By Adline Kaske
Like everything else, grocery stores have been impacted by the recent inflation, and food costs are rising. Time reports that grocery prices were up 11.8% in December compared to the previous year. With inflation starting to level out, grocery costs should stabilize soon. But with no clear indication of when that will be, being intentional about your grocery shopping is one of the best ways to stick to your budget.
There are many ways to make budget-friendly grocery runs and picking your recipes ahead of time is the first step.
Being intentional about picking recipes with low-cost and similar ingredients will help save money since you buy fewer items overall. Feel free to substitute ingredients to fit your budget or products in your pantry already.
Also, if you are only cooking for yourself, looking at how many servings the recipe makes can help you plan how many meals you can get out of one recipe when you save leftovers.
Be prepared when you head to the store.
After picking out recipes, list everything you need to buy and stick to it as you prepare to go shopping. Having a list to stick to will cut down on unneeded expenses.
Going to the same few stores can help you get comfortable with where the groceries you are looking for are located, so you spend less time browsing and looking at things you don't need.
Shop around for the best deals on groceries.
Go to different stores to get everything on your list. Different stores have different deals, so be intentional about shopping sales and discounts to save money on groceries.
Another great way to save money is to look at the store's frozen section for produce. Frozen produce has the same nutritional benefits and is a cheaper alternative to fresh produce. Consciously comparing products is beneficial to money management at the grocery store. Most of the time, store brand and frozen products will be the cheapest, but it is a good rule of thumb to compare products from different brands.
Try alternate protein sources. With meat prices rising, going meatless in meals is a great way to save money. Substitute in beans or eggs, add Greek yogurt, or occasionally have a meatless meal will cut costs.
After you get home from shopping, remember to use everything you buy.
Prioritize recipes that have ingredients that won't last long and eat the perishable food you have before it goes bad.
If you struggle to stick to cooking dinner every night, pick one day that you cook and then you can just reheat them when you want. Cooking right after coming home from the grocery store is a great way to make a routine.
If a recipe makes more than you will eat in a week, freeze what you won't eat and pull it out to eat later when you don't feel like shopping or cooking.
These tips and tricks are easy to implement the next time you make a grocery run. Finding recipes you know are delicious and affordable is good because you can start putting them into the rotation of recipes to make for the week. I have included two of my go-to recipes as a starting point if you need help with where to begin. They are both quick to make and heat up nicely as leftovers.
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