Spend More Now to Save Money Later

 

A great option for saving money on food while also eating a healthy diet is to buy in bulk. This does take a little more planning, but can ultimately help you afford more nutritious foods and not stray from your food budget.

Here are some things to know about spending more on food now in order to save money later.

Buying and Cooking in Bulk

People often think this is only a good option when you have a big family, but that isn’t true at all. Everyone can benefit from buying and cooking in bulk. An obvious benefit of cooking this way is by saving on the individual ingredients you buy. You tend to get the best deals when buying something on sale, and buying more than one and freezing it.

Another great benefit is that you can cook two of whatever meal you are cooking, saving you more time later. The same amount of preparing goes into it to make for example two casseroles instead of one, then you have an entire casserole to put in the freezer and have it ready for a night when you don’t have as much time for cooking.

Build Up Food Inventory Slowly

Since you still need to stick to your current food budget, it does take a little more planning ahead for buying in bulk. For this reason, you want to build up your inventory slowly, instead of getting everything at once. Maybe the next time you are at the store, there is a good sale on chicken breasts, so you purchase two or three packs instead of one. Do this slowly and only within your regular food budget.

Shop Around for the Best Prices

It might seem tedious, but it helps a lot to compare prices at different stores in order to get the best deal. This doesn’t mean you go to 5 different grocery stores every week, but you decide which stores have more of what you need with the best deal.

You will probably figure out which stores have the best deals on foods you buy the most often, so that makes it much easier down the line.

Keep Everything Organized

To prevent food from going bad before you get the chance to use it, make sure your refrigerator, freezer, and food pantries are all well organized. Always keep the older food items up front, and the newer items in the back. That way, nothing expires before it gets used. Keep as many food items in your vision as you can so you remember they are there and will use them for your meals.