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Growing old is hard and being alone is even harder. If your partner has passed away or other circumstances in your life have left you living on your own, adjusting and changing habits can be a challenge, especially shopping for food. Adapting to shopping for one and modifying your grocery shopping habits will be necessary to avoid overspending and purchasing excessive amounts of food. Here’s a helpful guide to help grocery shop for one so you don’t buy too much and can save.
Why is it important to buy fewer groceries when you’re living alone?
When you live alone, it’s important to buy fewer groceries at a time, so you can consume the food before it spoils. Your focus should be on buying just what you need to make a few meals for the week.
Planning meals for one.
The key to buying groceries for one is to plan your meals. One of the perks of shopping and cooking for one is that you can make anything you want! Cooking is fun when you have the freedom to choose meals that your taste buds desire. As a single senior, you can cook your favorites whenever you want, with the ingredients you crave. If you want to make your favorite dish or try a new recipe, all you need to do is make a list, shop for the ingredients, and make sure that you adjust the portion size so you don’t buy more than you need.
Grocery shopping for one.
When buying groceries for one, you will be tempted to buy more than you need out of habit, and changing this is a hard adjustment. Resisting that urge to overbuy is important so you eliminate waste and avoid overspending. An important tip is to buy just the ingredients you need for the meal that you plan to make, allowing you to make several portions of the dish so you can pop them into the fridge or freezer for another day. This is an easy way for you to have several home-cooked meals that are ready to eat without the fuss.
Make a list and stick to it.
The best way to shop for one at the grocery store is to make a list and stick to it. Before making your weekly grocery list, sit down and plan your meals ahead of time. Once you have planned your meals for the week, you should write down all of the ingredients you need for each meal. Sticking to your list ensures you won’t buy more food than you need, which means less waste which translates to saving money!
Embrace dry goods and spices.
Compared to other foods, dry goods last a long time. Having dry goods in your pantry is a great idea so you have them on hand to add to your recipes. While fresh produce spoils relatively quickly if not eaten, dry goods will keep for a much longer time. Some examples of dry goods include coffee, sugar, flour, and as the name suggests, items that do not contain liquid. Spices also last a long time. It’s always a good idea to keep your kitchen stocked with a rich variety of spices. Part of the joy of cooking is experimentation and using different spices on your favorite dishes so you can create some exciting new combinations of flavors.
Have a bite to eat before going grocery shopping.
Another tip that can help prevent you from buying more food than you need is to have a bite to eat before heading into the grocery store. When you’re hungry, you tend to purchase a lot more food than you actually need. If you go grocery shopping after a meal, you won’t be as tempted to add those extra items to your cart.
What to do when you have extra food that is about to go to waste.
Buying groceries for one takes some getting used to. If you still find yourself with more food than you need for the week after following these tips, you can always freeze it or invite friends and family to join you for a meal. You can also donate your extra food to a local food pantry or a friend in need.
How to find the money to buy groceries when you can’t afford them.
Not everyone has the luxury of being able to buy more groceries than they need in a week, especially the elderly. Many seniors struggle to find the money to buy their weekly groceries and the thought of being hungry is scary.
So, what can you do to raise money for groceries when you’re retired and struggling financially? Some seniors choose to solve this problem by taking out a reverse mortgage on their homes. Although a reverse mortgage can generate plenty of money to buy groceries, you would be sacrificing the equity in your property.
Other seniors take a different approach and lean on family members for money and meals, but this option can come with a price…. your pride and dignity. No one wants to ask their children or grandchildren for grocery money. When you ask a family member to lend you money, it may give them the impression that you aren’t able to be independent.
If you need cash to ensure you can eat healthily and pay bills, one of the most popular solutions to this problem is called a life settlement. If you have a life insurance policy, and are over the age of 70 or have a terminal illness, you could sell your life insurance policy for cash. A life insurance policy could be one of the most valuable assets you own and by selling your policy as a life settlement, you aren’t sacrificing the equity in your home, unlike a reverse mortgage. You receive a lump-sum cash payout that you can use for anything you choose while eliminating your premiums.
Worrying about how to pay for groceries and bills can be very stressful, but you now have an option to maintain financial independence. MRE Finance can help you sell your life insurance policy and once you sell your policy, you’ll never have to worry about how to find enough money to pay for groceries again. The money from your life settlement will pay for many more years of life in comfort.
MRE Finance specialists are available at 1-800-521-0770 to provide you information about the advantages of selling your life insurance policy! You can also receive an estimated value of your life insurance policy in minutes by trying the FREE life settlement calculator.
Start your journey to financial freedom today by contacting MRE Finance!
