After six weeks of dinners, parties, and gift giving, most of us end the year full of joy but with less money in the bank than expected. Try these tips to finish 2024 with plenty of happiness and savings:
- Plan menus using sale items. If collard greens are half the price of spinach, stock up on collards.
- Can or freeze sale items in meal-sized portions to use throughout the month.
- Avoid impulse buys by ordering groceries online and not shopping when hungry.
- Shop in season. Purchase fresh produce when they’re in season because the prices are lower.
- Choose frozen or canned fruits and vegetables. They usually cost less than fresh and have long shelf lives. Stock up when they’re on sale.
- Purchase generic products when appropriate. Most of us can’t taste the difference between no-name garlic powder, ketchup, flour, rice, and many other products and brand-name versions.
- Make more plant-based meals. In general, meat costs more than vegetables, legumes, and other plant-based items, so create more courses with plants as the star to save money without losing flavor.
- Join your grocer’s rewards club. Your everyday purchases can lead to discounts and rebates.
- Shop your kitchen. Most of us have perfectly good food forgotten in our kitchens. Explore your refrigerator, freezer, and cabinets before heading to the store, and you’ll probably scratch a few items off your shopping list.
If these tips work this month, use them all year to reduce your food costs.
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