If you’re strapped for cash, it’s easy to feel like seafood is a luxury you can’t afford. While you may not be able to eat it three times a day, here are some ways to afford seafood on a limited grocery budget:

Only Buy What’s On Sale – When I teach people how to reduce their grocery bill, one of the very first things I suggest is practicing the “Buy Ahead” principle. By that, I mean, making an effort to stock up on items you regularly use when they are at their lowest prices.

Think about it: if you stocked up on the majority of your groceries when they were on sale for 40-50% off, you’d definitely reduce your grocery bill over the long haul, wouldn’t you?

Seafood routinely goes on sale and stores usually have the best sales around Lent. Stock your freezer and then enjoy eating your deeply discounted seafood for the next few months!

Choose Wallet-Friendly Fish – Substitute expensive seafood – like halibut and sea bass – for less-expensive fish with similar tastes and textures. Tilapia and cod are great choices for a small budget.

Look for Markdowns – Our grocery stores have sections in the meat department where meat that is almost to the sell-by date is tagged with a reduced sticker. I often find tilapia marked down for 30-50% off the regular price. Provided it looks good and is at least 24 hours away from the sell-by date, it is perfectly useable. Just pop it in the freezer if you’re not planning to use it within the next 12 hours and you have fish at a bargain!

Use Coupons – There are often coupons available for brands like SeaPak. If you’re already going to be buying the product, it’s a no-brainer to clip and use the coupons available. I recommend hanging onto the coupon and pairing it with a sale – to get an even better deal!

Learn to Stretch – Who says you have to eat five pounds of seafood every time you serve it? Smaller amounts of something delicious don’t take away the delicious factor, but it does mean a much smaller hit to your pocketbook.

Consider serving seafood on a salad or with pasta, think of it more as a “condiment” – not as the main thing you’re eating at the meal. Get creative in the kitchen and you can likely make your seafood purchases go a lot farther. Get started by trying one of these easy shrimp or seafood recipes!

Crystal Paine is a wife, homeschooling mom of three and bargain-finder extraordinaire. Visit her blog, MoneySavingMom.com, to learn practical tips to find great deals, stretch your hard-earned dollars, and live on less than you make so you can save more and give more.