8 Grocery Items Frugal People Never Buy

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Frugality — the practice of being economical with your resources or using them wisely — might sound like a noble state of being, and it certainly can be. In fact, people engage in frugal behaviors for various reasons, ranging from limited income to a desire to be more sustainable.

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What frugal people have in common is they often spend the least amount of money possible. This may involve finding alternatives to expensive items or being resourceful in procuring, creating or even growing items they need.

This even extends to how they grocery shop. Here we look at grocery items frugal people never buy.

Bottled Water

Bottled water is certainly convenient if you’re out and about — from sports activities to running between errands, it’s easy to get parched. Yet purchasing bottled water is not only paying for a resource you probably have for free or at a low cost in your own home, it’s also creating waste in the form of plastic bottles. Frugal people fill reusable containers and bring their own water with them.

Off-Season Fruits

There’s nothing more tantalizing than a mountain of gleaming fruit when you walk into the grocery store, especially if it’s a season when those fruits aren’t naturally occurring.

The problem is, off-season fruits are generally marked up quite a lot, making them too pricey to be worth the expense, especially if you’re trying to save money. Instead, consider hitting up a local farmer’s market and eating only those fruits that are in season. You can also try freezing or canning fruits during their natural seasons for smoothies, pies and sauces.

Prepared Foods

Lots of grocery stores offer ready-to-eat foods like sandwiches, salads, and even dinner entrees that are tempting to grab as you shop for other foods. But frugal people know that most of these foods are likely a lot more expensive than if you made a big-batch meal with your own ingredients. Better to think about meal planning for the week and avoid even the tastiest looking pre-made meals.

Broth

It’s easy to shop for convenience and forget about your budget, especially if you’re busy or tired from multiple responsibilities.

Things like chicken broth or beef broth are staples that a lot of people who enjoy cooking prefer to keep on hand for sauces, soups and sautes. But these items end up costing a lot more in the long run than simply making use of any chicken or beef carcasses and bones that come with the meat you already make.

Simmer your chicken or turkey carcass in a pot with water and some spices and you’ll have twice as much broth as you could possibly buy for a fraction of the cost.

Oranges

Inflation has made even the most basic of grocery-shopping trips feel astronomical in price for items that don’t seem like they should be so expensive.

Among the things that have steeply risen in price are oranges, particularly at the grocery store. Consider trying to find these at a local farmer’s market, or get your citrus in another form — grapefruit, lemon and limes may not be as sweet, but they all proffer nutritious vitamin C and other nutrients.

Trail Mix/Granola

They always say you shouldn’t go shopping while hungry, because you’re likely to let your stomach overrule your wallet.

And who can blame you for wanting to pick up an easy bag of granola or trail mix, full of tasty treats like oats and nuts and sometimes chocolate bits? But buying these items at the grocery store is definitely going to run you more money than buying the essential ingredients for these and making them yourself.

When you make these items at home, you’ll not only find you save money but you can make bigger batches that last longer, and control the flavor, too!

Meat

To save money, the environment and one’s health, many people have begun to adopt eating strategies like “Meatless Mondays.” Unless it’s on sale, meat at the grocery store can be one of the most expensive items on the list.

Frugal people may choose simply to skip the meat altogether, or they may consider a “cow share,” such as those through AmericanGrassFed.org, where you connect with a local or semi-local farmer and purchase a bigger part of the animal and store the meat in your freezer. You might even be able to share this with another family to lower costs.

Boxed Rice Mixes

Bulk rice is one of the more affordable food items you can purchase, but rice mixes that are pre-packaged and sold in a box often become super pricey by adding spice packages and other ingredients. If you stick to bulk plain rice you can not only control the flavorings you add, but save a lot of money, too.

Being frugal doesn’t have to mean giving up on the things you love, but rather, finding creative ways to obtain them.

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