10 Ways to Stretch Your Groceries This Week

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If it’s getting harder to find space in your grocery budget every week, then you need these ten hacks to help stretch your food and make the most of every visit to the store.

1. Remember the Incredible Edible Egg

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The well-deserved title of the incredible edible egg is all thanks to how versatile they are! While the price of eggs has increased throughout the year, they’re still a budget-friendly way to add some quick heft and protein to many dishes.

2. Bulk up With Beans

various kinds of legumes - beans, lentils, chickpeas, mung beans
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Beans are healthy, inexpensive, and a great filler, especially if you need more protein. Canned beans are always an option, but dried beans are highly cost-effective if you have the patience for them.

3. Buy Whole Cuts of Meat

The frozen meat on a kitchen table.
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Instead of buying individual cuts like chicken breasts or legs, you’ll save a lot more by buying an entire chicken. You can also save the bones for broth, which will come in handy for a later tip.

4. Buy Less Meat

a young couple buying fruits and vegetables in a market on a sunny morning, the young woman carries a basket
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You could also stretch your grocery budget by cooking less meat. Start with a Meatless Monday challenge and see if you can get creative with veggies and carbs!

5. Pre-portion Your Meals

Home cooked meal.
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Pre-portioning your weekly meals gives you much more control over how you distribute your groceries. It’s an excellent way to ensure you’ll have enough to get through the week while simultaneously having you think of ways to make sure things stretch.

6. Don’t Fall for the Pre-made Trap

Itsu Sushi Store Shelves
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Pre-made food might be convenient, but it’s incredibly costly. If you want your grocery budget to go further, skip the pre-made foods and find some time for meal prep instead.

7. Learn to Get Creative With Substitutions

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One of the best ways you can stretch a grocery budget is by learning how to substitute in recipes. The more confident you get with your substitutions, the more you’ll realize you have everything you need in your pantry to make the recipe you’re eyeing up. Almost.

8. Clear Out Your Pantry Before You Shop

a box full of food items for a food pantry delivery.
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Speaking of your pantry, shop there first before you even bother making your list. Many people overbuy canned and dry goods because they don’t consult their pantry first. This is also an excellent time to consider your substitution options for the week, like swapping out types of beans or vinegar in a recipe instead of buying something new.

9. Love Your Leftovers

Frozen food in the freezer. Frozen vegetables, soup, ready meals in the freezer.
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Leftovers are a blessing, and you’ll likely have them pretty much any time you cook. Make the most of your leftovers by repurposing them in imaginative ways. Even if you don’t have the drive to do that, store them properly and eat them promptly so you aren’t wasting food.

10. When in Doubt, It’s Soup for Dinner

Young man cooking romantic dinner at home taste soup.
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If budgeting is on the brain, then soup should be on the stove. The hack of taking basically everything fresh in your fridge leftover from the week and making a minestrone soup has been a staple in the frugal community. Beef up the soup with some beans from the pantry, make a broth from the bones from that week’s meat, and give it a facelift with fresh herbs or citrus to make it unique without being too expensive.

11 Frugal Living Tips Middle-Class Americans Need to Know

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Middle-class Americans need to start saving money, and they need to do it stat.

Inflation is rising, and no one is getting paid more. Everything is just so expensive. Frankly, it’s exhausting. But there is hope.

Frugal living is really not that bad. There are some great ways to save money and feel better about yourself. Using these tips to simplify your life and reduce your spending will make you happier than ever.

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I’m super frugal, and one of my passions is sharing my frugal living tips with everyone.

Here are some of my absolute favorite frugal tips to help you get started on your journey to frugal living.

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Everything comes with a hefty price tag these days. From indulgences to essentials, the cost of living keeps rising. We used to consider certain items affordable options, but now they’ve become so expensive that they’re no longer worth it. Here are 15 things that have lost their affordability and make us wonder if they are worth it!

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28 Practical Ways Frugal People Save Lots of Money

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Saving money doesn’t have to mean saying goodbye to life’s little indulgences. With a few smart tweaks, you can stash away cash for that dream vacation, rainy day fund, or splurge-worthy purchase without feeling like you’re on a constant budget patrol.

Think of it as a side hustle that pays off without the extra hours. Whether you’re looking to conquer debt or simply boost your bank account, these tips are guaranteed to put more money in your pocket, painlessly.

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14 Ridiculously Random Tips That Could Save You Lots Of Money

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Want to save some money? There are so many ways to save money that are published in articles all day, every day.

It can be tiring to sort through them and find the ones that work for you, so we decided to scour the internet and find some of the best ones to share with you. But we couldn’t decide which ones to share with you, so we just decided to share the ones we liked, which means that these are pretty random!

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Author: CJ Darnieder

Bio:

CJ is a writer and musician from Chicago.  When he’s not practicing the divine art of stoicism, focusing on achieving a deafening inner quiet, or attempting to reconcile with the inherent powers of the universe, he loves to cook!

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