How To Easily Stock A Pantry For A Year On A Tiny Budget!
Last Updated on 03/05/2024 by Nicky
How To Stock A Pantry For A Year On A Small Budget
Unless you live under a rock, then you know the cost of groceries has skyrocketed in the past year.
Not only that, there have been shortages of many food items as well. So it’s definitely time to stock your pantry for at least a year or longer!
Saving money is always a top priority in my household, and I’m always looking for a good deal, especially in this current economic climate.
Things like using coupons and buying in bulk can significantly reduce your expenses when you’re shopping at the grocery store.
The tips I’m going to share with you will help you stock your pantry for a year without spending an arm and a leg (well maybe only a partial leg 🙂 )
Oh yeah, and this post contains affiliate links to great products that will help you in your health journey. I will get a commission if you decide to buy from these links but I’m only recommending products that I feel confident about and from companies that I trust like Amazon and others. Please let me know if you have any questions.
– Why is everyone stocking up on food in 2024?
So why is everyone stocking up on food in 2021 and 2022?
Well, in case you haven’t noticed the price of food has gone up exponentially. And in fact, it has gone up a little more every time I go grocery shopping!
So by stockpiling the items that you need for your family, you can actually save money on the cost of food in the future.
Having a well-stocked pantry can help you save money as well as guarantee food security.
Saving money in one area of your life is an excellent way to invest in your future or repay debt.
Because the money you don’t use on groceries can be money put towards another expense like an emergency fund .
Not only is the cost of food going up but the scarcity of food is also increasing.
I don’t know if you looked at the shelves at the grocery stores lately but there are a lot of empty holes where food used to be.
There have been shortages of grocery items like eggs, chicken, beef, pasta, peanut butter, canned goods, and more!
These are not like obscure grocery items ya’ll. These are staple foods that almost everyone eats.
I don’t know about you but that’s more than a little concerning.
Not that I’m telling anyone to panic because at the end of the day, I believe the Lord will always be with us.
But even still there’s something else to consider.
There’s been talk of a potential global famine. No, it’s not comfortable or fun to talk about and definitely not think about but it’s a possible reality that we might face.
If that were to happen, you would be so relieved and grateful to know that you have a well-stocked pantry in your home to provide for your family at least for a while.
Now that we’ve gotten all of that “fun” stuff out of the way let’s talk about steps that we can take to stock our pantry for an entire year and how to do it on a budget!
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– What To Stock In Your Pantry
You should fill your pantry with things that you would actually eat, so you should be honest about your dislikes and likes.
If you find something on sale for an almost-nothing price, don’t buy it if you don’t like the product. That’s not saving your money and it won’t help you at all.
Being completely honest with yourself about what you like and don’t like is critical if you want to stock your pantry with things you actually eat.
Even if your list is only twenty items long, it will be twenty items more than you previously had.
– So what are some pantry items I suggest you put on your shopping list?
Canned protein (like chicken, ham, ground, beef, canned beans, and canned tuna)
Canned vegetables (like green beans, corn, potatoes, carrots)
Canned fruit (like peaches, pineapple, and applesauce)
Oats (like oatmeal or oat bran)
Baking supplies (like flour, yeast, baking soda, baking powder, and cornmeal)
Sweeteners (like sugar brown sugar molasses Honey and maple syrup)
Starches (like dried beans, canned potatoes, pasta…white lasts longer but whole wheat is more nutritious)
Condiments (like mayonnaise, mustard, soy sauce, and ketchup)
Eggs (can be frozen, dehydrated, and preserved with mineral oil)
Fats (like Canola, Olive Oil, nut butters…powdered versions have a longer shelf life)
– Make a List Of What You Really Should Include
Now that you have an idea of what to store in your pantry. You should make a list of all the items that you and your family use and need on a regular basis.
And I’m not just talking about food items.
I’m talking about personal hygiene and cleaning supplies as well. Look at past receipts to see what you buy. Look at your pantry now, if you have one, and see what you already have.
Take an inventory of what you have and see what you need more of. Figure out how many of each item you need to make a meal.
For instance, I love to make chili and I use chili beans, kidney beans, black beans, and tomato sauce in my recipe.
I typically use about 5 cans of chili beans for one large pot of chili.
So if I have 20 cans of chili beans, I have enough to make 4 large pots of chili.
See what I mean? You need to calculate how much of each ingredient you need to make one recipe.
Then divide it to see just how many times you can make a meal with the items you have on hand.
If you know you want to be able to make 7 large pots of chili a year then you know you need 35 cans of chili beans stocked in your pantry.
Don’t just think of your pantry items as individual ingredients but as meals you might make in the future.
Then make a list (ex: 35 cans of chili beans, 15 cans of kidney beans, 15 cans of tomato sauce will equal 7 pots of chili).
