We’ve all faced this scenario at least once: It’s the middle of the month, your budget for groceries is completely spent, and your cupboards are starting to look a little bare.
Whether you’re in the middle of a spending freeze, or you just need to stretch that last little bit of your grocery budget until payday, we can help.
I spoke about this topic on my Savings Segment on Fox. Watch the replay video here:
So I’ll help you save on groceries this month and every month with these easy tips!
When you learn what’s important for your grocery budgeting, you’ll spend less on frivolous things like soda and cookies which can help your money stretch farther.
And with these grocery shopping budget tips, you’ll make your grocery budget stretch farther each time!
There are some simple ways you can stretch your budget for groceries while on your spending freeze so you can put more money in your savings account at the end of the month.
Take A Food Inventory
The first thing you need to do is to take about an hour and take an inventory of what food you have in your pantry and your freezer.
That way you can adequately plan meals and USE UP what’s in there, potentially saving a nice chunk of change in your budget for groceries!
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Make a list of what you have and start brainstorming possible meal ideas.
Instead of throwing it all back into the pantry, try reorganizing it by potential meals, or meal types.
This will allow you to see what you have going forward so nothing goes bad before you can use it.
The best way to save on groceries is to use what you already have.
Dig Through Your Freezer
You have to open your fridge every day, after all, this is where a majority of your food lives and goes to rot.
However, if you don’t eat from the freezer often, you might be forgetting about a few things there too.
Take the time to take everything out of your freezer and organize it.
There may be a few forgotten freezer meals, frozen meat, or some other treasures you forgot about.
Finding them now will help make sure you eat them while you still remember they’re there.
Your grocery budgeting should start with the stuff you already have and then you should only add what you need to your list.
Drink Water
Did you know that more than half of the population is dehydrated right now?
No matter how much water you think you drink, I am willing to bet it’s not enough.
Drinking water can help you feel full longer, keep you from overeating, and keep you hydrated.
If you are feeling hungry, try drinking a glass of water first. If you are still hungry, then find a snack to eat.
Drinking water is a great way to help your budget for groceries stretch farther, but also helps your body!
You might think that this grocery budgeting tip is simple, but you’d be surprised at how much money people waste on soda, juice, and other costly beverages.
Make Food From Scratch
If you are trying to avoid the grocery store, and make your budget for groceries stretch farther, consider making some of your food from scratch.
You may not have a box of brownie mix sitting around your home, but you are probably going to have everything else you need to make homemade brownies if you bake often.
You can make bread, muffins, sauces, and even baking mixes from scratch which cost just pennies to put together!
These foods will not only help stretch your grocery shopping budget but help you out in a pinch.
I was so surprised to learn that Bisquick mix was just premeasured ingredients mixed together for me. I can easily buy the ingredients and mix them myself and save myself some money!
This tip could help you save on groceries all year long!
Have A Meal Swap
It is both cheaper and easier to double, triple, or even quadruple the same recipe than it is to make four different meals.
In order to take advantage of this fact, you can make 3 of the same recipe and “swap” it with a couple of friends.
Simply make a few duplicates of your favorite freezer-friendly meals, and then freeze them and meet up with friends to swap them out.
It’ll save you SO much time and you’ll get some new and interesting meals at the same time!
With the ease of connecting via social media these days, once you mention it you’ll have loads of friends wanting to “swap” with you!
This is a great way to budget for groceries and keep your grocery shopping budget in check each month.
Make It Fun
A spending freeze isn’t just about cutting back; it’s also about being creative with your budget for groceries!
When we’re getting sick of the dinners we planned, instead of going out to eat, we try a pantry challenge.
Each of us picks out one thing from the fridge and one thing from the pantry, and that’s what we use to make dinner that night.
We’ve made some pretty exciting dishes, but it kept things light and fun when we couldn’t spend money.
It helps to have these kinds of “challenges” when you try to save on groceries. Not only does it keep your meals fresh and new, but helps to keep your budget for groceries in check.
Keep Your Meals Simple
If you are trying to make your food last, keep your meals simple!
Don’t look for extravagant dishes that take 20 ingredients just to make the sauce.
Instead, look for recipes that are only a few common ingredients, and work with what you have on hand.
Not only do more expensive dishes wreak havoc on your budget for groceries, but they can also be more time consuming to make.
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Depending on your main dish, you might not even need a side dish. We try to have a veggie-packed side dish like a salad which helps keep our budget for groceries low.
Use It Up And Do Without
If you are in the middle of a spending freeze, every trip to the grocery store is going to be a little less you can put away at the end of your challenge.
In our home, we live by the motto “use it up and do without” during our spending freezes to help keep us out of the store.
We use some of the millions of boxes of pasta we’ve stockpiled and look for creative ways to use them from the items we have on hand.
If we have produce in the fridge, we try to eat that first, so it won’t go bad.
If we’re craving something we don’t have, we do without.
One of the significant pitfalls of spending freezes is the assumption that there isn’t enough or there should be more food in the house.
Unless your house is truly empty of all food, I guarantee there is something you can work with. It might not be a lobster dinner, but it will help you get through the month until your spending freeze is over.
I’ll hope these tips will help you save on groceries this month and every month!
Plus, when you learn what’s important for your grocery budgeting, you’ll be spending less on frivolous things like soda and cookies each month.
And with these grocery shopping budget tips, you’ll make your grocery budget stretch farther each time!
YOUR TURN: What meal can you come up with from your freezer to help your grocery budget stretch farther this month? Let me know in the comments below!
