How We Will Save on Groceries in 2026

We will do everything we can to save on groceries during 2026. Prices are astronomical and I think they will go higher. Can anyone afford beef anymore? Ugh. None of us have to wait until 2026 to get started. I have been doing the best I can with the time and energy I have the past few months. But I will be going hardcore from now on.

So Hubby and I have been having many conversations on how we will save money on what we use. To start we will discuss the Thanksgiving deals that I mentioned in a recent post. We now have purchased two turkeys, a Butterball at $ .97 a lb. and a Shadybrook at $ .84. a lb. Both of them I bought at Walmart. If I have room, I would like to buy one more Butterball. If I don’t have the room, I will get one and roast it, strip all the meat off, and food saver it into portions to freeze. That will take up less room than a whole turkey. I also am a canner, so I could can the meat which could stay on my shelf for 2-3 years. I can get a free Butterball at B.J.’s if I spend $150. in one trip this week and redeem the coupon the following week. I did this deal last year but I will pass this year. I do not have enough items on my running list to spend that much money there. Spending on things I don’t need just to get that turkey would be a waste. Plus I like to give as little money as possible to the big corporate world these days. We are having family for Thanksgiving so one Butterball will get roasted. The other one I have will get roasted over the winter in 2026. The same with more that I might buy. You will never get cheaper meat than this. I use turkey in place of chicken many times during the year. This year that is really important because chicken prices have sky rocketed. BTW, turkeys will keep 2-3 years in your freezer. If you cook them up and portion them out into food saver bags the meat will last a year. My food saver was the best purchase I have ever made. Buy it on Black Friday sales when they have the cheapest prices of the year.

I will not be buying any more turkey broth or chicken broth because I make my own from the bones and skin. It is so easy to just put all those things in your crockpot and cook it overnight. Then I can it. You can also freeze it. It is the cheapest you will find it in the store all year at Thanksgiving. If beef bone broth goes on sale, I will buy some. I only use it to make beef barley soup. I do not have many beef bones during the year to make my own.

We like to have stove top stuffing on hand to use as a side or to stuff chicken breasts or pork chops. We also need some to stuff the turkeys when we cook them later in the year. I always add sausage to stuffing so we try to buy the rolls when they go on sale and freeze them. I have 16 boxes of stuffing in the pantry. They are dry goods that do not go bad and they will last us 1 year.

Pickles and olives should be going on sale so I will check and see how many I have and fill in what I need for a year.

Cranberries both canned and fresh should also be at rock bottom prices. I have plenty of canned but only 2 bags of fresh in the freezer. So if see a good price I will get more fresh. I use them for cranberry orange muffins and bread over a year’s time.

Canned green beans and corn are on sale right now for $.50 a can. I always make sure I buy enough to fill in my gaps for the next year. I did that a week or so ago so we are stocked. We also have frozen corn that I took off the fresh ears in August.

This the time of year that butter is the cheapest. I have not seen it go on sale anywhere yet. There is a super coupon for Cabot at Top’s this week for $2.99 limit one. I will pick that one up. We will see what Aldi’s has in their ad this week. Otherwise, Sam’s Club has the best price per lb. when you buy a package of 4 lbs.

I have all the things to make gravy when I cook the turkeys. I need some fresh potatoes. They are on sale now for $1.99 a lb. for a 5 lb. bag. I will get 10 lbs. and store them in the garage in a cooler with a blanket around it. They will keep a few months.

Pie crusts go on sale but I will be making all of my own. Canned pie filling goes on sale so I will see what I need to fill in my gaps. I use these for crisps too during the year.

I am the only one who likes sweet potatoes so I have a few cans to get me through the next year. That is about all that I would stock up on except baking goods and I have all of them. I also have enough Chex mixes to make party mix.

When hams go on sale for Christmas, I may get a couple if the price is right. Hubby likes to slice them on our meat slicer for sandwiches. I like chunks for casseroles and thicker slices to fry up to have with my eggs in the morning.

We spend a fortune on drinks in this house. We have a lot of soda right now. But when it is gone, it will become a treat not an every day thing. I gave up Diet Coke and other sodas 2-3 years ago. They are so sweet that I can’t stomach them. I do like cherry limeade and a 1/2 shot of gin when I have a drink before dinner. I will no longer buy either when the gin is gone. Hubby loves Southern Comfort but he is giving that up too. Hubby is hooked on soda and peach iced tea but he can drink less of it. We are going to start drinking more water which we can flavor ourselves with lemon or lime. All of these drinks are so expensive that they are not worth it.

We are continuing to eat out of our freezers, refrigerator, and pantries. Most of the canned food was purchased right after the pandemic started. The meat is around a year old in the freezers. The refrigerator is mostly condiments, dairy, fruit and vegetables and cheese. If I had my way the condiments would be history. I hate most of them except for mayonnaise.

That is it for today. I will continue this post tomorrow. I need to get some beds stripped and wash the sheets, one room cleaned, and check the prices of my Top’s list for tomorrow to make sure the sale items are not cheaper elsewhere.

What are you saving on right now? Have you gotten any turkeys at a great price?