Grocery shopping.  The bane of our existence.  We create a menu, prep the shopping list, go to the store, stand in line, unload the groceries, eat the food, then start all over again!  It’s exhausting!  What if there was a way to immediately simplify your life simply by freezing food to save money?

If you:

• hate grocery shopping,
• love saving money,
• want to make meals ahead of time (freezer meals) and
• enjoy having a buffer of food in your home, you need to have an upright freezer.  

If you don’t have an upright freezer, you are really missing out! 

I grew up in a home that never utilized an additional freezer. My mom was:

• at the store at least once a week,
• we never made meals ahead of time,
• we constantly ran out of food and
• I had to listen to my dad complain about how much we were spending on groceries.

All of those issues could have been solved if we had an additional freezer to utilize aside from our normal freezer/fridge combo.

How do you use an upright freezer?

This is not complicated, I promise.  Just put things in the freezer to help them last longer.  It’s super simple. There is no magic formula for what items you should have in your freezer because every family is different.

Honestly, the goal is for the freezer to allow you to be a bit lazy.  Sounds nice, right? That’s why I love mine! I can freeze it and forget about it!

How having an upright freezer has changed my life:

We had an upright freezer since we were married, but I don’t think I truly understood its awesomeness until a few years ago.  

Because we have an upright freezer I have been able to:

• Meal prep 60 meals before having both of our children.
• Integrate freezer meals into our daily cooking and always have 2-3 on hand.
• Buy extra staple items every month to build up a buffer.
• Cut our grocery budget from $600/month to $300/month.
• Stock up on freezable items when they are on sale.
• Only grocery shop once a month.  Seriously, one time for the whole month.

If you don’t currently have an upright freezer, it can seem like a huge investment to get one.  I promise you won’t regret getting one and you will make your money back instantly by how much you will save on groceries.  This is not rocket science. Anyone can get the benefits of an upright freezer.

If you are really hesitant to commit to a full-sized freezer, or maybe you don’t have the room for it, you could also try to start with a smaller version.  I tend to have the mindset of if you are going to buy a freezer, just get the best kind instead of spending half the money on something you may need to replace anyways.  

What kinds of food can you freeze?

In short, basically everything.

Here are things I freeze on a regular basis:

Meat:

• Ground beef
• Hamburger Patties
• Hotdogs
• Brats
• Bacon
• Pork Chops
• Steaks
• Roasts
• Sliced lunch meat (deli meat)
• Chicken breasts
• Chicken nuggets

Cheese:

• Sliced cheese
• Block cheese
• Shredded cheese
• Cream cheese

Bread:

• Bread Loaves
• Hamburger Buns
• Hotdog Buns
• Garlic cheesy bread
• Tortillas
• Pancakes (hundreds….seriously, for my kids for breakfast)

Vegetables:

• Pretty much any vegetable – I will dice onions, green peppers, etc. in bulk and freeze them for use.
• Bags of frozen veggies (broccoli, mixed, carrots, corn, etc.)
• Hashbrowns

Fruit:

• Bags of frozen fruit

Baked goods:

• Chocolate chips
• Marshmallows
• Cookies
• Loaves of bread
• Muffins

Other:

• Orange juice (in cartons)
• Freezer Meals
• Pizza
• Ice cream/popsicles

Those are the main things you will find in my freezer.

Once you start utilizing an upright freezer, your entire world will just open up.  You no longer have to worry about dating on food. You don’t have to spend half your life at the grocery store, you don’t have to defend how much you spent on groceries for the month.

If you want to get started Meal Planning to save even more money, check out our Meal Plan by Theme and Monthly Meal Plan Calendar!  They’re FREE when you sign up below!

This is my favorite freezer!

As a bonus:

If you really want to take control of your grocery budget, meal planning will be the next thing you should do.  It is super easy and your freezer will help you become a meal planning pro in no time!

Related Posts:

What’s for Dinner?  How to Easily Plan a Month of Meals

Meal Planning for Beginners:  6 Reasons to Start Meal Planning Today

Monthly Meal Plan on a Budget:  Less Than $100 for Dinners for a Family of 4

The Life Saving 12-Week Rotating Meal Plan

What’s stopping you from getting an upright freezer??  

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