My Unique, Revolutionary Way Of Saving On Groceries Explained! STEP BY STEP!
As much as a hate to admit it – especially because i’m a ” frugal blogger ” – I too have struggled with keeping my grocery budget under control. That was until I developed a system that worked for us. With these steps I was able to [ FINALLY ] beat my grocery budget month after month. Almost eliminate food waste, and, best of all – We NEVER have ” Nothing to eat ” ( anyone else cringe when they hear those words! ).
The super amazing thing about the processes I came up with is that it’s VERY Customizable to EVERYONE’s liking. If you’re vegan, gluten free, what ever the case maybe it will work for everyone – yuppy.
And lastly, I have NEVER Heard of anyone doing it this way! So, I guess that’s cool, right?! lol. Let’s get going.
Before we get started….
1st and foremost – you all need the Printout [ Grab em’ Here ] ! Yup, yup you do. You need the pantry inventory sheet, the grocery list, the ” food formula’s “, the food saver chart, all of it! So just [ GO HERE ] and I’ll email them to you! A few of these are below – but it’ll a pain to print them from this blog so, I promise your life will be better if you get them by email ( No Spamming Ever ).
If you don’t know what I am talking about – no worries – by the end of this you’ll Get it!
#1. Set a budget & BEAT IT!
- Uggg. I know boring! But don’t get scared. Here’s the ” easy way” to figure out what your grocery budget is… Go back and look at what your grocery bill is each month for the last 3 to 6 months! I bet – unless you already follow a strict Budget – it’s WAY higher than you think it is! Now… take that number is aim to CUT IT IN HALF! Yup. Half. ✂️✂️✂️
- Another great tip is to aim for a budget of $100 / per – person in your family / per month. So, if you have 4 people in your family, aim for $400 a month!
#2. Now.. the 1st thing you want to do is go through your fridge and throw out everything that is going bad or is bad. In your pantry combine things ! Maybe you have 2 bags of chips open? Combine them! This will clear room for you to see what you actually have.
Next, we want to make a pantry inventory list! Cue printable #1 ! 🤣[ GO HERE ] to get your very own Pantry Inventory List maker thingy! Now, you don’t want to write ” 2 peppers” , ” 1 carrot ” , ” 3 Broccoli’s ” . Nope, you can just write 6 veggies ( 2 + 1 + 3 = 6 ). Do this will all the categories of food – you’ll see why later. Once you get good at making your pantry inventory you won’t even need to do this step anymore.
#3. Now onto the next step! Grocery List AND Meal Planning! You do kind of have to do these at the same time. They work hand in hand. THIS Is where things get ” interesting ” . Making our grocery list & Meal Plan based on what from what we have ( NOT what we don’t have ) using ” Food Formulas ” OR “Mix and Match Food recipes”. Just wait until you see how fun this is! [GO HERE ] to get a free printable for your grocery list & Pantry Inventory!
Food formulas are kind of like a math problem… except they really require no thinking. The formula will say, add 1 vegetable, add 1 starch, add 3 ….. And in the end, you end up with a meal. Think of your aunt, or grandma who could make something out of seemingly NOTHING from the fridge and pantry. That is what these food formula’s help you become! Below I am going to you an example ! But if you want 30 Food formula’s to print out and keep for yourself [ GO HERE ] and I will send them to you – Free ( Of course! ).
Then base your groceries based on what you need to create whatever food forumla’s you want to make for the week.
This has helped me cut down on food waste so much! So many times in the past I have created a strict meal plan and no matter how much I tried I would never follow through. Inevitably, food would go bad! Using food formulas is way more flexible. It allows me to cook based on what I have – and not hold me to few recipes!
#4. Make the groceries last for as LONG as possible! Here awesome great tips.
- Store fruits and veggies in a way that makes them last the longest possible! Again – [ GO HERE ] And I have a great Printable for that!
- Buy Fruits and veggies that last the longer than others. For example Root vegetables ( carrots, sweet potato’s for example ) last longer than cucumbers.
- When possible buy Fruits and veggies that are in season. Especially fruit!
- FREEZE what you can ! Did you know you can FREEZE Sour Cream?!? It’s true! [ GO HERE ] and I have a printable that shows you all the things you can freeze. I bet there are so many you didn’t even think of!
Lastly, have a great substitution handing! There is NOTHING worse than having everything you need , BUT 1 ingredient. Yup, you guessed it! I have a printable for that too! [ GO HERE ] and grab all the printable I mentioned.
My final tips are the following:
- Have left over money in your budget ? STOCK up on Pantry staples. These are non-perishable foods you use often. For example, broth, cream of chicken soup, your favorite canned foods. In fact, I add a few ” staples ” to my grocery list almost every shopping trip!
- Go grocery shopping as little as possible! I only go a MAXIUM if every 2 weeks BUT I can stretch it to 3 or 4 weeks .
- ONLY shop online – if possible. Now, this is area dependent. For me, I’ve done the math many times. I ONLY shop online using Insta-cart & pick up at Aldi’s ( and a few things at Wegmans ). But I am sure many of you have Walmart grocery pick up. Having the groceries delivered adds about $30+ dollars to the total, pick is free for me. While I know that prices might be a tad bit higher for instacart pick-up [ CLICK HERE ] To Sign up right away! I save SO Much on impulse buying. AND I never forget anything.
- Overall the goal is to physically go into the store as little as possible!
- Use as many phone apps as you can! So many phone apps for Grocery savings just link to your account nowadays that your crazy not to utilize them ALL!
- DOSH [ Grab Er’ Here! ] – https://www.dosh.com/ – Everyone loves Dosh! If you don’t have Dosh you are REALLY missing out . You’ll earn cash back when you shop, dine or travel. Simply download the app, link your cards and start earning. No coupons or receipt scanning.
- Get Up Side- All you have to do to get 25¢/gallon cash back on gas, up to 45% cash back at restaurants and up to 30% cash back at grocery stores is [ GO HERE ] and sign up for ” Get Upside “. Get Upside is completely FREE to sign up .
- Ibotta App. [ GO HERE ] to get it!
- CheckOut 51 App. [ GO HERE ] to Get it!
- ⭐⭐Fetch Rewards app ( My Favorite of all times! ) ⭐⭐
- ==> Get Fetch Rewards On your phone via your app. store ( Google Play or Itunes )
- ==> ENTER Referral Code: U8EWC { YOU MUST DO THIS STEP! }
- ==> You will get a $2.00 Gift Card JUST for getting the app.
- ==> $1.00 for scanning a receipt. NOW Accepting receipts for ONLINE purchases, including INSTACart and AMAZON!
- ==> $3.00 GIFT CARD in 5 minutes! EVERYONE GETS IT!
- ONLY A $4.00 Minimum to cash out !
That , my friends, was a lot! Let me know what you think in the comments below. I love you all!
I was looking for food formulas and grocery lists. I’ve put in my. Email twice. I’d like to print said files. Please help!