I’m the first to admit. I hate clipping coupons. It’s gotten a lot easier over the years with digital couponing, but I still don’t like the hunting process. I’m always on the lookout for ways to save money as best I can without having to hunt coupons, and there are tons of ways to save money without being a 24/7 fiend. The best way I’ve found is through a little planning and having staples on hand at all times. With a little creativity you can make tons of things by just having simple ingredients in the pantry at all times and stocking up when things are on sale or in season. Having staples not only makes planning easier, but makes shopping a breeze, often saving you several trips to the store.
Staples We Keep in Our Pantry
- Chicken broth
- Canned beans
- Dried lentils
- Couscous
- Pasta in various shapes
- Rice
- Olives
- Onions
- Garlic
- Canned vegetables
- Canned tomatoes: whole, halved, diced, crushed, pureed
- Tomato paste
- Tomato sauce
- Canned tuna
- Dried herbs and spices
- Asian spice sauce
- Pickles
- Jams
- Peanut butter
- Dried fruit
- Baking chocolate
- All-purpose flour
- Sugar
- Light brown sugar
Staples We Keep in Our Freezer
- Nuts
- Chicken
- Frozen potato fries
- Frozen corn
- Frozen spinach
- Frozen peas
- Frozen berries
- Frozen fish
- Tortillas
- Sliced bread
An easy way to manage your stocks is to make an easy-to-read and reuse inventory sheet with the prices of these items from each store you patronize. Have the regular price and usual sale prices for these items so when you are out and you see special sale or clearance pricing you can stock up and save additionally. A great inventory sheet can be found at Real Simple.
my MIL found canned veggies for $0.33 a can – she bought us 30 cans of each!!