I am completely obsessed with lowering my grocery bill and wonder how others are doing it.
We had a surprise expenditure in March that shocked me into reality about how much I am blowing on convenience food (takeout from Panera and other places) and not having a plan before going to the grocery store. I was totally shocked when I added up our food expenditures for March. I included grocery store purchases, takeout meals, a few meals out, and my husband's lunches out during his workday and the figure was nearly $2,000 for my husband and me, and our 12 and 14 year old kids. Granted, I have never been budget minded, have rarely thought or planned dinners ahead, have rarely gone to the store with a list, and pretty much always ended up buying many things I don't need.
So far this month I've spent less than half of what I normally would by planning dinners ahead and shopping with a list and buying ONLY what's on the list. I refuse to scrimp on health, though... I buy organic and local whenever possible. But I'm skipping the convenience items (like frozen organic burritos for the kids lunches--they are expensive) and take out. We're vegetarians, so I don't have the expense of any meat, fish, or foul, but fresh fruit and vegetables aren't cheap. I make my own bread and yogurt and we eat a lot of grains, beans, pasta, and nuts. I don't buy things with artificial ingredients or high-fructose corn syrup. Unfortunately healthier food costs more, and again, I just will not scrimp on my and my family's health.
I think I'm on the right track, but I know I can do more. Summer will be better when local produce can be bought inexpensively from farm stands and farmer's markets. In the mean time, I'm not buying packaged cereals (again, expensive!) and instead am cooking up oats for breakfast. I'm baking a lot of different kinds of muffins for snacks, and trying to use up what's in the fridge and the cupboards before I shop. Fortunately our kids like healthy food, too.
What does everyone else do to save money or stick to a food budget each month? Maybe if we share tips for saving money and healthy eating we will help each other stay on track.
I certainly don't want to sound harsh, but perhaps you need to look at the nutritional value you are getting from Panera and other take out places. I think the extra money you're spending on organic and whole foods (which are good) is being wasted when you add up the junk you're getting with the take out. You are putting so much effort into feeding your family healthy stuff, and then having a couple meals per week that are less than healthy. I think you could save a lot of money if you skip the take out, and then relax a little (only a little) on the groceries. I can only guess that you would find you are getting healthier meals (averaged thru the whole week) for less money.
We're a family of six and with eating out and groceries we spend probably about $1,500.00 per month. I find it's cheaper for the kids to buy their lunches at school, but thankfully they prefer to take their lunch. I think the best advice I have for saving money is to buy in bulk when items are on sale, use coupons and don't buy it if you don't really need it. As long as it's non-perishable I'll buy 10-20 of the same thing when it's on sale. If you keep a regular eye on the grocery fliers you'll see that most things go on sale every few weeks so when you buy a bunch of one thing when it's on sale you won't have to buy more in the non-sale weeks. Plus when you buy in bulk you don't have to worry about running out of things. At any given time my pantry probably has enough non-perisable stuff in it to make about 20 complete meals.
Hi! I don't know what I spend a month but I do have a few tips. 1. I make my own pancakes and muffins and freeze them for a quick breakfast. 2. I make cookies and snacks and place in small snack or sandwich bags for additions to bagged lunches. 3. I make extra for dinner and fill divided plastic containers that microwave well with the leftovers for my husbands and my lunches. Hope this is helpful.
My husband and I just recommited to our household budgut. For the Month of Feb we didn't change any of our spending habits, we just kept every reciept and entered them into the excell budget that my husband has created. Wow we were shocked at how out of control our spending had gotten. So back on the budget wagon we go!
I was able to cut our monthly grocery bill by a third...
On Thursday, the day before I shop, I clean out the fridge, and reorganize the pantry. Then I sit down and look through the grocery adds. After that I make a weekly Menu. Lastly I make my grocery list. I am now grocery shopping once a week! The best part is that for the last month and a half I have not run out of anything that I need and my meals are alot more creative!
That is the FLYLady way to shop! flylady.net
I just made a batch of peanut butter balls healthy, cheap, and yummy!
$2,000--WOW! That is a lot! We usually spend about $600.00 at the grocery store each month and about another $200.00 on dinner/lunches out--so that makes it $800.00.
