The Meal-Planning Tactic That Totally Eliminates A Daunting Grocery Bill

A bit of consideration makes for a more efficient meal-planning process. For example, prepping all your ingredients for weeknight meals at once saves you some time and effort in the kitchen. Certain tactics can also help you save a bit of cash, which is crucial when working with a limited household budget. In this case, use supermarket sales as a meal-planning guide to keep your grocery budget in check. Many grocery store chains offer weekly sales and special deals that include essential products at reduced prices. Focusing on these items when developing recipes for the week is a good way to decrease grocery costs while also ensuring you're satisfied with your weekly menu.

Consider Aldi's weekly ads, which feature specials on produce, meat, snacks, and lots of other items. You can access these ads on the website or sign up for the store's newsletter to receive information on sales and deals. Of course, similar deals and specials can be found at other grocery chains, including Walmart and Kroger. That means you're likely to find discounts at your grocery store of choice regardless of where you're located.

Not all grocery store hacks are suited to every shopper. While it's possible to buy food in bulk and save money, consumers must use a careful approach to guarantee the biggest savings (and to avoid food waste). Meal-planning according to sale items can be successful, but the outcome is going to vary according to family size.

In a Reddit thread detailing one consumer's specific savings strategy, a person claimed that a weekly grocery budget of $75 resulted in 28 servings of food when using discounted sale items. The weekly menu included recipes like beef tips, chicken salad, and lasagna, along with lots of other preparations. While certainly impressive, the shopper admitted that they were planning meals for themselves and their partner only, which means that a larger family will incur higher costs. Consider that the weekly budget for feeding a family of four can range from $225.10 to $365.20 depending on the specific financial status of the family in question.

Before you start scouring store flyers and websites for discounted items, take an inventory of the ingredients you already have at home. Compare this list of ingredients to what's available in weekly ads to begin building recipes. For example, if you have an abundance of rice at home and you see that chicken is on sale at your local grocery store, slow-cooker lemon chicken and rice soup is a hearty recipe that works well for lunch and dinner.

Also, don't hesitate to compare sale ads from store to store. If you find that one establishment lacks a sought-after ingredient on sale, it's possible that another chain will have what you're looking for. Reviewing ads from numerous stores can also clue you in to who's offering the biggest bargains where you live. In the future, you can check these ads first to go for the biggest savings. While saving money using this method does take a bit of effort, it's more than worth it when you consider all the delicious and affordable meals in store for you.