I operate on a budget. Every 2 weeks I take a set amount of money out of the bank to buy groceries. Unless we are traveling or celebrating something I’ve been fairly successful in the past at staying on budget:
- I don’t buy: cookies, chips, juice, candy, or individually sized snacks.
I try to plan my meals based on what’s on special. I buy what we use regularly when it’s on sale.
I am not afraid of store brands. As a matter of fact, there are a few things that I prefer to the national brands, and a whole lot of things that I can’t tell the difference on.
I go to a couple of different stores (all within 1/4 mile of each other) to shop sales.
I make a list and try my best to plan my meals.
I try to shop alone or just with the baby. This reduces impulse buys.
I try not to shop on the weekends, when the lines are long and the aisles crowded.
I use cash. Not a check, not a debit card, and definitely not a credit card.
Oh, and of course I avoid the market when I’m hungry.
So everything was going well and I’m doing just ducky when BAM! Suddenly every cycle I am running out of money or struggling to stay within my budget. What the…? I’ve been watching our habits and have noticed the following is true:
The more I focus on eating healthfully, the longer my receipt is. I attribute this to a few different things. We always eat a lot of fresh fruit and veggies, but I buy more variety and more volume when I am trying to stay on a weight loss plan. I also revisit my cookbooks which means I am trying these great new meals (this week we had Paella, Linguine with Garlicky Shrimp and Fresh Tomatoes, and Brown Rice and Edamame Salad with Ginger Lime Dressing) which means I am buying items not usually on my list.
We are going through a gallon of milk about every day and 1/4. Milk prices have skyrocketed to $4.20 a gallon for Hood. This means that I could be spending almost $50 on milk over a 2 week period. Thankfully, I’ve found that most gas stations sell milk at almost a dollar less per gallon for Hood! So I am spending about $74 a month or $888 a year on milk (a savings, mind you, of $312 per year if I bought at the market).
We are also eating a loaf of whole grain bread every 2 days.
We are eating between 4-8 apples every day.
We eat at least 5 bananas a day.
Berries of any kind come in single serving containers…. even if they are 5 lb boxes.
The fact of the matter is that my kids are getting bigger and they are eating more. I want their overall diet to be nutrient rich and healthful. I want them to develop healthy attitudes towards food and learn to enjoy treats in moderation. However, I want to cut back where it makes sense and be smart about how I’m allocating my food dollars.
So here I sit, looking at expenditures, balancing needs and wants (the Simple Dollar has a good article on Separating Wants from Needs), thinking about how I can save on groceries (Thrifty Mommy has some great stuff on this, too), and wondering if there are worthwhile tools to help meet my goals (could My Grocery Deals save me a few bucks in the long run?). Can I buy local milk from a farm for what I am spending now? Is it simply time to readjust our budget?
What’s your food budget approach? What works for you? Do you wing it, is your list always the same? Do you track what you spend?
[tags] grocery shopping, food, meal planning, coupons, budgeting, food budget, parenting, feeding kids[/tags]
Photo graciously provided by jimmywayne22, used under a Creative Commons License.
15 responses so far ↓
Monika // May 9, 2007 at 9:57 am
Some things that might help:
I am usually able to find milk for $2/gall on sale somewhere in Chicago.
I have a freezer in my basement and buy all my bread at the Brownberry outlet for $1-$2 a loaf. Each time I go, I buy 15-20 loaves and freeze. The store is not all that far away, but I stop at a couple stores a week, so it is just more convenient to go a few times a year.
I shop for produce at produce stores instead of the grocery store. Deli is 1/2 the price of at the grocery store and I try to buy the fruit that is around $1/lb or less.
I buy frozen berries at Costco, Trader Joe’s, or aldi. I buy the fresh berries when they are on sale, and I end up freezing some of those too.
I also plan my meals, and plan for days when we only eat leftovers, so less food gets wasted.
I am a big fan of shopping at ALdi. the quality is good for basic things (cottage cheese, shredded cheese, cereal, ketchup, etc) I am continually amazed at how much I spend at the regular grocery store for so little, now that I am used to doing a lot of my shopping at Aldi.
I scan the ads and clip coupons and try to only buy things at the grocery store when they are on sale and I have a coupon.
I find these things save me a lot of money on groceries.
