You asked, and here it is! I'm going to show you how to completely restock your fridge in this epic grocery haul, all while sticking to my budget. Plus, I'm sharing some behind the scenes meal planning hacks! Woot woot!

Jordan page in front of grocery haul, from Fun Cheap or Free

There are times when you basically run out of everything in your fridge and pantry and have to do a total grocery haul and restock trip. Maybe it's after vacation. That was definitely us last week! (We miss you, Hawaii!) Or sometimes the stars just align, and everything runs out at once. (Whyyyyyy???)

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Regardless of the reason, it is possible to get everything you need to restock your kitchen essentials while also staying within budget. Come follow along with me and see how I did it! Plus, you'll get a little BTS of my thought process when it comes to planning your meals for a busy week.

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Click HERE to watch the video online, or keep scrolling to watch my grocery haul for the week:

Whew, what a grocery haul, am I right?! Are you tired just thinking about putting all of those groceries away? If not, then keep on scrolling to get a quick recap! 🙂


HOW TO DO YOUR WEEKLY GROCERY HAUL

The key to staying within your budget is to know your prices and only go to one store per week. Some stores are better for different items. For me, Walmart is better for stocking up on fresh and pantry items. Whereas Costco is better for stocking up on prepackaged lunch items, bulk items, and cleaning supplies.

Since the twins were born, I've been a HUGE fan of grocery delivery. Yes, it's a luxury, but it's something our family has budgeted for because it makes life so much easier! Ordering your groceries ahead of time can actually save you a ton of money because it forces you to be intentional about meal planning. I pay the annual fee for unlimited free deliveries, but if that's not in your budget, try grocery pickup!

Walmart Grocery Pickup is life! Having them do your shopping for you makes it so convenient and really helps to keep those impulse buys at bay. You place your order on your phone, set a pickup time, then they load your groceries for you. Get $10 off your first purchase of $50 and be amazed at how life-changing it is for you! (And if you can't get out of the house, then let InstaCart do your shopping for you and deliver it right to your door!)


WHY I USE FETCH REWARDS

You guys know how much I love saving money and scoring freebies, right? Well, every single time I buy groceries, I earn points to use toward gift cards, thanks to a totally awesome and totally FREE app called Fetch! I love redeeming those points for Amazon or restaurant gift cards (hello, date night!). If you're not using it, you should be. Here are the deets:

  • Scan Your Receipt to Rack up Points – You've gotta buy groceries anyway, so why not get paid to do it?! Just scan your receipts and watch those rewards roll in.
  • Works for Delivery/Pickup – Grocery delivery fan like me? You can upload e-receipts, too! Cash-in on points even when you don't shop in person.
  • No Stipulations – SO many apps only give you points when you purchase certain things. Not Fetch! No matter what you buy, you earn rewards.
  • Weekly Bonuses – Each week, Fetch runs specials. By stocking up on certain items, you can earn extra bonus points and sometimes even double your rewards! Deals, on deals, on deals, you guys!

It's a no-brainer! Go ahead and download the Fetch app and be sure to use my special code, FUNCHEAPFREE, to score 4,000 points the first time you scan a receipt. That's almost enough for your first gift card. Sweet!


GROCERY HAUL ESSENTIALS

I rarely cook a recipe that I have to go out and buy specific things for. I cook using what I have on hand (hello, shelf cooking!) so that I never have one random ingredient just sitting around that won't ever get used again. Then, I make big grocery haul trips like this, where I stock up on my essential food items and replenish my stores.

Your goal should be to buy ingredients that you can make many meals out of! Here are the typical food items that I always try to keep on hand…

BREAD

  • We get “adult” grain bread (that's a little more expensive) and “kid” bread. I also make my own bread when I have the time.
  • Bagels for breakfast and lunch.
  • Tortillas to make breakfast burritos, tacos, and to have on hand.
  • French bread is a really cheap and versatile option. It freezes well wrapped in foil. I like to keep it on hand to make baked Italian sandwiches, pizza, or to go with pasta. I also make my own!

