We can all eat well – no matter what our financial constraints are. It’s just a matter of getting creative with menu planning and using a few handy techniques to save money at the store.
Here are my favorite tricks to eat great food on a budget!
1. PLAN YOUR MEALS
Sitting down on a Sunday or Monday to plan your meals for the week saves a ton of time and money. Having a set plan means you don’t have to do the whole “I’m hungry! What should we make? What do I have in the fridge? What do we feel like eating?” routine every time you’re ready for dinner. It also means you don’t have to worry about finding uses for a bunch of random ingredients hanging out in your fridge – buy only what you need to make the meals on your list, and you’ll have exactly what you need on hand exactly when you need it. Meal planning saves time and helps you cut down on food waste (which is basically just like throwing money into the trash! Which, umm, we don’t want to be doing). Need some inspiration as you plan your meals for the week? Check out the TODAY Food Club’s newsletter for weekly meal plans and shopping lists to get you started!
2. MAKE A LIST
Me at the grocery store without a list = dangerous. Not only do I end up bringing home food I don’t actually need, I end up forgetting the food I actually went to the store for. (Fail). Use your meal plan as a starting point for your grocery list and add any other necessities as needed. I like to keep a post-it on my fridge and write things down as I run out of them – like milk, eggs, etc. – so I don’t forget anything important!
3. SET A BUDGET
To set an initial budget, take a look at what you’re already spending on groceries each week. It helps to set goals here: do you want to reduce your grocery spending by $50? Spend less money on processed foods? Buy more fresh produce? Use these goals to help you make cuts and adjustments to your current purchasing habits. Then use an app like Mint (or a good ol’ fashioned spreadsheet!) to keep track of your spending so you know how much money is left in your budget each time you’re at the store.
4. SET ASIDE SOME “FUN” MONEY
Allocate a little bit of your grocery budget for non-list items that call your name once you actually get to the store. See some purple asparagus that would go PERFECTLY with the pot roast you’re planning for Tuesday? Use that flexible piece of your grocery budget to snap it up guilt-free.
5. FIND A COOKING COMMUNITY
Even the most well-organized, budget-savvy shoppers among us have days where shopping and budgeting and cooking are each the 100% very last thing you want to do today. Engaging with online communities like blogs (hi there!) or the TODAY Food Club (TFC) are awesome ways to keep yourself motivated – and excited! – to cook healthy meals at home. The TFC even takes it a step further by featuring selected members on the TODAY show, their website, and social channels – plus you can earn contributor badges for your own website (LIKE ONLINE GIRL SCOUTS! Or, more awesomely, online Pawnee Goddesses. Who’s with me?!) The free TFC newsletter, 5-day-meal plans (HELLO TIME SAVER FOR US LAZY FOLK) and shopping lists (AGAIN WITH THE TIME SAVING) are just icing on the cake. Facebook groups, Twitter chats, and good ol’ fashioned potluck dinner parties are also good ways to connect with other busy budgeters for food-related moral support. We’re all in this together!
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