5 Must-Have Money-Saving Kitchen Tools

One of the best investments you can make to trim your budget is to buy money-saving kitchen tools. These can help you prepare healthy, nutritious meals for a fraction of what you can buy eating out. Here’s a list to start with.

1. Planters

Learning how to grow your own herbs is not just a fun thing for hobbyists. It can save you money on the spices you use to cook. You can often find planters for dirt cheap at garage sales. If you’ve missed the yard sale season, then check your local dollar store or supermarket. You can grow your herbs right by the kitchen window. Beginners can start with basil, rosemary and thyme. 

2. Slow Cooker

One of the easiest ways to prepare a meal is to use a slow cooker. These are affordable brand new at department stores or even your local grocery store. You can throw in your meats and vegetables with some of the spices you grew and let it cook slowly for 4 to 8 hours, depending on the meal. That one meal can last you up to 3 days. You can even freeze some of it for a later date. It’s a great time saver as well, because you don’t have to “babysit” the meal or do anything fancy. You could put the time into making more money, while saving money by preparing your meals from scratch.

3. Microwave

This is the opposite of the slow cooker. While not as affordable, it still saves you money because you can also prepare meals from scratch, but at a faster rate. You can warm up your leftovers or pull meals out of the freezer and heat them in the microwave. Even when you factor in the costs of electricity, you still save more money using the microwave to prepare or heat meals than you would buying meals from a store or restaurant.

4. Food Processor

If you have an infant, you don’t have to worry about spending money on prepared baby foods that cost a lot of money. You can prepare your own baby foods from scratch using a food processor. Throw in meats, fruits or vegetables, a little bit of water (although not necessary) and puree the meal to the consistency you want for your baby. You can buy fruits and vegetables at a farmer’s market or supermarket and still get a much cheaper deal than buying processed baby food.

5. Coffee Maker

One of the most frivolous things you can spend your money on is coffee from a local coffee stand. If you put the money you spend on coffee daily into a jar, you’d probably be able to save 3 months living expenses within 2 years or less. Rather than go out daily to buy coffee, buy your own coffee maker and brew it at home. Store bought coffee may not be comparable, but it is decent. You may be able to find great coffee beans online for much cheaper as well. In that case, you’ll need to add a coffee grinder to your list, or buy a coffee maker that comes with one.

It does you no good to buy these kitchen tools and not know how to use them. There are free recipes and tutorials online to help you learn how to use each effectively. It’s worth your time to learn these skills because of the money you’ll save in the long run.