Planning meals in advance and using coupons and sales can help families save money on groceries without sacrificing taste or nutrition. Cooking once for multiple meals and seeking out protein-rich alternatives can also help cut costs. Avoiding processed foods and shopping for natural, unprocessed foods can also save money and provide more nutrients.
Groceries often represent a substantial portion of the average household budget. Many people believe that to reduce grocery costs, you also have to sacrifice taste and nutrition, but that’s not necessarily the case. The key to planning meals on a budget is laying out menus for the week all at once, instead of waiting until the last minute. By planning meals in advance, families are better prepared for maximum nutrition, health and flavor payoff.
Before attempting to plan meals on a budget, families should collect weekly ads from local chain stores to find out what’s on sale that week. It’s also helpful to collect coupons from newspapers and online sources and match them with products for sale from each store. Based on this information, shoppers can plan meals for each day based on what stores offer for sale. In addition to combining coupons with sale items, shoppers should also look for deals on bulk packs, such as meat. By buying when prices are low, families can now use some of these expensive products and save some for when prices might be higher.
Another way to plan meals on a budget is to cook once for multiple meals. This allows families to enjoy price savings by buying in bulk without letting food go to waste. For example, leftovers from a roast chicken dinner can be made into soups, sandwiches, or casseroles for the next day. This technique also helps eliminate waste and ensures that leftover food doesn’t go bad in the fridge.
Thinking outside the box can also help families successfully plan meals on a budget. Instead of sticking to traditional meat-based fare, shoppers can seek out protein-rich alternatives that cost far less than beef or chicken. Eggs or peanut butter both contain large amounts of protein and cost less than meat. The same goes for legumes or beans, which offer lots of nutrients and fiber at a very low cost. Vegetarian pasta dishes can also provide filling, healthy meals at a fraction of the cost of those that contain meat.
Another way to plan meals on a budget is to skip the processed foods and stick to the basics. Packaged and processed items often cost significantly more than plain produce or dairy products and typically contain only a fraction of the nutrients offered by more complete foods. Avoid sodium-loaded products and junk food, and shop the outer aisles of the grocery store for as natural, unprocessed foods as possible.
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