I keep hearing about the idea of eating out of your pantry for a month, to help save money on groceries and finish up the miscellaneous food so it doesn’t go bad before you get to it. The thought behind it is, there’s probably a lot more in your pantry and freezer than you think, and with a little bit of extra creativity it can be turned into meal after meal. There will still be a few things you’ll need from the store but to keep yourself from overspending or taking the “easy way out” and buying frozen pizzas while you’re there, we’ll be using a prepaid card from Visa (our sponsor for this post) loaded with a smaller grocery budget than usual. It’s a helpful way to stick to budget AND it allows moms to spoil themselves with a little bonus at the end of the month with any money that still left on the card!
Empty Your Pantry 30 Day Challenge
First, take inventory on what you have. Make a list of both freezer and pantry items, taking special note of things that may be expiring soon.
Second, make 2 lists.
- A quick meal plan— what recipes do you have most of the ingredients for?
- A grocery list — Add any missing ingredients that you don’t have for the recipes you’ve chosen.
Next, choose your monthly grocery budget to load onto a prepaid card (I loaded 150 but many will be able to do less than that) — this should cover all the groceries you’ll still need and extra for the fresh, weekly groceries: produce, milk, etc.
And that’s it! Sit back, enjoy having your month of meals already planned out, enjoy saving, and enjoy the extra family time!
I headed to Walmart and got a Walmart MoneyCard® Reloadable Prepaid Visa® Card. It was easy-peasy. I snagged it at the Money Center and then had the cashier load it up for me (a small load fee applied). Here are a few of my favorite card features:
- Stay on budget — With the Walmart MoneyCard® Reloadable Prepaid Visa® Card, a monthly fee plan covers your day-to-day purchases. As a part of the Visa Clear Prepaid program, you can use your Walmart MoneyCard with confidence because you know exactly what you’re spending (including fees) and can easily stick to a monthly budget, which is perfect for our 30 day challenge!
- Transparency — With less confusion around fees the Walmart MoneyCard helps make time for what matters most. Cards that are part of the Visa Clear Prepaid program certify that they clearly communicate their fee plan. So, you’ll know when you pay a fee and when you won’t. You can go to Visa.com/visaclearprepaid to find the prepaid card that works best for you.
- Less stress — Grocery shopping can be hard enough, especially when you’re meal planning for an entire family. By loading it with your monthly grocery budget, the Walmart MoneyCard helps take the stress out of managing the monthly grocery budget. Now you can spend less time worrying about money management, while still staying on budget, and spend more time with your family!
A prepaid card is the perfect way to stay on budget during the challenge and each month after that as well. At the end of the month if you underspend enjoy the extra “bonus money” for your own little spending spree on whatever you want! It’s a great incentive to stick with the 30 day challenge and see how frugal you can eat!
Helpful Tips:
–Bring cash to Walmart load your card with (a small fee applies).
–Do not use the card to attempt to rent a car or reserve a hotel room with your prepaid card because of the deposits they could place on the card. Similarly, many gas stations also place a hold on the card, often doubling the expected expense until the hold clears
Are you up for the 30 day challenge? Leave a comment if you plan on joining and then come back and tell us about how much you saved after the 30 days is over.
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This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of Visa Clear Prepaid and Walmart.
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