Use your luxuries list and choose only one or two luxury items when you shop (and only if you can afford it).
You will become far more careful about how you use luxury ingredients to keep meals interesting and you will find you use less.
Access to some of your favourite foods or ingredients helps you stay on track, a little treat may prevent a major blow out later on.

Restaurants use a little bit of a luxury ingredient to “sell” the meal on the menu. “Fettuccine with smoked salmon in a light creamy sauce”
There may only be a little bit of smoked salmon in the dish but the use of the luxury ingredient is clever. A little bit imparts a lot of flavour and by telling us it’s in there; we are predisposed to expect a delicious creamy smoked salmon flavour.
Home cooks often neglect the power of description.

What’s for dinner? Leftovers.

The more basic the meal the more effort I make over presentation. Stack the corn fritters in the middle of the plate, arrange the salsa decoratively, garnish with something…

Make sure your diners know there are good things in there – we’re having a delicious homemade calzone with spicy beef, roasted vegetables and parmesan cheese in fresh yeast bread crust. Last nights left over chilli with the remaining roast pumpkin from the night before, spread onto a fresh pizza base, bit of parmesan grated on then the another pizza base placed on top, edges pinched together and baked – gorgeous, filling – leftovers.

If you don’t draw your grocery money in cash, and just apply the principals, leaving the grocery surplus in the bank account it will disappear – I’m not sure exactly how or where it goes, it just seems to be eroded by other unconscious spending. There is also no substitute for the delight of leaving the shops with cash in your hand that previously would have been spent. Actual physical cash is a powerful motivator. How much you save is up to you.

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