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Our grocery spending is never the same from month to month and I’m always going over budget. Yes, compared to four years ago, it’s reduced by over 50% but I’m still not happy with what we spend, what we eat and what we waste. I feel that we can do so much more to cut costs and improve the quality of our food choices. So here’s what I’m doing to get it under control:
To cut costs I’m updating our price book and taking advantage of all the supermarkets I have available to me by stockpiling items when they are on sale.
To make our meals simple and healthy I’m learning to cook everything from scratch and cutting the junk from our diet.
To eliminate waste I’m sticking to our menu plan and only buying the right amount of fresh items.
What are you doing to keep your grocery budget in check?
{photo credit: nataliemaynor}
{ 8 comments… read them below or add one }
Love the picture – just makes you want to eat healthy, doesn’t it?
One thing I do is check in every week with my food budget instead of every month. It is really easy to go over on grocery spending, especially if you entertain a few times or cook a special meal. We may have a pretty fabulous week followed by a soup/stew week to make up the difference, but it all events out at the end of the month.
I don’t know if you have grocery delivery available where you are, but that is also a huge timesaver and money saver. No last-minute purchases that are not on the list if you are ordering by computer! We use Amazon Fresh.
You can do this. It took me some time to adjust to a grocery budget when we stopped eating out so much, but eventually I got the hang of it. Good luck!
Betsy Talbot´s last blog ..Making money off your junk
I operate on a “cash basis” for groceries- that is about the best tip I have and I often have no spending days where it´s a combination of being too lazy to go to the shops and also trying to see if I can make a meal for the family with what I have around. Money staying in purse is very satisfying!
RML – Being More Through Having Less´s last blog ..Who is this girl?
Sounds like you have a good handle on things. Like you, I have made significant savings (from £400 to £200 per month) but feel I could do better.
One thing I’m going to investigate is online shopping. You pay for delivery, but I’m wondering if it will help manage the whole process better and prevent waste? Anyone have any insights on this?
Sounds like a good plan! Loved your Christmas post too. On the food front, I’ve actually started a Shoestring Food page on my blog. If you feel like adding anything to it let me know!
Shoestring´s last blog ..Getting organised (again)
In order to stay on my food budget, I allow myself to spend only a certain amount per week on groceries. I also have a meal menu and of course, I search for as many coupons as I can find. This has definitely helped me stay on a budget. I loved hearing your ideas as well. Thanks!
Netanya
Money Hackers Blog Ambassador
RML – I’d be afraid to shop on a cash basis. I can see it… up at the register, watching the total, anxiety is building, “total is $148.59″ the clerk says. You pull out your bill fold and hand over th $150 in your wallet. *woosh* close call. LOL. but you can’t overspend that way!
Laura, I want to know how the cooking from scratch is going? If you like healthy, try 101 cookbooks. Heidi’s stuff is to yummy!
As for the budget, we limit our Costco trips to 1x every 5wks. Our average for that store stays the same as we always pick up the same stuff. The average stays the same for the grocery store, too. I think its just due to buying the same thing. I know not very creative. But it works for keepin the budget down.
Money Funk´s last blog ..Homemade Cleaning Recipes
It’s admirable how much effort you put into this. I always have a list when I go shopping but I’ve managed to cut my costs by about 25% over the last few months by being more ‘aware’ when I’m shopping. I try to cook from scratch as much as possible and do baking when time permits but menu planning seems quite daunting and restricting. I may try it sometime though as I can’t knock it until I’ve tried.
Teresa´s last blog ..How Can Two Days be So Different
I have such a hard time with this. We live so far from town, not to mention that I really hate going to the market, that I try to keep shopping trips to a minimum. But that means I usually end up buying produce too far in advance, and then I have spoilage and waste.