Meals on a Budget

Introducing grocery lists and methods for shopping that can help save money and still be healthy!

Within the past month, my roommates and I started the process of going to the grocery store and trying to save as much money as we can. After our first visit to the store, we realized we spent too much money on items that only lasted us a few days, so we decided to write out lists of needs, sticking to the list will also prevent impulse purchases at the store. When first settling into a new place on a tight budget, buying foods like frozen chicken breasts and pasta noodles would be more substantial than gushers and cinnamon rolls. Spending money is like a calculated risk, its important to understand how much you have to pay and how much money you have, the decision is if it is more important than something else. When grocery shopping it is necessary to think in advance which items can, first of all, fill up your stomach, and secondly, help you maintain a healthy way of eating. Research, in my opinion, is the best way to save money before purchasing anything. For example, if we have to go to the store to get ingredients for taco night, we will go to a less expensive grocery store, along with finding the products we want to buy.

Another subtle aspect in saving money is to eat at home according to a schedule. The benefits are more rewarding the more effort you put into these tasks which can be saving money from not going to a restaurant, and buying items in bulk knowing that it will be used. With all of these ways to save money, I would like to introduce some methods that can end up hurting your bank account. Starting with fresh fruits and vegetables, these can help someone be healthy but these foods also have a short period of being ripe to eat and quickly go to waste. Similar to fresh food, all foods have an expiration date which is important to keep in mind.

Unless if someone is following a specific food agenda, there are main foods that should be in the pantry most of the time. These items include protein, like meats and beans, dairy, like cheese and milk. There’s also grains suck as rice and oats, all of these are important bringing different nutrients to your body. When buying items like these, there are normally a lot of options to chose from, by looking in advance online you can find the meat with no hormones or which beans have fewer calories. Also by looking online ahead of time you can find the prices for the food and add it up to be sure you can spend as much as it’s going to cost. By applying your knowledge to picking your items, you will find the best option while also knowing how much money you are spending at the store before you arrive. Surprisingly, there are many ways to help make grocery shopping easier and less expensive!