When bulk packs of bone-in skin-on chicken thighs are on sale I get 4-5 and put them in the chest freezer. Now that it's just me and the hubby at home (daughter away at college) I can roast them in the oven over the weekend and use the meat in recipes through the week.
I'm buying half beefs from a farmer so I don't have to pay high grocery store prices, the quality of what I get is better, and I have it cut & packaged to my specs. For instance, the roasts are 2-3 lb so the fit into my Instant Pot easily. It hurts to pay for that all at once but it means when 80/20 ground beef is "on sale" for $4.99/lb I laugh.
Pork loin was just on sale so I bought a few and dropped them in the freezer. Otherwise I wait for butt roasts to go on sale, slow roast them in the oven, and portion the cooked meat out for later use which then goes in the freezer.
I stay out of the center aisles and make more stuff from scratch. The exception is pizza - I'll get a frozen "meaty" one on sale w/ coupon for $3-4 and add extra tomato, green pepper, black olives, and shredded cheese of my own. The same pizza delivered would be $25.
Menus for the week are based on what's on sale. If there's really nothing of note then I raid the freezer for pre-cooked proteins and use them in recipes.
We don't eat potato chips or other salty snacks. If I want to snack I make air-pop popcorn which thankfully is still pretty inexpensive.
No more "ready to drink" tea or soft drinks, we make iced tea using tea bags. No more soda, no ice cream, no cookies, no candy.
My spice collection has expanded to include curry powder, garam masala, etc. and the pantry has more Asian sauces so I can make stir fry and curries at home. These recipes are easy to play with and very forgiving so I'm having fun with them.