Time and cash are a trade off. When we have plenty of income, we turn
that resource into time by purchasing convenience foods and eating out.
When we don’t have as much income, we spend time cooking at
home more often and using more staple items as well.

I look at it this way. When I’m working, I’m adding
to the budget and I can afford more conveniences. When I’m
not employed, my job becomes saving. Both ways, I’m helping
the quality of life for my family. But in the real world, how do we
manage the time drain while we try to save?

Here are seven ways:

1. 
   
   Think of your family as a team. Every member of the team
   should participate in the process of providing food for the family,
   whether it’s hauling in groceries from the car, helping with
   meal preparation, or stacking the dishwasher.
   
   


2. 
   
   Consider co-op cooking with another family of similar
   size. Once or twice a week, one family will cook a larger meal and
   share half of it with the co-op family. This will give one or two
   kitchen-free days to each participant. Sharing can work well when
   people live in close proximity and are very good friends. I
   would not try this with strangers or with people whose taste in food is
   quite different from yours. Planning the shared meals together would be
   a big help.
   
   


3. 
   
   Assign breakfast prep to various members of the family on
   a rotating basis so that Mom is not always the one rushing around in
   the morning.
   
   


4. 
   
   Choose breakfast meals that allow for advanced preparation
   the night before. Recipes that can be prepared after dinner, placed in
   the refrigerator, and then popped into the oven the next morning are
   perfect for this. Also, crock pot breakfasts can be prepared
   before bedtime, and they will be hot and delicious in the morning for a
   tiny fraction of the cost of cold cereal or breakfast bars.
   
   


5. 
   
   Make double or triple amounts of breakfast baking and
   supper casseroles that do not contain pasta or potatoes and freeze the
   extras for quick warm up after a busy day.
   
   


6. 
   
   Cook several pounds of hamburger and freeze the browned
   hamburger in portion-sized containers to dramatically reduce the time
   for supper preparation.
   
   


7. 
   
   Plan meals for several days, a week, or even a
   month. This saves decision-making time each day and will also
   make your shopping trips more efficient.
   
   


8. 
   
   Most of these tips not only save time, but they also save
   resources. Cooking larger amounts and planning for the leftovers
   reduces cooking energy, and more efficient shopping trips save gas and
   time.