Learning how to stock your fridge on a budget is a helpful tool to keep your kitchen filled with great food.
Whether you’re living on a budget or looking for ways to cut costs, the less you spend on groceries, the more you save. With the help of this guide, you’ll be able to transform your regular grocery shopping into a more affordable experience.
How to Stock Your Fridge On a Budget
Let’s explore some of the best tips you can use to start shopping more cost-effectively.
Tip 1: Start Making Lists
Have you ever wandered into the grocery store only to leave with far more items than expected?
It happens to the best of us, but it can also wreak havoc on your finances and grocery budget. Instead of being tempted by everything on the shelf, a better alternative is to start making grocery lists.
Grocery lists help you better prepare your meals for the week, but they can also help you stick to a budget. A list can help you find lower-priced goods, saving even more on your grocery trips.
One of the top recommendations for making grocery lists is to rely on smartphone apps. These apps allow you to organize your shopping by aisle, helping you put together a stocked fridge.
Also, some apps provide you with current sales, helping you choose the most affordable products for your weekly meals. With such a streamlined experience, stocking your fridge for less has never been simpler.
Tip 2: Buy the Right Types of Food
A common misconception is that non-perishable goods aren’t as good for you as perishable food items. However, there are plenty of affordable and non-perishable goods that you can invest in for less than fresh ingredients.
For example, whole grain pasta, quinoa, and oatmeal are all affordable options for healthy, long-term groceries. Other options include canned tuna, vegetables, beans, and fruits.
As long as you can find non-perishable items with fewer preservatives and sugars, you can eat healthily and inexpensively. It can also be beneficial to introduce fresh fruits and vegetables into your diet.
When shopping on a budget, always make sure you choose fresh ingredients that are the least costly. Instead of exotic fruits and vegetables, consider more common varieties like lettuce, spinach, celery, cucumbers, and tomatoes. It’s also important to consider the fresh ingredients in season, as they’re likely to be less expensive.
Condiments are another great option to consider when shopping on a budget. They can help spice up boring meals, transforming them into delicious recipes.
A few examples of affordable condiments to look for include:
- Hot sauce
- BBQ sauce
- Fish sauce
- Kosher salt
- Other affordable spices
Let’s look at some great options for non-perishable and perishable food items perfect for small budgets.
Non-Perishable Food Items
- Dry beans
- Pasta dishes
- Dry spices
- Baking Powder
- Canned beans
- Canned meat
- Canned soups
- Dry lentils
- Frozen meals
Perishable Goods
- Coconut milk or cashew milk
- Fresh water
- Bean sprouts
- Eggs
- Cream cheese
- Sour cream
- Fresh lemon
- Cheap protein
Tip 3: Search for Sales
The best way to stock your fridge on a budget is to start collecting flyers from your local grocery stores. Using flyers can help you create a list that’s well within your weekly grocery budget for meal planning. Also, it can help you explore the best deals all of the stores in your area have to offer.
It’s best if you’re able to find digital flyers, as they can help you plan for your grocery shopping in advance. You’ll also find more comfort in being able to price-match different ingredients across stores. For example, you might discover Walmart has strawberries for less than your local grocer.
Most grocery stores now have their weekly flyers available on their site as well as apps like Flipp, where they condense your local stores circulars within a single app.
Another massive part of searching for sales is to find grocery stores that allow for price matching. Price matching will enable you to buy products from one store that could be marked down at another. Using this process, you can get significant savings without visiting more than one store for your grocery shopping.
Tip 4: Invest Time in Couponing
Spending time gathering coupons can be significantly beneficial to stock your fridge for less. In fact, regardless of your income, coupons are something that everyone should consider. Manufacturers and stores specifically offer coupons to help you save on groceries, so why not take advantage?
The most challenging part of couponing is finding all the best deals for your meal planning. However, once you have a collection of clippings, you could save hundreds of dollars at the end of the year. With that said, always keep an eye out for physical and digital coupons to help you save.
Digital coupons can be more convenient, especially as they’re stored on your phone. Simply present the coupon at the cashier for the savings to be applied to your products.
Some of my favorite coupon and money saving apps:
- Rakuten – an app that gives you cashback when you shop.
- Ibotta – Earn cash back on mobile purchases when you visit online retailers through the Ibotta app.
- Fetch– a free shopping app that awards points in exchange for scans of your receipts. You can then redeem those points for gift cards.
- Honey – a browser extension you can add that works by looking at the items in your cart on most popular shopping websites and then searching for relevant coupon codes.
- Coupons.com– a website full of digital and printable coupons.
Tip 5: Find Discounted Food Items
Did you know that most grocery stores have various sections where you can find discounted grocery items?
You might be able to find a section with meats marked down up to 40% or vegetables that are up to 60% off. These areas are where you’re bound to find the best deals and get your hands on some fantastic ingredients for meals.
It’s also important to note that these discounted items are usually the first to go when stores open. With that said, you’ll want to ensure you’re first in line to get all of the best goods. You can find an assortment of products ranging from marked-down bread to discounted steaks.
The catch with discounted food items is that they’re likely to expire within the next day or two. It can be beneficial to save these items for same-day meals. In some instances, you can freeze the ingredients to use later, such as meats.
Tip 6: Try Farmer’s Markets
Some of the most expensive items in your regular grocery basket are likely fruits and vegetables. Instead of visiting a grocery store, a cheaper alternative could be a farmer’s market, especially when produce is in-season. Farmers’ markets often feature inexpensive prices, but it’s also a great way to support local businesses.
One of the primary reasons these markets are more affordable is that you’re buying straight from the source. Also, you can get your hands on fresher, more organic veggies and fruits than ever before.
With the number of items typically found at farmer’s markets, you might even find more than what you’d get from a grocery store. Even though you might not be able to get coupons as you would with a grocer, farmer’s markets can give bulk discounts.
With proper storage methods, you can do weeks worth of fresh groceries, helping you save a ton.
Tip 7: Expensive vs. Inexpensive Grocery Stores
An often overlooked aspect when shopping for groceries on a budget is the type of store you’re shopping at. In most cities, there will be a collection of higher-end grocers, such as Whole Foods, and more affordable options, like Kroger. Although more expensive grocery stores advertise a larger variety of ingredients, it might not be worth the trip. Instead, shopping at less expensive grocery stores can help you get good quality products for less.
Additionally, you’re more likely to get your hands on coupons and savings when you shop at standard stores in your area.
Tip 8: Shop for Groceries Weekly
You might be wondering, how can shopping for groceries more often help me to save money?
The truth is, the more regularly you shop, the less expensive your food can be. For example, if you shop weekly, you can reap the benefits of the discounted food sections at groceries.
Another massive contribution regular shopping has on your budget is buying only the necessities. If you’re doing a grocery shop for the whole month, it’s far too easy to overbuy things you won’t use.
By shopping twice or more per month, you can buy the essentials you need for that week. It will help you effectively manage your budget and reduce food waste. Also, you can have more freedom with the meals you cook throughout the week, allowing you to create custom menus.
Successfully Stocking Your Fridge on a Budget
If you’re interested in learning how to stock your fridge on a budget, there are many great tips to consider. Your monthly grocery bills will become less and less from shopping more often to finding coupons.
