In a time of economic uncertainty, many people are not only concerned about the pandemic, but also about where their next check is coming from. Even if you still have a job, you worry that it won’t be there next week. After paying the bills, many people are finding that they don’t have a whole lot of money left to feed their families. If you’ve found yourself in this type of situation or even if you’re fine and just want to learn how to stretch that food budget, read on below for a few tips to get you by.
Get a Loan and Stock Up
The debate over whether payday loans are a good or a bad thing has been raging for years now. However, if you’re looking to stock up on food and have no money to do so, then getting a payday loan to fill the freezer and pantry might just be a good idea. Just make sure you don’t borrow more than you can pay back, and check to make sure payday loans are legal in your state first, as they aren’t in some states.
Buy Online
Many times, you can get foods such as gluten-free flour, rice, and other staples online for a much cheaper price than you can in the grocery stores. You can also buy other food items online as well. Just make sure that you’re careful which company you choose. Do your research before committing and you’ll be fine.
Do it Yourself
If you cut the chicken up yourself, instead of buying one that’s already cut up, that’s going to save you money. You pay extra for someone to do that for you and put it in a package. There are plenty of online tutorials out there to help you learn to cut up the whole chicken, so why not? The point is that there are a lot of things you can do yourself when you have a strict food budget. They aren’t hard to do and will save you money as well.
Keep Breakfast Cheap
Breakfast is the one meal that you can keep cheap if you need to. Toast, eggs, and oatmeal can be filling while not costing you a pretty penny. If you can keep your breakfast costs between $10 to $15 a week, that leaves the rest to put on lunch and supper items. There are many different breakfast items out there that will fill the bellies without breaking the budget, and they are tasty as well.
Stock that Pantry
You’ll find out quickly when you’re on a budget that pantry items are your friend. Foods like rice, lentils, beans, and pasta are some of the cheapest food items around, and they fill you up. These foods are easy to stretch and can fill the family up until the next meal time arrives.
Eat Leftovers at Least Once a Week
When you’re writing out your meal plan for the week, try to choose foods that work for leftovers the next night. Foods like soups, stews, and casseroles are perfect for providing leftovers. Not only does this keep you from having to cook every night of the week, but it also trims the food budget, so that you can buy less.
These are just a few of the best-used tips out there for stretching your food when you’re on a strict budget. This too shall pass, but until then following these tips will keep your family fed, and you might just learn that the food you were wasting when you had no food budget is the food you really didn’t like or need anyway.