Keep doing this for every meal (breakfast, lunch, and dinner and even dessert) and you will eventually be able to calculate what you need in your pantry to be able to survive for a year.
Think of how many days there are in a year. 365 days, right?
So that means you need to consider how many meals you need for a year (1,095 meals/person for 3 meals a day and 730 meals/person for 2 meals a day).
Don’t get overwhelmed by the thought of needing over a thousand meals per person for a year.
Start with getting enough meals for a month, then 2, then 3, and so on.
Then you can start watching for sales and stocking up in bulk on the items you need.
Related: How To Meal Plan & Save Money On Groceries
– When To Buy Your Pantry Items (Shopping The Sales)
Work with your store’s selling cycle.
Everything in your local supermarket has a selling cycle, which means there is a high price and a rock bottom price over a period of time.
The trick is to buy those items you want at the lowest price, and if you can get a coupon on them, even better! (more on that later).
What I want you to think about is the time of year it is. For instance, think about Memorial day and all of the foods or items that we eat during that time period.
The stores have ground beef, hotdogs, baked beans, potatoes, and charcoal for grilling for rock bottom prices (as rock bottom as we get these days anyway).
All of those kinds of foods are on sale during this time at every store.
And I know that we are talking about pantry staples but having a stocked freezer and refrigerator is not a bad idea either.
Plus you can can ground beef, potatoes, and other fresh foods and they can last for years.
I personally just bought this pressure canner and fun fact…I don’t know how to use it…yet. But I will learn how!
Also, think about Christmas and Thanksgiving (and other holidays like Easter).
What do we eat then? We have a lot of canned goods like green beans, cranberry sauce and other fruit, ham, turkey, yeast for baking, flour etc.
There are all sorts of ways to preserve these items for a year or longer using different methods like canning, mylar bags, and oxygen absorbers.
From canned veggies to macaroni and cheese, you can see how simply following the store’s sale cycle can save you a lot of money.
This should be your go-to trick for pasta, grains, ready-to-eat cereal, crackers, cookies, and much more.
You can also check the clearance aisle for scratch ‘n dent goods.
You may find items that have been removed from the shelf for a simple reason such as the company changing their packaging. These items are usually so cheap they almost give it away.
Plus, keep an eye out for discontinued items.
– Building A Pantry On A Budget: Don’t Miss This Savings Stack Hack!
Don’t just shop the sales though.
You can save even more money by stack sales with coupons and cashback apps like Ibotta and Shopkick!
If you don’t know what Ibotta is then just click this link to learn more. Trust me. You’ll thank me later!
Some coupons are given in your local newspaper on Sunday.
Then there are digital coupons. Krogers, Publix, and Walgreens all have great deals with their digital coupons.
So let’s set up a little scenario.
Let’s say that you want to stock up on eggs.
Well sometimes eggs are on sale, right? But in addition to that sale, sometimes you get coupons for eggs.
I know I get them from Kroger all the time. Not only that but sometimes cash back apps like Ibotta have deals on eggs where you would get .50 or more back on your purchase.
But wait, there’s more because sometimes you can even buy multiples of the same items with the coupons and with Ibotta.
So you might be 5 cartons of eggs using a coupon and a cash back app and save tons of money.
Then you can start putting away those eggs for long-term storage. Using mineral oil is one of the easiest ways I’ve found to store eggs for months.
Quick Tip: February is National Canned Food Month, when you can get tons of great sale specials in addition to other coupons. During this month, you can purchase canned meat, beans, vegetables, fruit, fruit juice, even canned milk at a bargain! If you missed canned food month, you can still buy tuna and canned pasta, as they are part of the normal store cycle we mentioned.
– How To Store The Groceries You Stockpile
There are a few things that you should be careful about when storing.
Pasta, rice, sugar, salt, and honey are some of the few foods that will probably last as long as possible if stored properly.
It can even survive past the date indicated if handled properly.
This site has all the information you need to know about storing food for the long term.
How To Learn More About Building An Emergency Pantry
YouTube is an excellent resource if you’re new to the idea of learning anything. Here are some videos I recommend for learning how to stock your pantry:
– Start Small But Start Building Your Pantry Today!
It’s not difficult to stock your cupboards on a budget, and more importantly, keep them that way once you’ve mastered the tricks and tips.
The biggest thing is just to get started, like, now. Please. Do what you can and build up that.
Shop the sales, use apps like Ibotta, and start stocking your pantry today! I want to hear from you! What do you want to stock up on first?
– Free Printable Frugal Meal Planner To Help You Save Money On Groceries Today!
Saving money, getting out of debt, and building wealth in this economy is more important than ever before but it won’t happen without you taking massive action and creating a plan.
That’s why I created the free Frugal Meal Printable Planner to help you save money on groceries.
Click here to get the free frugal meal planner to save money on groceries!
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