Five Clever Tactics to Slash Your Grocery Bill – Part 1

As the year wraps up, have you started thinking about your New Year’s resolutions? Like a lot of people, you might be aiming to eat healthier and save some money in the process. A great way to tackle both goals is by incorporating these five grocery resolutions into your life. Here are two to get started:

1. **Make Homemade Freezer Meals Instead of Buying Store-Bought Dinners**
Instead of grabbing frozen meals like Lean Cuisine or Marie Callender’s for a quick fix, why not make your own? Those store-bought meals might be convenient, but they’re often packed with sodium and overpriced for what you get. Making similar meals at home isn’t as complicated as it sounds and can save you money while giving you better control over what goes into your food.

Start with a big home-cooked meal—like chicken breasts, mashed potatoes, and green beans—and portion it into individual servings. Using divided containers, like BPA-free Bento boxes, is super handy for keeping everything organized and ready to freeze. You can make freezer-friendly options like French bread pizzas or burritos, too. Just grab some French bread, add sauce, cheese, and your favorite toppings for the pizza, or wrap up beans, rice, cheese, and meat (or skip the meat for more savings) in a tortilla for burritos. Even something as simple as peanut butter and jelly sandwiches can be frozen for a quick snack on busy days.

Not only are these homemade meals far cheaper, but they’re also healthier since you skip all the mysterious ingredients and excess salt.

2. **Go Meat-Free Two Days a Week**
Eating meatless meals just two days a week can make a big difference—for your wallet and your health. Depending on the size of your family and how much meat you usually eat, you could save up to $100 a month. It’s easier than you think to take a short break from meat and still enjoy delicious meals.

You don’t need to be a vegetarian cooking expert to whip up satisfying dishes. Think quiche, veggie pizzas, pasta, burritos loaded with beans, rice, and cheese, baked potatoes with various toppings, quesadillas, soups like minestrone or potato, vegetarian chili, or even a vegetable stir fry. Chances are you won’t even miss the meat!

On top of saving money, this small change could also help you shed a few pounds, thanks to the lighter, plant-based meals.

Stay tuned for Part 2, where we’ll share three more grocery-saving resolutions!