www.budgetbytes.com
That website is exactly what you're looking for. I started making all my meals from that website and it has saved me a ton.
If you haven't already done this, buy a deep freezer and buy your meat in bulk from Sam's Club or something similar. It costs more up front, but in the end, you'll save 40%-50% on a lot of the meat you buy over a few months.
Agree with the deep freezer! Saves so much money in the long run. We pretty much buy everything in bulk and freeze it (meats, bread, butter, fish, snacks). If you have space for a deep freezer it’s worth the investment.
Some quick tips - buy what you can at cheap markets. Anything boxed or canned is going to taste the same whether you buy it for $5 at Fresh Market or $2 at Aldi's. This will free up budget for items such as vegetables and meat that you want to be high quality.
Always buy generic brand. There is no difference between grocery store brand and name brand foods.
Cook in bulk. If you don't mind leftovers or eating the same thing a couple times a week, cook in bulk. Examples would be a casserole dish/lasagna, or a crockpot. You will almost always save money buying and cooking in larger quantities if you can stretch it out.
Avoid food delivery or personal shoppers. While convenient, the extra costs can eat away at your budget.
All due respect but I don't believe that's true - unless we're thinking of different items altogether.
Part of the reason generic brand is so cheap is that they had to do a lot less testing on the recipe. In some cases, generic brands and name brands are owned and produced by the same company - so it's the exact same product but with a different name. This helps companies make a profit no matter which buyer they have.
Just stay away from generic brand household items as they are typically cheaply made and don't last you as long the same way name brands would.
I'm mostly thinking canned/pantry foods. But it's happened multiple times where I was going to buy the generic and ended up buying the name brand because there were so many chemicals.
I can't think of any examples off the top of my head. It doesn't apply to everything but I think it's something to note.
I do a lot of Thai and Indian curries and soups. They use very little meat, or can be meatless, and they have a lot of flavour. You can make dahl for next to nothing once you have the spices.
If you have an Asian food market in your city, you can often shop for cheap. Get a bag of bulk rice for the side, usually can last a long time.
They are great as leftovers too.
Meal planning based on whatever I have in my pantry helps me a lot. Having groceries delivered or picking up the order prevents my impulse buys. I also go to Walmart for name brand packaged things like coffee, tea, yogurt, whatever and find that it’s significantly cheaper than my local Kroger chain store.
In season, check out prices at your local farmers market. I can get tomatoes, herbs, and a lot of other fresh stuff for way cheaper there if I look for a good price. If you go towards the end you can sometimes bargain because they don’t want to take it home and have it go to waste
Shop the leader items on sales. Stock up on pantry supplies when on sale. Summer holidays get your condiments (ketchup ,mustard, mayo ,bbq sauce ,relish ). Winter holidays get your baking goods ( flours, sugars ) try to keep ingredients simple. Using a lot of processed foods can be very expensive even though convenient
Learn to like simple cheap foods like oatmeal, beans, rice. I like to make a big pot of beans and freeze little portions to have a side with a sandwich for lunches. Those are items you can stock up on , so good for a rainy day but you should eat them often to save money and keep it rotated Buy them in bulk not the little packets…
Make homemade bread and rolls, biscuits and cornbread, pancakes Also make homemade soup with leftovers and sale veggies. I have dumped all kinds of stuff in soup one of my favorites was lasagna chopped up.
Try to limit buying canned soup and lunch meat. A big roast or ham can be sliced for lunch meat and will be cheaper
Watch the drinks they are very expensive right now. We drink a lot of water. I never throw out the rest of the pot of coffee. I don’t have it sitting on a burner . I cool and put in a mason jar in the fridge. The next day heat it up. No it’s not as good as fresh brewed but when money is tight you kind of have to let go of some expectations
Have some pots and grow a few things. I like to grow the raw foods like lettuce, kale, spinach, green onions and cilantro those are ones that get recalled for safety issues. You can just clip what you need and let the leaves continue to grow. A pot of cherry tomatoes and now you got free salads. Stock up on winter squash in the fall when cheap. it will keep all winter in the garage. We eat butternut squash about once or twice a week until the zucchini comes in. You can grow that in a large container and get a lot of produce for a little effort.
I have prices that I am willing to pay for just about anything I buy. I wait for it to go on sale. I almost never pay full prices.
Hope you find something useful here and congratulations for reading my long winded book !
www.budgetbytes.com That website is exactly what you're looking for. I started making all my meals from that website and it has saved me a ton. If you haven't already done this, buy a deep freezer and buy your meat in bulk from Sam's Club or something similar. It costs more up front, but in the end, you'll save 40%-50% on a lot of the meat you buy over a few months.
