First, I just want to say THANK YOU! Thank you from the bottom of my heart for your support of my book baby, Getting Good with Money. At one point last week, the audiobook was ranked #4 on Audibles Best Seller’s list and ranked #1 in three different categories. Thank you. There’s no way that would have been possible without your support. Thank you. ❤️
I’d thought I’d share some ways to navigate this world of inflation and rising grocery expenses. Don’t get me wrong, this is hard. I’m currently struggling to find all of our family’s necessary items without it costing a fortune too. So I’m in the same boat as you but I do believe there are a few things we can do to help offset the increase in cost.
1. Inventory
Take an actual inventory of everything you have food-wise in your home. Go through your freezer, deep freezer, refrigerator, and pantry. Throw out everything expired or bad. From there, write down everything and how much of it you have on hand. I know this seems time-consuming, but it’s worth it. This will help you avoid buying too much or too little of something the next time you go grocery shopping. It will also help you prioritize your shopping list because now you’ll know exactly what you’re low on and need to stock up on when it goes on sale.
2. Always have easy meal ideas ready to go.
Always keep an easy meal at the ready. None of us have a crystal ball, and life tends to move super fast. So always having an easy throw-together quick meal on hand makes sure that you can get dinner on the table with little effort. This avoids having to order take-out and helps keep the food budget in check. For an entire season of my life, frozen pizza was my go-to. I always had at least four of those in my freezer and ready to pop in the oven on the nights that I just couldn’t as a mom to three kids under the age of three.
3. Eat those leftovers
If you aren’t eating the leftovers, then it won’t matter what else you do. You’re wrecking your food budget because you’re throwing away food that your hard-earned money bought. It doesn’t matter if the leftovers are from a meal you made or from takeout. It’s time to stop wasting them! Get creative and repurpose those leftovers! Invest in a nice thermos if you or your children don’t have a way of reheating leftovers at work or school. Or petition your school or work to install a microwave or toaster oven. Turn leftover meatballs into meatball subs. Turn leftover shredded pork from your BBQ night into carnitas. Get creative! And most importantly, think twice about how you store those leftovers. Separate out things that can be repurposed.
4. Earn those points!
I know I share about Fetch Rewards all.the.time but I use it all the time. I scan in our grocery receipts and earn points towards gift cards that help me stretch our budget in other areas. Fetch takes Aldi receipts which is why I love them! I don’t have to give up shopping at my favorite store to use them. Even if you don’t use Fetch, find an app you love and use. Let it help offset inflation and rising costs in other areas of your budget.
5. Look for ways to stretch your food.
If you’ve read my book, you know my love of “filler” foods! Every culture has at least one.
- Cabbage
- Onions
- Tomatoes
- Rice
- Beans
- Carrots
- Potatoes
- Mushrooms
- Pasta
- Peppers
- Corn
And the list goes on and on! If you want to stretch your grocery budget, stretch your food. Add shredded carrots or black beans to your taco meat. This reduces the amount of meat you need but keeps the protein high, and trust me; you can’t even taste the carrots. Add cabbage to your pasta or rice dishes. (Cabbage is a super hearty food – if stored properly, it takes forever to go bad, so you won’t have to worry about wasting it). And let’s chat for a second about potatoes – they aren’t “bad” food. I know Americans have a complicated relationship with potatoes because we love them deep-fried and covered in salt. Still, potatoes generally contain many nutrients we need (even more so if you leave the skin on them). So don’t discredit this powerful food that can help you stretch your grocery budget.
Alright, I hope this helps you get creative in navigating the world of the grocery store game!
P.S. Emeals brought back their FREE trial offer! We used Emeals for two years while climbing our way out of consumer debt. It was super helpful in teaching me how to meal plan and helped me keep our grocery budget in check in a crazy season of life. Head here to try it out for free!
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