When it comes to budgeting food, lots of people struggle with that. The first thought that comes in their minds is to tightly control their spending at the supermarket while buying groceries. But the real food budgeting begins elsewhere. We’ll be listing easy and essential tips to follow which will guide you on how to plan a hearty meal when on a tight budget.
It’s easy! Have a look.
This is the most important step before you begin. List everything you need in order to prepare your dish and then plan accordingly. Remember, the key is to act and play smart. This will ultimately help you choose the right meal for the right situation and later, you won’t stress over what to cook and what not to cook.
Take out a little time every first day of the week to plan out what exactly you are going to cook for the week. Write down the list of groceries you require and buy it all in a one time visit. This can be a useful tip because then you wouldn’t need to step into the supermarket every time and this can save you a lot of your money.
Pro tip: When on a tight budget, taking the weekend to plan out the menu for the rest of the week is the best thing that one can do. This will not only prevent you from eating out but is also a great way of saving money. That way, you’d know that you don’t need to eat out as there is already a healthy meal waiting at home for you.
A lot of people don’t understand this but when you’re on a budget, leftovers are your savior. It’s true! Rather than dumping leftovers save and store them. Be a chef for a day and make your own creations by using last night’s leftovers. This is going to make your life easier and more convenient.
Pro tip: the best broth comes out of a rotisserie chicken; so if you have leftover bones of a rotisserie chicken, all you have you to do is to thrown them in hot water, with some chopped garlic, onions and seasonings of your choice. Simmer for one hour, strain and freeze. The seasonings in the rotisserie chicken make the best broth which can be used in any meal of your choice. The best part is that 2 litres of the broth covers the cost of one whole chicken! Super budget friendly.
Oh yes! When heading out for groceries, do your research about the things that are seasonal and currently in stock. In this way, you will be able to spend wisely and won’t go over budget for fancy stuff. Not only will it help you cook smartly but also let you play around with some really cool seasonal dishes and impress your loved ones. One of the most useful tips in budget cooking is this; there are many grocery stores which let you buy in bulk or at wholesale prices. You can buy your lentils, grains, rice, pastas and many other grocery items from there that would cost you way less than the packed ones.
Pro tip: The most amazing thing to buy in the bulk section is spices. They will cost less than half of the price of the packed ones and also the quantity is more, lasting for months. Same goes for flour and dry fruits.
It may seem like a very hard task but really, you need to clean out your kitchen. Try to do it on a monthly basis and challenge yourself to cook only out of those available ingredients. It’d be less expensive and interesting for you to cook a meal this way. Cleaning your kitchen may help you find the items which you bought a month ago. In this way you won't be shopping for those items again.
Pro tip: We sometimes buy monthly groceries in bulk and may forget where we kept them, so this technique will clearly help you to spend less money and make food on a budget, if you know what is available for you.
Consider these steps and try to adopt them especially when you are under a budget. It will help you spend money wisely and smartly. All these tips might seem hectic but can save you loads of money by the end of the month. This would also help you put through a healthy lifestyle, making you spend wisely and smartly.
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