Friday, January 3, 2014

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?

6 comments:

  1. Wow....amazing!!!! I have $110 set a week for 4 people and it is just not working. I find myself running to the store mid-week. I need to get better at sticking to the menu(I do make one). I am not a great cook and must follow recipes for things to turn out. I envy people who can cook from scratch and have things turn out edible. Same with baking. I cannot justify buying expensive ingredients that end up wasted when things don't turn out. I have to stick to the basics like banana bread and muffins. My sister is a great baker and it depresses me :)

    There is a blog/vlog from a lady in Boise called Hip2Save. She does weekly coupon deals and scores some insane deals. Have you heard of her blog? I always think of you when she is discussing deals in that area.

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    1. Hi Theresa!

      Why not try sitting down with a pad of paper and writing down all the meals you know you are good at making. You'll be surprised just how long that list will actually be. Semi homemade stuff may be your answer to your cooking and baking woes. Their is no shame in getting some help from a mix or a jar. I think it is thriftier to do that than throw out ingredients. I still do that sometimes. My pumpkin spice cake and lemon pound cake are prime examples. Heck, so is my macaroni and cheese recipe.

      Thanks for sharing Hip2Save. I'll have to check it out.

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  2. I like your approach of having a separate amount budgeted for stocking up. I'm a firm believer in having a stockpiled / emergency supply pantry as over the years I've had more than one occasion when I've had to live off of it for a while. I've always used my regular grocery budget to build it, though. Your way seems better and I think I'll do that this year.

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    1. I think is just makes good sense to have a back up supply of groceries, just in case. I'd rather be prepared and not need it than need it and not be prepared. Like you I've had more than one occasion to need it.

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  3. That's so impressive! I can't imagine 1 living off of that in a month! lol! I know your grocery prices are cheaper than ours, but that's still awesome!! :)

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    1. I often wonder how much I will need once the kids are grown and I'm on my own. We are fortunate to have good grocery prices. Even by Idaho standards our budget is considered incredibly low.

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