A $50 grocery budget can last you a long time at a major retailer—assuming you know which purchases won’t eat up the budget quickly.
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For this roundup, GOBankingRates shopped Walmart’s in-house grocery brand, Great Value, to keep costs low and priced each item on Walmart’s website. Our total spend on 12 groceries was $35.83, keeping spending under the limit and leaving extra room for taxes. In our selections in this roundup, we also tried to avoid food waste where possible and highlight foods with the most mealtime versatility.
Ready to shop? Here’s what should be on your Walmart shopping list if you’re on a $50 budget.
Inexpensive complete mix for pancakes and waffles
Pancakes are not only an inexpensive breakfast, they also fill you up.
At just under $2 a package, add Great Values Pancake and Waffle Mix to your Walmart shopping cart. If your household doesn’t eat that many pancakes, you can use it to make waffles, too.
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Affordable orange juice in country style
Get vitamin C without spending a fortune by purchasing inexpensive country-style orange juice.
This was one of Great Value’s most affordable and healthiest beverage options – and cheaper than the Tropicana brand, which retails at Walmart for about $6.64.
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Great, sweet, unsalted butter
Whether you’re cooking pasta for dinner or baking something, don’t start until you have enough butter.
Great Value Unsalted Sweet Cream Butter costs $4.47 per package, $1.70 less than the Land O’Lakes brand of butter sold at Walmart.
Inexpensive, extra spicy cheddar cheese
Why do we recommend buying a block of Great Value Sharp Cheddar Cheese at Walmart? Aside from its versatility and great price, this cheddar cheese comes in a block, so you can slice and shred it as you please.
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Affordable white jumbo eggs from free range
For all your breakfast, baking, and breakfast-for-dinner needs, eggs are a must-have for your grocery budget.
A carton of 12 Great Value free-range eggs costs about $4.66 at Walmart, which works out to about 39 cents per egg.
Affordable 1% low-fat milk
Shopping for milk can be expensive, but Great Value 1% Low Fat Milk is one of the cheapest prices we’ve seen at Walmart for a gallon of milk at $3.42.
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Original macaroni and cheese at a good price
You’ve bought the milk, now it’s time to add a box or two of Great Value macaroni and cheese to your cart.
This best-seller is even cheaper to shop for than the Kraft brand at Walmart: 68 cents compared to $1.24 at Kraft per blue box.
Inexpensive white bread
Save money without sacrificing taste by purchasing white bread from Great Value for just under $1.50 per loaf. Walmart also carries brands like Wonder Bread, which costs $2.92 per loaf.
At this price, you’ll save more money by purchasing two loaves of Great Value bread than by purchasing just one loaf of Wonder Bread.
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Creamy peanut butter with great value for money
If you’re low on peanut butter, swap out a more expensive brand for Great Value Creamy Peanut Butter. In comparison, a jar of Jif Creamy Peanut Butter in the same 16-ounce size costs $1.38 more at Walmart.
Frozen mixed vegetables
As much as we hate to admit it, there are few purchases that eat up a $50 grocery budget faster than fresh produce. If you’re making soups or stir-fries for dinner, add a bag of Great Value frozen mixed vegetables to your Walmart cart.
They cost just $1.08 per bag and are packed with carrots, corn, green beans and peas. And best of all, whatever you don’t use up can be stored in your freezer for later.
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Inexpensive breaded fish fingers
As with the frozen vegetables, we decided to include Great Value breaded fish sticks in this selection instead of fresh fish to save money and avoid potential food waste.
And if you’re wondering why we chose fish sticks over other frozen meats like chicken, it was intentional. According to Prevention, frozen fish sticks provide 51% of your daily vitamin E needs.
Affordable frozen pizza with rising crust and pepperoni
What would a grocery budget be without a simple cheat meal?
On those days when you don’t feel like cooking and know ordering in would be too expensive, Great Value’s Frozen Pepperoni Pizza with Rising Crust is a savior. At just under $4 per pizza, it’s significantly cheaper than ordering in pizza and will feed the household just as much.
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This article originally appeared on GOBankingRates.com: 12 Top Items You Can Buy at Walmart on a $50 Grocery Budget
