Squeeze every buck from budget

Stretching every dollar in the family budget isn’t enough now. Finding spare change, a few cents at a time, among the household expenses has become a necessity for many folks.

Here are some tips to save in the kitchen:

•Look for recipes that allow you to add less-costly ingredients to stretch meals further. Oatmeal flakes, for example, can be added to hamburger to make a meatloaf. Use leftovers or rice to stretch soups into an additional serving or two.

•If the menus at home have become a bit slim, reverse the day — give the kids grilled cheese sandwiches for breakfast and eggs for dinner.

•Check grocery-store sales flyers, and use coupons when planning your weekly menus. Don’t let the coupons lead to impulse buying, however.

•When you find a good food bargain, make meals ahead and freeze them. Having a freezer full of meals will help avoid the temptation to eat out or buy convenience food when you’re short on time or energy. Be sure to package the meals well and label with the contents and date prepared.

•Use up leftovers. Search for Internet food sites that let you list the ingredients you have on hand and then provide you with a recipe using those ingredients. Learn how to freeze vegetables or fruit before they go bad, or make casseroles, or bake bread.

•Learn new ways to stretch common ingredients or make substitutions to use what you do have.

Not all of your savings are to be found in the kitchen.