How to Stretch Your Grocery Budget: 13 Fantastic Tips
How to Stretch Your Grocery Budget
These days, buying groceries can cost an arm and a leg. It’s not just you, everyone is feeling the squeeze these days with the cost of inflation. Today I’m sharing 13 ways to stretch your grocery budget further. These tips have helped me save so much money over the years. As an added bonus, many of these tips have helped me waste less food as well!
PS: Make sure you read all the way to the bottom, I’ve got a free meal plan printable waiting for you!
Buy in Bulk When Possible
If there is a bulk store nearby, sign up for a membership. Buying in bulk can save you money because larger quantities are sold at a lower unit price. So you may buy a 3lb container of pretzels, but the price per pound/ounce is lower than if you bought 1lb from another grocery store.
You can buy larger quantities and freeze the extras, meaning you’ll always have something in the fridge, even if you cannot get to the store that day. Bulk stores are also great for those dry good items that your family goes through quickly, such as diapers or paper towels.
Use Coupons or Discounts
I used to love cutting coupons but paper coupons are becoming more rare. You can still find online deals and coupons with a quick google search. Occasionally, we will get ads in the mail for specific items, and I love to use those whenever I can.
Along with coupons, Ibotta gives you discounts at the stores you already shop at. I regularly have something on my shopping list that Ibotta has a cash back code for. Look how much I’ve saved since I started using this app! You can use my link above to get $5 once you submit your first receipt!
Shop the Sales
Most grocery stores have a weekly sale magazine. Grab one on your way out after shopping, and you will have an entire week to plan your menu in advance. You can also check to see if your preferred store has an app. Many do, and the upcoming sales are posted in the app as well!
I love to stock up after holidays. After Easter, ham goes on sale. After Thanksgiving, turkey. Canned pumpkin almost always goes on sale around Christmas or New Years. Canned goods have pretty long expiration windows, so I love getting them at a cheaper price. Sale meats can be frozen to be used later.
Check for Tax Free Dates
There are many states that have a tax free sales period. You can check here to see if your state does. I love to stock up when it comes around in my state. By being aware of tax incentives like these, you can stretch your grocery budget even farther!
Freeze What You Don’t Use
If you get sick of the same meal after a few days, freeze the leftovers. Not only will you have a meal on hand when you’ve forgotten to plan one or haven’t done the shopping, it gives you a break from having to cook from scratch each day.
I like to cook an extra large batch of spaghetti sauce and freeze half. It is easy to defrost and I always have noodles on hand. When I was pregnant, I made a ton of freezer meals and it ended up helping SO much when I was postpartum. Plus, it saved us money because we didn’t order out all the time.
So great ideas for frozen meals are:
- pasta sauces
- breakfast wraps
- breakfast sandwiches
- pancakes
- enchiladas
- chili
- marinated chicken
- stir-fry’s
Try a Meatless Meal
It’s no secret that meat can eat up a huge portion of your grocery budget. If you can eat just one meal a week without meat, it can drastically reduce your grocery bill.
Quite often, we have a grilled cheese and soup night for dinner. Breakfast for dinner is another fun meal idea. We make Omelets or scrambled eggs and pancakes. There are so many soups or stews you can make without meat that can save you money too!
A quick search on Pinterest will give you hundreds of meatless ideas to try. Go ahead and give me a follow while you’re there!
Use Less Meat
If you aren’t willing to give up meat, you can always cut back on the amount. One of my favorite quick and easy meals is marinated chicken and rice. I slice chicken breasts super thin and end up using less meat overall. This tricks our brains into thinking we are getting more because there is seasoning or marinade covering more surface area than if we were eating larger pieces of chicken.
You can also stretch your meat by adding substitutes.
- If you are making chicken marsala, double the amount of mushrooms and cut back on the meat.
- Shred chicken into soups and stews.
- Use more breadcrumbs, onions, or other seasonings when making meatballs.
- Fill your sandwiches with extra greens or veggies and remove a slice of deli meat.
- Top your homemade pizza with olives, peppers, or extra cheese instead of meat.
Reuse for Multiple Meals
Sometimes I roast a whole chicken using very basic seasoning (think salt, pepper, onion, garlic). We will eat the roasted bird for one meal with a side or two, and then I cut the leftover meat off the bones and shred it. I use the shredded meat in sandwiches, quesadillas, or soup over the next few days. I also add the bones to a pot with water, seasoning and leftover veggies to make a broth. This is great to use to cook rice or make soup with.
If I am making rice for a meal, I make enough to use the leftover rice in a stir fry the next day. Leftover spinach gets added to a wrap. If I bake chicken one night, I’ll toss the leftovers in with some pasta and sauce the next day.
Save Your Scraps
If I cut up or peel veggies, I always put the scraps in a freezer bag. I keep adding until the bag is full, and then make a vegetable stock. This is great to have on hand. When a recipe calls for water, I use the vegetable stock to add extra flavor and nutrients.
If there is leftover sauce, broth, or drippings after a meal, I save it to use the next time I’m cooking something. Leftover pasta sauce can be used over chicken. Drippings from a roast can be used to fry potatoes on the stove. Get creative and don’t be afraid to use every bit of leftovers!
You can also save leftover seasonings. If a recipe calls for mixing together several seasonings to make a taco/italian/jerk/etc… I save the leftovers to use at a later date.
Save Pre-Made Ingredients
Whenever we buy a box of taco shells that includes tomato salsa and taco seasoning, I always save them! We don’t use the pre-mixed salsa on our tacos, but I love using them later in taco pasta or a beef stew. Those little packets that come in ramen packages are saved for when I need a little bullion seasoning.
Buy Multi-use Items
Instead of buying several different types of bread for sandwiches, buy items that pull double duty. Tortillas can be used as wraps, pizza crusts, or for quesadillas. Spaghetti noodles can double as lo mein noodles in a pinch. You can always add herbs and seasonings to a plain loaf of bread instead of spending extra because it has rosemary or basil baked in. Bonus points if you can buy them in bulk!
Stock up on Staples
If you have the basic ingredients on hand, you can always whip up something tasty. Rather than buying premade pizza crusts, make your own! I LOVE making pizza with my toddler, and we can freeze the leftover dough to have later. Your grocery budget will thank you when you stock up on staples.
If you have flour and sugar on hand, you can whip up your own cookies, icing or other baked goods for much less than buying them pre-made. Hint: Baking can also be a stress reliever, give it a try! I also firmly believe that food tastes better when it is made with love.
Waste Not, Want Not
If you notice that an item regularly goes bad before you can use it, make a point to use up that item beforehand. This may mean putting spinach front and center in your fridge so that you see it any time you open the door. It might mean blending up mangos that are pushing past fresh and freezing them to use at a later date. I love buying or even making loaves of bread to put in the freezer. That way, I always have some on hand, no matter what I need it for.
Bonus Tip: Meal Plan
I used to waste spend so much extra cash because we didn’t make a plan for our meals. I would just wait until there was no readily available food in the fridge and decide to go to the store to make whatever my heart desired. Making extra trips to the store added up quickly and I was always stressed because I had no plan. You can get my FREE meal planner with shopping list using the form below.
Have you checked out my post on 55 ways to save money at home? What are some of your favorite ways to stretch your grocery budget? Let me know in the comments below!