I too buy lots of fresh fruits and veggies--I usually scimp on the cost of non food items at the store. I do always plan meals ahead and always go to the store with a list--it does help. I get coupons on line too.
Also go on a full stomache and know your local store when they stock and have their specials--it does help:)
Hi LC,
I have a family of 4 and spend about 500.00 a month on groceries. I also try and stay away from anything that is processed. My boys also like healthy fruits, veggies, beans, ect. I always bring a list and go on a full stomach. If it isn't on my list I don't buy it. My boys have even caught on to it. My oldest will tell my youngest that it isn't on our list. It's pretty cute. We used to go out to eat a couple of times a week and I would also stop and get coffee and then I added up what we were spending. I was shocked and cut out all of the things that aren't needed. Good luck.
Chris
I spend about 500 a month to feed a family of 4. I have an infant - eating baby food. and a 2 year old.
Your kids are older and eat more.. but I dont think your food bill shourl be tath muchmore.
It is a great idea to use up what you have.
Also plan a weeks worth of meals and make your grocery list to include the items necessary. Of course you always have the basic staples.. flour sugar canned and frozen veggies..
Wow! $2000 a month for food? That sounds like a lot to me. We are a family of four. My husband, myself, our 5 year old son and 3 year old daughter. I am able to feed our family plus two nephews I watch on weekdays for about $65 a week. My secrets are; coupons, (coupons.com and coolsavings.com are great) buying a lot of the things I use when they go on sale, cooking from scratch, avoiding prepackaged convenience food, I have a large garden where I grow my own fruits and veggies that I also freeze and can at home for the entire year! We order pizza or take out once in awhile, like maybe once a month. We save dinners out for special occasions.
It is all about watching the ads and cutting coupons. You see what is on sale in the circular. Then you see what coupons you have and you make a list. First filling in what you MUST have and then plan a menu around what is on sale and buy only what's on the list. I like to write the price of each item, or what I am willing to spend on a given item, next to each thing on my list so I know exactly what I am going to spend before I even get to the store. You would be surprised how much money you can save if you just do a little homework.
HI LC
We sound like we have the same style of eating. I spend 500.00 or less a month. I cook all our meals, and make a lot of it from scratch. My husband takes his lunch, or can stop home and cook for himself. You can do some pretty fancy things with bean and rice. Like Indian food, I'll send you a recipe.
hey LC D
that sounds like alot of money on food there is seven in my family plus the extra kids i feed ever nite and i only spend eight hundred a month i have 5 girls and husband and at least one of my daughter friends are over ever nite of my life to eat
I'm a grandma and vividly remember the last REAL recession this economy had in the 70's. At the time I was a divorced mom with one child. The popular thing then was "food co-ops". Something I'd like to see come back. Families numbering 25-30, as a group, would rotate 4 or 5 shoppers from that group to purchase fresh produce from Eastern Market. We would barter on case pricing. All the goods were divided up at one of the member's homes with volunteers bagging. The program saved me a lot of money and we ate healthy. However, it is all about cooking at home.
We spend about $500-600 for a 2 adults and 1 baby eating table food.. that includes eating out. We eat out maybe 2x a month.
I plan all of our meals and make a grocery list.
First, what is a reasonable budget is going to be different for each family because many factors enter in: monthly income, allergies, likes/dislikes, what is already on hand, how busy the family is, etc.
Secondly, I am working on asking God to help me with this myself so what I am telling you is also being listened to by myself. Pray before you spend any/all money whether it be by credit card, debit card, check-book, or cash, etc. Ask God what would HE wants you to spend and on what.
Thirdly, go through all your cupboards, refrigerator, freezer, any place you store food, and take a written inventory of of what you have (good idea to do this with laundry soap, shampoo/conditioner, toilet paper, i.e. non-food items). I have often bought things I forgot I had and therefore wasted money on them. Some things were so old I had to throw them away and that wastes money as well. If you keep a written inventory in your purse at all times, then when you shop you can see what you have and actually need. My mother in law always keeps a note under a magnet on the kitchen refrigerator that she writes down whatever she uses the last of and then she knows she needs to replace it when she shops again.
