Amid rising food costs, a 36-year-old home cook shares her well-developed strategy for saving money and time on her weekly grocery runs. Read on to discover her secrets for meal planning, couponing, and creating budget-friendly meals that nourish her body and soul.
Cooking at home is already considered a way to save money more than spending it on eating out, but there are still some ways to cut back even further. BuzzFeed Community members shared some of their best tips for saving money while cooking, including buying pre-made items and combining them to create quick dinners, using veggie scraps to make stock, always having an emergency frozen snack available, growing their own herbs and vegetables, using a bread machine to make fresh bread for cheap, using an app to clip coupons and track sales, making pasta sauce from scratch using canned tomatoes and leftover pasta water, buying frozen pizza dough and making pizza at home, planning meals ahead of time to avoid food waste, playing a game with leftovers to make new meals, heading to areas in the grocery store where food is marked down, choosing off-brand items instead of name brands, shopping for only a couple of days at a time instead of a week to avoid food waste, using a food sealer to freeze and preserve meat and other foods, prepping cheap meal building blocks like rice and beans, turning vegetables on sale into pasta sauce and freezing them, planning a menu that reuses ingredients from previous meals, and choosing a credit card that gives points towards free groceries.
The rising cost of groceries has forced many to cut back on their spending, and some have even had to eliminate certain foods from their diets altogether. A recent Reddit thread revealed a variety of items that people have stopped purchasing due to their inflated prices, including fast food, name-brand cereals, and takeout coffee. Many respondents also expressed frustration with the declining quality and service at restaurants, making dining out a less attractive option.
In an insightful and humorous piece, a seasoned party-goer shares tips and reflections on attending multiple events in one night, offering practical advice on alcohol consumption, budgeting, and the illusion of glamour surrounding celebrities at social events. Despite the challenges and occasional discomfort, the author emphasizes the importance of self-care and finding joy in the experience of social gatherings.
Saving money is an important part of your wealth-building journey. It not only ensures you have cash to fall back on when emergencies arise, but it also allows you to make larger purchases and afford the kind of lifestyle you aspire to have in the future. However, many people are interested in saving more, but they don’t always want to change their lifestyle in order to do it. According to the money experts of Kiplinger Advisor Collective, that doesn’t have to be the case. Here are some little (but effective) ways anyone can easily save money each month without compromising their overall lifestyle or sacrificing joy.
As the year winds down, it’s crucial to assess your finances for a financially secure future. Implement these steps to improve your financial well-being:
Getting a tax refund can be a financial boost, but it’s crucial to prioritize your spending for long-term success. Consider using your refund to save, pay off high-interest debt, or invest for the future. Create a budget to track your expenses and align with your financial goals. Avoid splurging and focus on making informed decisions.
