The Budget: Managing Your Grocery Bills

Budget.  Yes, you've heard me say it before and I'll say it a hundred more times this year.  We have created our first budget, which will be put into place in February, and it wasn't nearly as painful as you might imagine.  Eye-opening, yes.  Painful, no.

Today I'm going to touch on one portion of the budget:  groceries.  Outside of our mortgage, groceries by far eat up the greatest percentage of the budget.  While I can't make that number significantly decrease (after all, I am feeding a family of six), I can do my best to stretch my grocery budget as far as possible while still primarily eating organic, non-GMO, and allergy-safe food.

The first and most important step is creating a meal plan.  Each Friday morning I sit down with a cup of tea and plan out the menu for the upcoming week.  This may sound lame, but I enjoy it.  To keep costs in check, I have decided to do at least one meatless meal a week as well as a breakfast for dinner night.  We have also designated a few days to specific foods:  homemade pizza on Friday and soup on Sunday.  That leaves just 3 days a week to fill in.

To do this, I skim through the weekly ads for the stores I frequent.  One way to save money?  Shop around.  I do not do all of my grocery shopping in one place.  It is typically spread out between Target and two local grocery stores.  This gives me my biggest bang for my buck and an opportunity to stick to our organic, non-GMO, allergy-safe food plan as much as possible.

Another money saving tip?  Do all of your shopping for the entire week in one day.  Less trips to the store means gas saved and money as well.  When you have a plan, this is easy to do.  Don't get me wrong, we typically have to pick a few things up during the week, like milk or produce, but having most everything on hand for an entire week saves on impulse buys.

One mental change I have had to make is shifting my focus from spending an allotted amount each week to viewing my purchases as a monthly whole.  Typically I would not want to go over my weekly limit, but when a store has a money-saving deal on items I frequently use, it is in my best interest to stock up if possible.  I'll give an example:  we eat a lot of cheese.  This week it was at least 50 cents less than the everyday price, so I bought much more than I would use in one week.  It was more cost upfront, but if I consider how much I would purchase in a month's time, the savings will work out in my favor.

My last money-saving tip?  Cook.  Eating out is costly and processed foods, in my opinion, offer very little nutrition and are not your best investment.  Home-cooked meals have the most to offer, both nutritionally and financially.  I enjoy cooking, so for me this is the natural way to feed my family.  I love trying out new recipes and fixing our tried-and-true favorites as well.

If you find cooking to be a challenge, I've got you covered.  There are several recipes on my Living Life on the Lane blog that are easy on time, skill, and the budget.  Don't think preparing home-cooked meals has to take hours.  Most of the meals I make take less than an hour (prep and cooking time). The key is to plan ahead, have your ingredients on hand, and plug in your meals to work with your schedule.  Have a later night?  Throw something in the crockpot or prepare a meal the night before so it can be thrown in the oven when you get home.

Spending 30 minutes meal-planning and creating a grocery list will make a tremendous difference in your grocery budget.  It will also help you spend your time more wisely and not stress each evening about what to have for dinner.  It's a great investment and I encourage you, if you don't already, to give it a try.  Soon it will become a habit and you'll be off and running!