10 Proven Ways to Save Money on Food When You're Broke

Saving money on food doesn’t mean you have to compromise on quality or health. By planning smart, shopping wisely, and getting creative in the kitchen, you can make the most of every dollar. Remember, a little effort goes a long way when it comes to meal prep and budgeting. If these tips helped you, please let us know in the comments below and share your favorite money-saving food hacks

Example Budget Meal Plan
• Breakfast: Oatmeal with peanut butter (or sunflower seed butter) and a banana.
• Lunch: Lentil soup with rice and a side of frozen veggies.
• Dinner: Baked potatoes topped with canned tuna or shredded cheese and steamed broccoli.
• Snacks: Homemade popcorn, carrots with hummus, or apples.

Disclaimer In compliance with FTC guidelines: Any/all of the links on the site/video are affiliate links of which SuttonsDaze receives product credit or a small commission from sales of certain items, but the price is the same for you. SuttonsDaze is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program. Links on this site may include affiliate links to Amazon and its affiliate sites on which the owner of this website will make a referral commission. Any information related to food, food safety, cooking, recipes, etc, are my opinions only. Thank you for supporting my channel.
❤️HANG OUT WITH ME:
▬▬▬▬▬▬▬ Mailing Address ▬▬▬▬▬▬▬
SuttonsDaze P.O.Box 45 Mikado, MI 48745

[candaced]

Shared this with a child who is struggling. This is why we decided to give each child a half a pig this year instead of a bunch of stuff they don’t really need.

[anniegetyrgun]

Lentils are amazing! I cut my ground beef with green lentils 50/50 and no-one ever notices. It saves me money, stretches that meat, and adds protein and fiber!

[joliereinhardt]

When my now ex husband left me and our 3 kids in 2000 I got to be a master at meal planning. I had always cooked mostly from scratch but I really doubled down on it. I made a 30 day menu based on what I had in my pantry, freezer, and things I had canned.. I shopped sales to replace what I used. Every Friday was homemade pizza and my kids friends loved to be invited to eat with us because their moms only ever ordered pizza out....one of them even had a grandpa that owed a pizza place! Anyway, I learned that when I said what do I feel like eating meant I wasn't really hungry because when I am truly hunger whatever I cooked tasted delicious! I weighed 325 pounds at 5' tall and lost 125 of it, mostly through low carb eating and walking for an hour each day.

Great ideas as always Lisa!

[voodooqueen]

Put a Tupperware container in your freezer. I dump my extra leftover veggies and meat into the container. When it gets full, I make soups and stews out of it. No waste, no want. You can add beans rice or lintel. Sometimes, I add barley. Split peas are another option.

[MeganSmith-xxih]

I live in the UK, where our new government are busy creating a terrifying future for people like me, older and poor, so your channel is a great boost to helping survive. God help us all.

[katielou]

A couple of years ago I looked for depression era recipes to save money and realized it was what I was raised on! Good food!!!

[Sandra-cqnf]

70 years old. Been cooking since I was 9. You go girl

[JoyfullyOrangeDeborah]

Last summer I started going to a local food pantry. Within 2 months I was volunteering there and have now been there over a year. I'm 57 and I'm usually the youngest person working. Please go volunteer!
Many Blessings from Deborah in West Virginia!

[colleenjerns]

Eat to live rather than live to eat. I save so much money on food by not snacking at all. Also I alternate days as to how many meals I eat. I always skip breakfast. On Monday, Wednesday and Friday I inly eat one meal. On Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday I eat lunch and supper. All my meals are from scratch and most of them are from things I grew in my garden plus the meat I buy. I do not eat any processed food. I can, freeze and dehydrate food for my pantry. Besides saving money on food it helped me reverse my type two diabetes which I had for 20 plus years. No more meds needed and I’m half the size I was. I’m healthy now.

[KarenYork-tc]

On another note, my uncle lived on the family farm his parents had and he had a job in town. Only man I knew who could cook up a big pot of something and that pot would be his supper for a whole week! It didn’t bother him to eat the same thing every night for a week at a time. Changed each week, but he still had the same thing every night for a week at a time! I learned a lot from him as well!