I do also use a credit card, but mostly only for gas and groceries, bc I get 5% back from gas, grocery and drug stores. I am pretty disciplined about my spending, so I think the rebates are worthwhile.
Rob // May 9, 2007 at 11:12 am
I can’t believe we eat a loaf of bread every day and spend almost $900 on milk a year.
I like the freeze the bread idea. We do have a freezer and a bread outlet nearby.
I also like how well (and by that I mean healthy) we eat and that our children ask for fruit for a snack.
thordora // May 9, 2007 at 1:27 pm
oh gawd I’m terrible…. I’ve been trying to find a way to stick within the budget, but man….it’s HARD up here! Chicken alone is 7.99/LB, bread is a 1.50 a loaf-I have my brother go to Aldi across the river from where he lives and bring me stuff back. Even with the exchange most stuff is cheaper.
We easily do 325CDN every two weeks, not counting the incidentals at the market and through the week. It doesn’t help that my husband almost refuses to cook. Doesn’t stop him from complaining about the bill though.
Any suggestions on how to transition to a strict budget? Keep in mind we don’t have the same coupon things going on up here-I’m also limited by not having a car, so I can’t skip around to different stores. I hate spending this much on food!
Stu Mark // May 9, 2007 at 2:54 pm
Being on a budget can be hard on the satisfaction index. One way we counter that is for me to cook large one-dish meals. I make jambalaya or tuna casserole or whatever, and it’s good for four or five days.
Another way to satisfy my gang’s desire for variety is recipe links, like this one, for 5 ingredient meals http://busycooks.about.com/library/recipes/blfiveingred.htm
Wasn’t there one where you type in what you have in the pantry and they give you recipes that contain just those ingredients? I know there are recipe sites that give you ideas based on a few ingredients, but they add extra ingredients, and sometimes I don’t have those in the house.
Karen is Thrifty // May 9, 2007 at 7:34 pm
Hi Megin. Thanks for linking to Thrifty Mommy.
I have to confess that I do not have a grocery budget. It seems that in my mind I have an amount that I can spend. Some weeks I only spend $30 because there just aren’t any good sales. This may happen for several weeks, but then I’ll go and spend $100 a different week. The $100 shopping trip was this week when I finally made a trip to Wal-Mart, which I rarely do. When I go to WM I try to stock up on things.
Since summer is coming around, you might want to try some local farmers for your fruits and vegetables.
You may have to adjust your grocery budget some since your kids are getting bigger and eat more. I’m sure you’ll tweak the numbers and figure out what’s best for your family.
Megin Hatch // May 10, 2007 at 5:03 am
Monika- I can not believe that you can get milk for $2 a gallon. That’s more than 1/2 of what I’ve been paying in the market. I think I will stop at the bread outlet in town and see what’s what. We don’t have Aldi or TJs- but I stop at TJs about every 6 weeks or so (2 states away). Shopping sales is definitely a must, and we have leftovers for lunch or for dinner, too. Thanks so much for your tips.
Rob- I liked your buying a cow idea. I wonder how the neighbor will feel about that.
Thordora- My suggestion for starting a budget is to track your spending for at least a week- but a month might be more telling. Are you buying too much junk? Are you throwing away leftovers? Start really paying attention to what a good deal is. For example, chicken is 7.99- is there a particular store that offers decent specials? If you can’t go from store to store, look for which store is better for your perishables. Make that your weekly shopping and then hit whichever store is better for non perishables every couple of weeks. I honestly rarely use coupons because I so often buy the store brand.
Stu- Yeah, crock pot meals are also great for multi-meals. I usually do 2 or 3 times what we eat in a meal and then freeze the extras. These save me when my $$ gets low!
Karen- I have to admit I am shocked! LOL- I figured you would have a very clear budget! I can’t imagine a $30 grocery week. Holy Cow. That’s proof that you keep a very well stocked pantry and freezer!
I am definitely going to look into local farmers markets and stands for my produce (and my milk). I wish we had a CSA close by… but we don’t.
I’m not ready to give up on my budget yet, I am going to try and cut back where I can and see if I can make it work!
Thanks for all of your input. Sometimes it feel like we’re the only budget conscious folks around, so it’s good to hear you all are aware, too.
