3 Tips to Alleviate Rising Grocery Prices
“What’s for dinner?” can be an overwhelming question. With our busy lifestyles and the increased prices at the grocery store, trying to feed our households healthy meals while staying within budget can be difficult. Here are three ways to combat product pricing and waste.
Sale flyers: By perusing sales flyers, you can stock up on your favorite ingredients and products. Purchasing the sale items allows me to get some of my family’s favorites without busting my budget. In addition to sale flyers, some local grocery stores have free rewards programs and store apps. These apps allow you to clip coupons digitally and apply them using the app. Instead of forgetting my coupons on grocery trips, now I’m only forgetting my reusable bags, LOL! 😊
Monthly meal planning: I enjoy planning breakfast, lunch, and dinner and account for every meal for several reasons. One, it ends the “what’s for dinner (lunch or breakfast)” question, and two, I know I won’t waste the food I buy. As I make my monthly meal plan, I include leftover and take-out days. If you have a busy family like I do, meal planning is for you!
Pantry Shopping: Pantry or fridge shopping is a great way to use forgotten or leftover ingredients to prevent waste and save money. I recommend starting in your fridge, as these items can spoil and are the first to be thrown away. You might be surprised that you can create an entire meal with ingredients you already have! Pantry shopping before a grocery trip is a great practice to adopt. It can help avoid repurchasing an item you already have and encourages meal planning around those ingredients (you may only need to purchase a few items to complete a meal). Try using websites that generate meal ideas by incorporating ingredients in your fridge and pantry, such as SuperCook or MyFridgeFood. What a great way to try something new and avoid waste!
Meal planning can help eliminate food waste and stay within your grocery budget. With increasing food prices, this is more important than ever. If you need help with meal planning and using some of these technology money savings tips, contact me at (207) 660-6267 or email Creynolds@newdimensionsfcu.com to schedule an appointment.