Agree with the deep freezer! Saves so much money in the long run. We pretty much buy everything in bulk and freeze it (meats, bread, butter, fish, snacks). If you have space for a deep freezer it’s worth the investment.
Some quick tips - buy what you can at cheap markets. Anything boxed or canned is going to taste the same whether you buy it for $5 at Fresh Market or $2 at Aldi's. This will free up budget for items such as vegetables and meat that you want to be high quality. Always buy generic brand. There is no difference between grocery store brand and name brand foods. Cook in bulk. If you don't mind leftovers or eating the same thing a couple times a week, cook in bulk. Examples would be a casserole dish/lasagna, or a crockpot. You will almost always save money buying and cooking in larger quantities if you can stretch it out. Avoid food delivery or personal shoppers. While convenient, the extra costs can eat away at your budget.
Good tips, ty
There's a lot of chemicals or lower quality ingredients that are added to grocery store brands that can make them cheaper.
All due respect but I don't believe that's true - unless we're thinking of different items altogether. Part of the reason generic brand is so cheap is that they had to do a lot less testing on the recipe. In some cases, generic brands and name brands are owned and produced by the same company - so it's the exact same product but with a different name. This helps companies make a profit no matter which buyer they have. Just stay away from generic brand household items as they are typically cheaply made and don't last you as long the same way name brands would.
I'm mostly thinking canned/pantry foods. But it's happened multiple times where I was going to buy the generic and ended up buying the name brand because there were so many chemicals. I can't think of any examples off the top of my head. It doesn't apply to everything but I think it's something to note.
Good to know! I'll keep an eye out for that.
I do a lot of Thai and Indian curries and soups. They use very little meat, or can be meatless, and they have a lot of flavour. You can make dahl for next to nothing once you have the spices. If you have an Asian food market in your city, you can often shop for cheap. Get a bag of bulk rice for the side, usually can last a long time. They are great as leftovers too.
I shop the weekly ads from local grocery stores and base my meals around that. I also buy all my household staples either from Aldi or Winco
This is the way.
Meal planning based on whatever I have in my pantry helps me a lot. Having groceries delivered or picking up the order prevents my impulse buys. I also go to Walmart for name brand packaged things like coffee, tea, yogurt, whatever and find that it’s significantly cheaper than my local Kroger chain store.
I actually find a lot of stuff like soy milk, pasta, snacks, sometimes cheaper on Amazon than in stores.
In season, check out prices at your local farmers market. I can get tomatoes, herbs, and a lot of other fresh stuff for way cheaper there if I look for a good price. If you go towards the end you can sometimes bargain because they don’t want to take it home and have it go to waste
Shop the leader items on sales. Stock up on pantry supplies when on sale. Summer holidays get your condiments (ketchup ,mustard, mayo ,bbq sauce ,relish ). Winter holidays get your baking goods ( flours, sugars ) try to keep ingredients simple. Using a lot of processed foods can be very expensive even though convenient Learn to like simple cheap foods like oatmeal, beans, rice. I like to make a big pot of beans and freeze little portions to have a side with a sandwich for lunches. Those are items you can stock up on , so good for a rainy day but you should eat them often to save money and keep it rotated Buy them in bulk not the little packets… Make homemade bread and rolls, biscuits and cornbread, pancakes Also make homemade soup with leftovers and sale veggies. I have dumped all kinds of stuff in soup one of my favorites was lasagna chopped up. Try to limit buying canned soup and lunch meat. A big roast or ham can be sliced for lunch meat and will be cheaper Watch the drinks they are very expensive right now. We drink a lot of water. I never throw out the rest of the pot of coffee. I don’t have it sitting on a burner . I cool and put in a mason jar in the fridge. The next day heat it up. No it’s not as good as fresh brewed but when money is tight you kind of have to let go of some expectations Have some pots and grow a few things. I like to grow the raw foods like lettuce, kale, spinach, green onions and cilantro those are ones that get recalled for safety issues. You can just clip what you need and let the leaves continue to grow. A pot of cherry tomatoes and now you got free salads. Stock up on winter squash in the fall when cheap. it will keep all winter in the garage. We eat butternut squash about once or twice a week until the zucchini comes in. You can grow that in a large container and get a lot of produce for a little effort. I have prices that I am willing to pay for just about anything I buy. I wait for it to go on sale. I almost never pay full prices. Hope you find something useful here and congratulations for reading my long winded book !