How to Stretch Your Food Budget

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By rumblebug
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Stretch Your Food Budget

Stretching your food budget can mean big savings every month that can be put into a bank account, spent on little luxuries, or used to pay down debt. Stretching your food budget doesn't mean going to a wholesale store and buying 5,000 mini muffins or a 7 pound bag of chips. When you stretch your food budget you try to make the expensive items last longer by using a less expensive substitute or addition.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

Step 1

AVOID CONVENIENCE FOOD

Saving money is not always convenient, and neither is stretching your food budget. When you go to the store try to avoid foods that are 'ready made.' Not only do they cost more, but you may be able to create these 'convenience' foods at home. Trail mix, mixed nuts, pre-made deli sandwiches, and fruit salads are all things that are easy to make at home or even on the run and it will be a lot cheaper.

Bottom line, the more you cook from scratch the more money you will save. Food manufacturers count on you purchasing ready-made meals or meals-in-a-box because they are convenient.
Step 2

REPLACE MEAT WITH OTHER PROTEINS

Eating meat is not required in your diet unless you have special dietetic needs. Meat can easily be replaced with other forms of protein when you are trying to stretch your food budget. Beans are a great source of protein and they are very inexpensive, especially if you buy dried beans. Replace half of the meat in a recipe with a bean variety and you can scarcely tell the difference. You will also make your meat last twice as long.

Use cheaper cuts of meats when you can. Be open to replacing lean ground beef with ground turkey. I've gotten to the point where I actually prefer the turkey as I am so used to its delicious taste and texture. Find and buy larger portions of meats on sale to separate and freeze when you get home. Ground Turkey by the pound is 3.69/lb at my local store but if you buy the 3 pound pack it's only 2.32/lb. That's a huge savings.
Step 3

EXTEND THE LIFE OF EXPENSIVE ITEMS

Try cutting your more expensive ingredients with less expensive items. For example, if a recipe calls for mayonnaise or sour cream try substituting half of the amount with the less expensive plain yogurt. You will not only cut down on fat you will save money.

Most recipes won't be negatively affected if you replace half of the milk called for with water.

Eggs can also be safely removed from recipes. If a recipe calls for 3 eggs, you can get away with using only two and replacing it with a little bit of water for the lost moisture.
Step 4

PURCHASE QUALITY STAPLES

To stretch your food budget even more add white or brown rice to any dish with meat and sauce to extend the portions out. Adding brown rice to a meal can easily add two or three servings to the entire meal, also adding more nutrition if using brown rice or whole grain pasta.

These are cheap and easy to come by and last a long time in your pantry.
Step 5

MAKE MORE THAN ONE MEALS WORTH

By devoting a little extra prep time, you can buy your items in larger quantities and prepare 2 or 3 of the same meal to freeze for future use.

Try to get a group of your friends together to set up a day of the month to make freeze-ahead meals. You can share the savings by buying in bulk and you'll have an extra 4 or 5 meals to use when money gets tight right before payday.
Step 6

LIMIT INGREDIENTS

Try to find recipes that are healthy but do not include more than 6 or 7 ingredients. The more ingredients a recipe has the better the chance you have more to buy at the grocery store. To give yourself more freedom, make a detailed pantry assessment each month of those items you rarely use and find recipes to utilize these ingredients.