FRESH VEGGIES

  • Potatoes are a super inexpensive, hearty side that store really well.
  • Sweet potatoes are always good for a quick and healthy side. I poke them with a fork and cook them in the Instant Pot on manual high for 15 minutes.
  • Asparagus, broccoli, bell peppers, carrots, sugar snap peas, zucchini, spinach/arugula mix, lettuce, mushrooms, green beans, cilantro, and butternut squash are all good for quick snacks or healthy sides. This week I ordered butternut squash to make a batch of this amazing squash soup.
  • Buy more than you need (as long as it's within budget) so that you have extra for additional meals.
  • As I've mentioned before, don't buy pre-diced fruit and veggies. It's so much cheaper to chop them yourself.

FRESH FRUIT

  • Apples
  • Blueberries
  • Strawberries
  • Bananas
  • Grapes

REFRIGERATED ITEMS

  • We always stock up on almond milk for Mac, who is lactose intolerant, and get regular milk for the rest of the crew. Fun fact: we don't eat cereal for breakfast, but we do for snacks. Another fun fact? You can totally freeze milk and use it later.
  • We go through eggs fast! I like to buy a box of 60 eggs for make-ahead breakfasts for the week.
  • Cream cheese for breakfast. I always buy the double pack because it freezes well.
  • Fruit salad ingredients – frozen raspberries, whipped cream, cottage cheese, and sugar-free jello.

PANTRY ITEMS

glass canisters of dry goods in the pantry, from Fun Cheap or Free
  • Canned fruit makes a quick and easy side. We always keep mandarin oranges and pineapple chunks on hand in the pantry.
  • I always, always keep my pantry stocked with canned goods.
  • During this week's grocery haul, I got a ton of oats, because everyone has been out of them lately. We use them in cookies, pancakes, and of course, oatmeal.
  • Grape energy sticks are liiiiife! I'm not a big soda drinker, but I drink these with water when I need a pick me up. I mix it with some collagen peptides and call it good.
  • Rice is a great thing to buy in bulk. I keep a small container handy and refill as it gets low.
  • Flour is essential, so if it's on sale, grab a few. Our poor delivery driver had his hands FULL this week!

MEAT

I buy my meat in bulk, so I rarely have to buy any on my normal shopping trips. We literally bought half a cow a few months ago, so our freezer is full of red meat. In general, I stock up when meat is on sale and freeze it. This really helps you to save so much money! This week I got chicken. I will freeze one pack, and then cook the other pack in the crockpot and shred and freeze for later. You can go see how I keep it all organized in my freezer tour.


TOTAL GROCERY HAUL AMOUNT

My total this week was $289! Yes, it's a little over budget, but I decided to buy formula for the twins, which set us back $72.96. Our normal weekly budget for our family of 10 is $250, so without that formula, we would have been golden! And considering all of the fresh produce, restock items, and pantry staples we got, I'm pretty darn happy. I hardly ever go over budget, I'm actually usually under every week because I only buy the necessities. So I'm okay with going over a little bit for a major grocery haul trip like this!


HOW I'M MEAL PLANNING WITH THIS GROCERY HAUL

Now, what do I do with all these groceries? Glad you asked! I use my Productivity Planner to plan my meals for the week. I look over what all we have going on, then figure out our meals based off of our schedule.

How I meal planned this week's grocery haul. Get tips from Fun Cheap or Free.

This week's meals are TBD, but here's our general plan:

  • Something with chicken. Since I just bought a bunch, I'll probably shred some and make quesadillas. It's the best way to make that meat go further! Taco soup is another easy meal we love.
  • One or two leftovers nights. Leftovers make dinner so much easier on those busy nights and they're great for when you need a break from cooking, too!
  • Pizza is always a Friday thing for us! We usually keep frozen pizzas on hand for this.

The beauty of shelf cooking is that you can wing it if you need to! Now that we're restocked on groceries, we have options GALORE using other staples we already had.


And that's that! Now that you've seen my grocery haul, how would YOU make meals for the week? Let me know in the comments and let's all share our different ideas!

see how we grocery shop for a family of 10, on Fun Cheap or Free

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Happy hauling, Freebs!

Jordan Page Signature from Fun Cheap or Free