[kimmermoo]

Since I stopped eating processed food, it takes less food to satisfy my hunger.

[rg-mihh]

Something that helps when working a job outside the home is to put the meat in the crockpot while gone. Then make the sides when you come home. Some young mother needs to hear that.😊

[karen]

I learned scrap soup from my mother-in-law. If there are 3 grains of rice leftover they go into a Ziplock bag and in the freezer it goes. ANYTHING leftover goes in that bag then when the bag is full it goes into a pot and we have scrap soup. Lol It actually turns out good. Nothing goes to waste.

[saharagold]

Work in a 5 star hotel where you are fed for free everyday. Buffet style. And are allowed to take home alot of leftovers each day. And other food items. I worked as a hotel maid for years, and saved so much money. And great exercise. No need for gym memberships. And so many bottles of wine and chocolate etc left in rooms we were allowed to take home. And near-expiry drinks and snacks/bread, etc. Also allowed to take home.

[EmbracethechaosPortugal]

We are struggling ( family of 5 usually 6 but daughter been in hospital nearly all of the last 8 weeks) me and grandchildren, very little income, even less currently as I have the 8 week old baby 7 til 7 weekdays so I've had to cut back my online work. Living on noodles, rice, beans, and our lovely fresh eggs, ,but did score a good sized chicken for the weekend, also a friend filled fridge with fresh veggies ( have used all my canned products in last 4 months and garden was a disaster last season) we had chicken dinner, then all the leftovers including the gravy and chopped up roast potatoes made an incredible gallon of soup! That one chicken will feed us all for at least 4 days, and still have a big red cabbage and 2 heads of broccoli, plus potatoes and onions..we are blessed! Hoping my daughter continues to improve and gets home late this week..so I can get back to work properly!

[sheeralim]

Canned pumpkin is abundant and cheap right now. Add canned pumpkin to your bean chili or stew. It adds so much fiber and vitamins and thickens the stew and chili. Filling and really cheap!

[debraneighbors]

I used to hate meal planning, but now I love it. I have cut our monthly grocery bill by nearly 80% with meal planning, cooking from scratch, and batch cooking. We also eat much better than when we were spending so much more on groceries before. It took a long time, but I am finally totally sold on meal planning. I won't be going back to the old, expensive way of feeding my family. I learned everything from you, Leisa! Thank you so much!!

[EileenHall-jf]

I’m a 77 year old British woman. I enjoyed your home spun philosophy. Hope to learn more. It’s nice to know there is a commonality in the aging process. It’s not a given that age equates with wisdom. But home produced just makes sense from every level, whether it’s good health or helping the environment.

[Cyourself]

When my kids were young 5-7 years old their dad got a 20% pay cut. At the time i was a pantry stocker and we had a upright freezer in the garage. Never the less, that big of pay cut was severe. I made a basic menu for the week. Sunday was pasta, ragu sauce with left over meat from the days before. Monday and Thursday was meat (hamburger, roast) Tuesday was chicken, Wednesday and Friday was pasta and Saturday was chicken or pork. I bought 5lb boxes of pasta for $3 and only shopped at Food 4 less and bought all proteins on sale. We didn't buy a $1 hamburger at Burger King, no beer or wine no ice cream etc. This lasted for 8 months until I was earning enough working new job to boost our bank account

[anniegetyrgun]

Im disabled and i meal plan eight days in advance. I just list the meals but not allocate them a ‘day’. Becuase my health is so erratic i include two very easy meals each week, that i know i can throw together quickly if im in pain or have low energy. For example tuna mayo with canned potatoes and canned green beans, takes minutes to prepare. (And rotates my preps!) I also plan that at least one meal will last two days, again for if im unwell. Doing it this way i still have some freedom to swap things around but minimise waste. If there are any meals on the list i didn’t get to cook, i move it forward to the next week