One of the EASIEST ways to start saving money is to be more mindful of what you do in the kitchen. Do you buy three different cuts of chicken every week and are you constantly finding shrivelled and wilting greens in the back of your fridge? Here are some brilliant money-saving kitchen hacks that WILL save you money!
From grocery shopping to cooking, and even how you do the dishes cost-effectively! There’s so many ways you can shave a dollar or two off the budget. Granted, some are harder than others but if you change your mindset just a little bit – you can be super smug about saving money!
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Money-saving kitchen hacks for your grocery shopping
1. Meal plan and always shop with a list.
A simple and sure-fire way to shave dollars off your grocery bill every week. Plan your week of meals based on what you ALREADY have in your fridge, freezer and pantry.
2. Maximise your chicken!
You can save a lot on buying chicken cuts (breasts, thighs, legs, wings) by just buying a whole chicken and cutting it up yourself. PLUS you can make a delicious stock from the bones. AMAZING MONEY-SAVING TIP!
3. DIY Chicken Mince for the win!
We almost always pay more at the checkout for chicken mince. You can make your own mince by blitzing chicken breast or thighs in a food processor.
4. Supermarket brands save a packet!
Don’t be afraid of buying supermarket brand products. ESPECIALLY with basics like sugar, flour, oil, butter and cream. You can’t taste a difference.
When you realise supermarket branded pantry staples TASTE THE SAME. via GIPHY
5. Not-so-perfect produce for the win!
Look for not quite so perfect fruit. Woolworths supermarket has your money-saving-back with The Odd Bunch fruit and vegetables at a discounted price. You’ll bag a bargain for sure!
6. Get savvy with citrus!
Lemons and limes can be super expensive to buy so when you see them cheap (or local growers giving them away) grab some for your freezer. Wash them and freeze them whole and use zest from frozen fruit and juice from a defrosted one. Easy, peasy, lemon (or lime) squeezy!
7. Cream the cream!
A great penny-pinching idea is to NOT buy separate sour cream and normal cream. You can make sour cream by adding lemon juice to normal cream and whisking until thick. CHEF STATUS!
8. Choose the cheese!
The same applies for grated and sliced cheese. Grate your own from a block rather than buying bags of grated cheese. Also, get slicing!
Kitchen hacks to avoid food waste traps!
9. Don’t waste food.
I KNOW it’s hard. If your potatoes are starting to turn, quickly boil and mash them and then freeze that mash for a pie topping later on. Apples can be stewed and frozen, capsicums diced and frozen. Food in the bin is practically throwing money in the bin.
No one is going to know. NO ONE. via GIPHY
10. Don’t bin your broccoli!
While we’re talking about saving food, save your broccoli stalks for your next spaghetti night (you can even freeze them whole). Grate the stalks into the sauce and no one is any the wiser that their veggie intake has just had a boost!
11. Don’t forget our heroic herbs!
If you buy fresh herbs such as lemongrass, turmeric or ginger – keep them frozen and grate/use them from the freezer. They won’t spoil so there’s no food waste and you’re not throwing money away!
12. Oh crumbs, what a winner!
Blitz bread crusts in a food processor to make fresh breadcrumbs, then freeze them.
13. Seal in the freshness
The secret to not throwing away food? Storing it correctly. I swear by my Tupperware Fridgesmarts, they keep carrots fresh for WEEKS.
Other money-saving tips for the kitchen!
14. Use rice for blind baking pastry.
You don’t need special wights or beads – just good ol’ fashioned rice. Place a piece of baking paper over the top of your pastry and then fill it with rice. Keep this rice in a separate container (clearly marked) and you can use it over and over again!
15. Cook in bulk and freeze.
Having something readily available in the freezer when you just can’t be bothered will stop you from ordering take away. Even something as easy as having some chicken burgers and rolls stashed away frozen will do!
16. Gradually replace your meat with alternatives.
Meat can be super expensive, so gradually cut back your portions and replace meat with extra veggies and salad. Mince dishes can easily blend in lentils to bulk out a dish, plus they’re healthy for you.
17. USE YOUR DISHWASHER!
Contrary to popular belief, a fully loaded dishwasher uses less water than what it does to fill and refill your sink two times over, rinse plates and so forth. It’ll see you both saving water, money AND time!
Exercise some patience and USE THE DISHWASHER! via GIPHY
18. Homegrown veggie hack!
Some veggie scraps can be replanted and you don’t need a giant bed to do it. Spring onions, celery, even leeks can all have their bottoms placed in water until they shoot roots and then planted in soil and grow back, even in pots. Instant veggie garden!
19. Grow your own herbs
Speaking of the garden, one of my favourite money-saving tips is that it’s FAR cheaper to grow your own herbs than what it does to buy them at the supermarket. The bonus is, they’re always fresh!
20. Recycled jars for the win!
Pinterest worthy pantries are still achievable with recycled glass jars. Instead of spending a small fortune on plastic storage, recycle the jars – it’s still pretty and totally worth saving money on!
So there you have it. Twenty money-saving tips to start you saving TODAY. You don’t even have to do all 20 to see a difference too, maybe just pick a few to start and see where it leads you. At least now you’ve soaked them up – let’s see what resonates and how it will help stack up the dollars!
Let us know if you have any awesome money-saving tips of your own, we’d love to add them to the list!
