The price of everything is increasing, and most of us are looking for ways to cut back. Even though food is essential there are still places to cut back and save on the grocery bill. There are a lot of helpful, and redundant tips out there. I tried to find helpful hacks/advice/tips whatever you want to call it!
We have all probably heard go meatless, but when you just really enjoy meat it’s hard. So instead of cutting out meat, try changing your cut or the variety of meat. Sub ground turkey for ground beef, add Worcestershire or beef bouillon to influence the flavor to resemble beef more closely. Rather than using chicken breasts, cook up chicken leg quarters or thighs. Use in recipes with sauce or seasoning if you don’t like dark meat. Pork shoulder or pork butt is usually less per pound than beef, tastes great and stretches far!
Shop for produce that is in season. As we hit the warmer months be on the lookout for berries and melons, peppers, corn and tomatoes. For cooler weather shop squash, broccoli, and apples. In general bananas, pineapples, and root crops are fair priced year round.
If you would like veggies that aren’t in season, or just looking. For a way to save, head to the freezer section. It’s a very common misconception that frozen produce has added sodium, and for the most part that isn’t true. Double check the ingredients to ensure nothing is in the package but vegetables. Frozen fruit is hit or miss on being a good deal, sometimes berries and mangoes are, though.
I almost left this one out because it didn’t appeal to me personally, but the more I thought about it, the more I thought it could apply to someone. Use boxed or canned milk in recipes where the composition of the milk is what matters, not the flavor. Think hamburger helper, there is no milk flavor in that. Dollar tree has boxed milk often if this tip interests you.
Breakfast foods that have always been “cheap” like eggs have felt a high rise due to inflation. Cereal boxes have gotten smaller and the price has gone up. Oatmeal, however, hasn’t felt as extreme strains from inflation as many other. Oatmeal is hardy, fiber filled, and versatile- the perfect affordable breakfast option. Also good in cookies or meatloaf! Put it on your grocery list and in your pantry, it really is a staple.
Anyone who has followed Dave Ramsey, the debt free guru, has heard beans and rice, rice and beans. This isn’t an article about Dave Ramsey, but I do understand his thinking about beans and rice being full of fiber and filling your belly! But did you know it’s an even better deal to cook your own beans? Canned beans are fine, but the real savings comes when you grab a pound of dried beans and cook them; it equates out to 3-4 cans when cooked. Cooked beans can be canned or put in the freezer until ready to use.
Buy generic. Okay, we all have our things we can’t give up. Oreos are only Oreos when they are Nabisco Oreo brand, I hear you. But frozen peas are frozen peas. Canned corn is canned corn. The things with a lower amount of ingredients really have very little variation in flavor because it’s just not possible when the ingredients are so basic.
Swap store bought cookies for graham crackers as a snack. If I make homemade cookies we don’t save money because we eat them faster. With graham crackers the flavor from generic will taste just as good, and provide a sweet treat at a lower cost. Bonus graham crackers often have less sugar!
Now let’s talk coffee- from my research it doesn’t appear to save any money to grind your own coffee beans. It does save money to use ground coffee instead of K-cups. Find reusable K-Cups that you can use your own coffee grounds in. Make your own coffee syrup! And cold brew is ridiculously easy to make at home. There is no need to spend $4+ on a couple glasses worth at the store.
It’s hard to adjust your budget when you have to have electricity, gas, food, water, all.the.things. But any cutback that can be made helps out in the long run! Try out a few, or all perhaps, of these tips and see how it helps your grocery budget.