We buy all our fresh produce at the low-cost grocery stores in our area because they cost less there unless something is on a sale at the name-brand grocery stores. In my area they are called Aldi and Save-A-Lot. I see people with very expensive vehicles at these stores because they have discovered how cheap fresh fruits and vegetables are there.
If you have a bread store in your area, sometimes it is cheaper to buy your breads there. They are not fresh but if you can get used to bread that is a little firmer, they are just fine. This day-old bread makes even better french toast and bread crumbs than the fresh bread.
The only draw back to shopping at Save-A-Lot and Aldi is that you have to bag your own groceries. They have a counter you can easily do this at. You can take your own grocery bags with you or buy some there. We save so much money at these two stores that it is worth the inconvenience of bagging our own groceries. They sell even some name-brand foods at lower prices than the regular grocery stores. Check them out. You may get a pleasant surprise.
Also, most stores have marked-down produce somewhere in the store and you can save money buying them. Sometimes it requires you cut off a little bruise area or spoiled area, but most of it is good and they lower the price to sell it quickly.
Our family is low income and we used to only spend about $300 a month on an expensive month for three of us. We don't eat much and many months it was only about $200 and that is with meat. If you change your thinking you can save lots of money with some practice. It just takes time to change over how you think.
When I recently began tracking my monthly grocery expenditures I also was appalled - we were at around $1,200 a month, which I knew was just ridiculous. So I began the envelope system. Last month was our first month on it; I began the month with $800 cash from the bank and kept it in an envelope in the kitchen. The idea behind the envelope system is you spend less if you use cash instead of a debit card or check and you're more aware so you can stop impulse buys. It worked pretty well although we also use our cash for gas money too so this month I began with $900. I've read it can take a couple of months to figure out exactly how much I need for the budget but I can see where it works! I use this for all things bought at Sam's Costco and the grocery store so this ends up covering dog food and even laundry soap.
Like others said, I also stock up when things are on sale often buying the full 10 items on a 10 for 10 (that I know my family will use). For other big families who eat meat - I also have found a farm and buy half a cow and half a pig every year so except for chicken and fish I've cut meat out of my budget. You end up paying around $1.50 a pound for even the porterhouse steaks that way.
I also started taking a lunch to work - I was finding that by eating out I was spending between 5 and 10 bucks a night at work and I was getting bored with the menus. Good luck!
Your grocery budget can be as high or as low as you want it to be! Back "in the day," there were 3 adults and 1 child in our house and I fed us all on $25.00 a week. I'm not cheap lol, we seriously had no money. I poured over the local grocery store ad and made up healthy meals based on what was on sale. I bought as much fresh as I could and lots of bagged frozen chicken breast. So, whatever you set your budget to be, you can do it!
I've had this same problem. I found that canned items are really expensive. I was buying a lot of canned beans and such but switched to dry because cans add up. Also, where do shop? Harvest Health is generally more expensive than meijer but some things are actually cheaper! Rice milk is cheaper at Harvest Health - and some of Meijer brand organic items are actually kind of expensive. Do some research. I can usually keep our grocery bill around $400 but we only have one child and she's two. I think the main thing would be to cut way back on take out and snacks - that's what'll get you. Good luck!
Hi LC D--I just read in the paper that a family of four averages $900 per month on food, but I can't remember whether or not it included eating out. One of the easiets ways to reduce spending is to not purchase convenience foods, healthy and organic or not. Having said that, I do like to have a few convenience things in the freezer for emergencies, but I only purchase those when on sale. As others have suggested, make extras when cooking and then freeze leftovers for another meal when not used for lunches the next day. Also, consider reducing the amount of animal protein you eat. I am not a vegetarian, but I am intentional about eating more meatless meals. Purchase organic animal products only. They are more expensive but you should be eating less of them for optimal health so your expenses should actually go down. I have lots of other tips so feel free to contact me if you would like them. In health, Diane
I just want to say you are doing beautifully!
Just the commitment to organics, local produce and reducing/eliminating boxed anything from the stores sets you miles apart from most.
It helps to have the kids help you in the kitchen as they really love to create and it is so bonding at any age.
Cook in double batches so you don't feel like you're in the kitchen 24/7.
It's also fun to find new recipes and cookbooks to keep things interesting for your family.
Give yourself a pat on the back for a stellar job!
Warmly,
Cheryl