Americans Waste Up to $2,000 on Discarded Food

Categories: Spend

Great article in the Wall Street Journal about leftovers, discarded food and the impact to household budgets and the environment. I hate it when food goes bad and we have to toss it out.  We try to freeze things like peppers or meat before they go bad, and only buy what we plan to use in recipes or in our lunches. We have plenty of plastic containers and cheap zip lock bags to quickly store things in the freezer or refrigerator so that they are fresh and ready to use. I also find it helpful to make sure that things don’t get pushed to the back of the refrigerator to never be seen again, or at least until we clean things out. Putting dates on things, or putting them with lunch items reminds us to use them within a few days. Watching what we purchase, meals we plan, and ways to preserve and consume food can help us save money, which is especially important considering how expensive food has become. Being smarter this way with food can help us save money and be better stewards- a win win!