#1 Make the most of your ingredients!

One of the best ways to save money when you have to replenish your groceries is to make sure in advance that you have used up all the things you have previously bought. This means that you can end up buying various staple foods in bulk and then using them with other ingredients that end up being more expensive in the long run. You can bulk buy non-perishable or long-shelf-life foods, like pasta, rice, and beans, and then use them to your advantage.

Another way to save by making the most of your ingredients is to stretch out others. If you are making pasta, sub out half of the ground meat for mushrooms and make your sauce more veggie-forward, and then use the other half of the meat for the next day’s meal by making bean and ground meat tacos or burritos! This will turn the meat for one dish into meat for two dishes, adding less expensive additional ingredients and thus saving you money.

Even better, make sure you are not spending more money on certain ingredients you already have: we know the recipe may call for fresh parsley, dill, or even basil, but if you already have the dried version of these aromatics, there’s no need to spend extra on the fresh variety. The dried ones will do just fine, and in the long run, you will be saving quite a few bucks since you already have them in your pantry.