Our Grocery Budget For The New Year

I run a very tight ship when it comes to grocery shopping and meal preparation.  By most people's standards we have a miniscule amount of money budgeted for food.  Some people would find it nearly impossible to feed a family of three for so little but we manage to do it and do it quite well. 

I have a formula.  I spend $33 per person plus an additional $25 per adult (or teen 16 and over) to stock up on sales items. 

3 people X $33 = $99 rounded up to $100 (it's just easier that way) + $25 

$125 per month 

A few years ago I bumped the budget up to $150 per month because it seemed the cost of groceries had gone up so much and I felt that after ten years I should probably make an adjustment.  Last year I ended up putting it back because I was overstocking the house with food. 

When we were getting ready to move out of our house I actually had to put a moratorium on grocery shopping.  We ate from our pantry and freezer for three months in a row supplementing only with fresh produce and dairy purchases.  When it came time to move we still had so much food I ended up giving a trunk load of food to several of my friends and the food bank.  It was crazy how much food I had stockpiled.  Good, but crazy. 

Now that we live full time in an RV there simply isn't the space to stockpile a lot of food so our $125 a month budget is perfect.  So how do I manage to feed my family three meals a day on such a small amount of money? 

·         I shop the sales. I try my best not to buy anything that isn't already on sale.

·         I carefully use coupons and match them to sales items as often as possible.

·         I use a pantry list.  As long as the items on the list are in the house I can make just about anything.

·         I meal plan on a weekly or monthly basis depending on what is already in my pantry.  This is crucial to my success.  I plan my meals around things I already have on hand.

·         I incorporate one or two meatless meals per week.

·         I usually serve a soup meal once a week.

·         We eat our leftovers.  I use leftovers a lot for lunches the next day.

·         I make a big Sunday dinner complete with dessert.  I often plan to make a new meal from the leftovers.  For example if I make a pot roast I will also plan to make something like stew, soup, French dip sandwiches or shredded beef tacos with the leftover roast.

·         I make a lot of things from scratch.  Breads, muffins, pancakes and waffles, granola, desserts, sauces and dressings, soups, etc.

·         We don't eat a lot of meat.  I use a variety of other proteins like eggs, legumes and cheese.

·         We are big time water drinkers.  As a rule I rarely buy soda and we drink juice in moderation.  We enjoy milk with our breakfast and in the foods I prepare.  I also put it in the girl's drink bottles for their school lunches.

·         I cut whole milk 50/50 with water.  We much prefer it to skim milk, which we used to drink, and it tastes a whole lot better than powdered milk, which I can't stand.  It also helps considerably with our storage issues.

·         I do not include sales tax in our grocery budget.  Sales tax is not edible.

·         I keep a separate non-food budget of $25 for our non-food purchases - cat food and litter, toiletries, cleaning supplies, etc.

·         I have a separate entertainment budget for non-essentials like dining out, food purchases in lieu of dining out, alcohol, candy and gum, movie tickets or rentals, etc.

·         Most food purchased specifically to make gifts comes out of my gift budget, however sometimes I do use food items from our pantry if I have extra.

·         Any budget amounts leftover at the end of the month are carried over to use in subsequent months.  This includes any negative balances as well.

·         I track my spending on a spreadsheet.  This is crucial so I always know where I stand.

We eat relatively simple meals.  That being said I don't ever feel like we go without anything or that we are eating tasteless boring food.  We enjoy roasts, chops, steaks, fish and gourmet style meals on a regular basis. 

Do you have a set grocery budget?  How are some ways you manage your grocery budget?