cooking it with your children, adjust the recipe to better suit your palate, try different things. Cooking is not only fun but a form of art. The activity is also a good way of getting more exercise.

5. Take Sandwiches to Work

Don't drop piles of cash at the canteen at work during your lunch break. Pack sandwiches, home-cooked meals, take a flask of soup. Not only will you save money by keeping away from the canteen but live a healthier life (provided, of course, that you pack healthy foods).

6. Consume More Vegetable Dishes

Meat doesn't have to be on the plate every evening. By increasing the number of vegetable dishes that you eat in a given time, the amount that you spend on meats will be reduced and the meats that you buy will last longer. If meat is necessary for a dish, simply cut back on how much you use.

7. Refrigerate or Freeze Your Bread

Extend the life of the bread that you buy by refrigerating it or freezing it. The bread that you're going to consume in the short run can be refrigerated, while the bread to be eaten a week or so later can be frozen.

8. Keep the "Little Terrors" at Home!

Shop without your children if they tend to pressure you into buying things. Afterall, most of what the children will ask for is either not good for them or is something they or you don't really need.

9. Steer Clear of Fast Food

As everyone knows, fast food usually is bad for health. What's more, it's relatively costly. If you must have that burger or pizza, make it yourself. Experiment with different recipes, have fun, get some extra exercise.

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