MC Milker // May 10, 2007 at 5:12 am
Actually, it may not be just your habits. You may have noticed that food prices are going up, driven by a combination of weather and gasoline prices.
holly // May 10, 2007 at 5:47 am
Good topic.
I wrote about this a while back on my blog as I’m having such difficulty sticking to a grocery budget and food is a huge stressor each month. Here’s the post: http://humptydumptyhouse.blogspot.com/2007/04/how-much-does-it-cost-to-feed-family-of.html
The hyperlinks I had put it got lost in some reformatting, but definitely check this photo essay out in the Walrus - http://www.walrusmagazine.com/articles/2007.01-photo-essay-our-weekly-bread
I don’t know how to feed a family of four reasonably. When I talk to other families about their food budgets, they seem amazed that I even attempt to feed our family on $125 a week.
Karen is Thrifty // May 10, 2007 at 11:17 am
MC, You’re right. The price of a lot of stuff goes up along with gas prices. Almost everything is affected by it.
Megin, I know it is probably shocking that I don’t have a grocery budget. I could probably benefit from it. You’re right though, I do have a well stocked pantry and freezer. My husband complains because we have “17 boxes of cereal!”. LOL I tell him it was buy 1 get 1 free and we’ll use it when there aren’t any cereal sales. When we went to Wal-Mart last weekend he start putting all this frozen stuff in the buggy. I told him he’d have to put some back because there wasn’t room. lol
Revka at http://www.ourfamilyporch.blogspot.com gets a cow every year. Someone in her family raises them. She says the meat is so lean that she doesn’t even have to drain the hamburger. Makes me wish someone in my family had a farm.
Revka // May 10, 2007 at 12:26 pm
Hi, I’m here because I saw a referral in my stats, but I see that my friend Karen beat me here and is the reason.
About the cow, my husband’s grandfather raises cattle specifically for our consumption. He keeps a small herd of no more than 10 cows and slaughters 1 or 2 bulls each year. The cows get to live as long as they keep having calves. PaPa pays for the expenses associated with raising the cows, and the other families pay for the slaughtering and dressing. It only costs $200 to slaughter a cow here so with four families chipping in we only pay $50 for all the beef (hamburger, roasts, steaks, cube steak, however we want it cut) we can use. One cow usually lasts all year, and, oh, boy, you’d better believe the meat is superior! Eating store-bought meat sickens me now because it is so greasy in comparison to the homegrown meat.
You can probably call slaughter houses for more information. I’m sure that someone sells slaughtered cows to the public.
Revka // May 10, 2007 at 12:28 pm
BTW, the grocery budget for our family of five is $150 for 2 weeks, and that includes household items. We don’t always make the budget, but a good percentage of the time we do. I know the beef supply helps.
Lamonica // May 14, 2007 at 10:13 pm
One thing we’ve been doing is utilizing the Angel Food Ministry at a church near our home. They have participating churches all over the U.S. and the food has been a good quality. Granted, there’s sometimes quite a bit of processed food included in the package, but for $25 you get a big box of goodies. You can go to the AngelFoodMinistries.com website and check out the menu for each month and which local churches are participating. We’ve been planning many of our meals (our family of 4, soon to be 5) around what we get in the Angel Food box and then just add vegetables and side dishes. It’s worth checking out as I’ve been spending less than $300 a month on groceries lately, which is pretty good, I think, considering we eat out at least a couple times a week (fast food lunch, etc.) with this money, too.
Lamonica
tanyetta // May 14, 2007 at 11:26 pm
i’m currently going through our fridge, freezer and pantry making sure to eat up everything before i do any major shopping!
we are a family of 4 and our budget is about $500 a month. i’m sure i can dwindle it down to $400 if i stopped buying junk (juice and snack packs)
Thrifty Karen // Sep 16, 2007 at 11:58 am
I just did a post on coupons because I subscribed to the Sunday paper, finally. I’m ready to participate in The Grocery Game now that I have my coupons. I’ll post about how it goes. I’ve heard the savings are amazing.
Montoya5 // Aug 23, 2008 at 11:10 am
I love reading all the great ideas here. My husband just got on to me bc we have been spending 500.00 a month. This includes HBA/disposable diapers/cleaning/laundry pretty much everything. I felt like that was reasonable, but he wants me to cut that down. So I am looking for any new ideas. I already plan my meals for 2 weeks and do 1 big shop twice a month. What now?
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