Have you ever noticed certain food items that seem to never disappear from your cupboard? Well, instead of letting that food go bad and wasting money, I recommend you use the empty cupboard method.â It’s kind of a silly name isn’t it? To be honest, I didn’t know how to coin this money saving strategy.
The empty cupboard method is actually quite simple. I usually buy groceries on a weekly basis and it has typically always been this way. I like buying food in the most organic way possible, so most of my food goes bad within a week anyways.
Over time, I have found my cupboard to start stockpiling on random foods that I never finished eating or forgot about. One thing to note is that it doesn’t have to be limited to your cupboard. This could be a couple chicken breasts stuck in the back of your freezer or the apples in the fridge that have been hidden with the latest lettuce purchase. Whatever the case may be, I’m referring to any food that seems to lingerâ in your kitchen.
Wasting money is no bueno
I personally hate wasting my money so I created a strategy called the Empty Cupboard Method. For an entire week every other month, I force myself to forego the grocery store and only eat the foods that are left in my cupboard, fridge, and freezer. While this week is not exactly the most fun, it saves me a nice chunk of change whenever I do it. Old top ramen, I eat it. A couple packets of oatmeal stuck in the back, I eat it. Apples that I forgot about and are still good, I eat them.
No fancy foods for you!
You won’t be eating the finest foods during this week, but I guarantee you that you will be happy with the grocery savings! No one is perfect with their grocery store purchases. I’m probably not the most organized at it so no wonder certain foods seem to never go away!
The savings are so worth it
But imagine if you spend around $100/week on groceries. This is what I typically spend in San Diego⦠Now, imagine saving $100 every other month! What comes to a total savings of $600 for the year. What could you do with an extra $600 in your pocket? Maybe you’ve been avoiding Roth-IRA contributions. Maybe you need to pay off that high interest credit card debt. Whatever your situation is, this is another example of a way you can save some extra money during the year.
Are you in?
So what do you think of the Empty Cupboard Method for saving money and getting the most value out of your food?!
Please feel free to tweet and facebook this article. Share the empty cupboard method with your friends and family and watch it go viral with the most frugal of friends. Heck, you could make a game out of it and have dinners at friend’s houses during these weeks. Now go destroy the cupboard!
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