Food Budget Challenge

[Sam_2.0]

Controlled Spending and Grocery Challenge were already taken

Over in the Midwest thread we've talked about the creeping grocery budget leaks that we've been seeing over the past few months. So here's the new challenge - to meal plan and carefully grocery shop to stay within our defined monthly budget! Let's share frugal & healthy meal ideas, as well as menu planning and shopping tips to help stay within budget.

I will start - I want to stick to $200 for July 7 - August 7 (following my paycheck cycles). That gives me $100/paycheck to plan our meals for those 15-16 days. It's going to take some commitment and forethought to get what we need for that amount, but I am sure it can be done. I have a week to get things ready. I plan to use my old eMeals menus (if anyone wants to see a copy shoot me a PM with your email), menu planning blogs I've discovered, and any tips I can find here. My main grocery store is Aldi but we also have Price Chopper (midwest), HyVee, Target, and Walmart. DH is also picky about leftovers so that will have to be accounted for or they can be my lunches.

[Sam_2.0]

Another resource I plan to use is NBPR rebates since MO allows them. I still want to stick to the monthly budget for OOP cost, but any rebates I qualify for can go to savings/debt paydown.

[greeniis10]

Great thread idea!  This has been an issue of contention between DH and I for years.  We simply have opposite philosophies and eating habits.  Originally I was solely responsible for all of the groceries/cooking for the family and DH paid other bills (we're separate potters), but even after the kids moved out I was averaging $650.00 a MONTH!  For just 2 of us! 

Anyway, long story short, we decided we would each be responsible for our own groceries.  DH has finally seen how much it costs to keep the fridge full of all his favorites and the freezer full of meat.  We also discovered that there is literally nothing that we eat the same of: he HAS to have meat and carbs at every meal and I don't eat either of those things.  He only eats canned vegetables (the salt-added ones, of course) and the only fruit he eats are bananas.  Fortunately, he's not overweight and his overall numbers are ok.

So, yes, my food budget has finally gone down, but I'm all for saving costs even more.  Soon the Farmer's Markets will open here and fresh produce will be abundant!  That will be my "challenge" for the next couple of months: using all the fresh food creatively and with no waste!

[chicg]

Yes Sam, thank you for starting this! I'm going to put my ugly confession out there, I spent about $400 at the grocery stores in June.  I'M JUST ONE PERSON!!!  Some of this includes lunches out when I work from home, but that's still unacceptable.  I've gotten careless and sloppy and have started a nasty habit of giving into temptation foods (oh, I don't want anything in my fridge, I'll run to the store and buy X for lunch/dinner tonight, and by X I mean the fabulous hot deli/buffet items at Whole Foods or similar) that end up being $10-15 per meal.  I had a break up last month, then got sick for 10 days, and I failed horribly at keeping things together and gave into convenience.  This needs to stop, now.

So my goal is $200 for July, track all my purchases, including wine and booze.  At the end of the month I'll re-evaluate and hopefully drop it down another $25 for August.  I have a very successful garden and a fridge and freezer already loaded from my June shopping, there is NOTHING I need for at least a week.

Greeniis10 - regarding waste for fresh produce, that's something I've tried to get a handle on since I often end up with extra stuff from my garden.  I give a lot away, but try to catch things before they go bad and put them in the freezer.  You can freeze most things, I already have baggies of spinach and kale for smoothies and snow peas for stir frys.  (plus more in the fridge, but I know I won't eat it all in time).

[greeniis10]

Ok, so after rambling yesterday (just to clarify that my food budget is now for me only) now I've got to see how much I am actually spending since DH and I have changed our finances on this topic.

Unfortunately, it looks like I'll need to keep track of it manually because my online bank account DOES separate my expenses for me, but say I make a purchase from walmart.com it lists that all under "food/drink" but I buy a lot of non-food items online, such as toilet paper, laundry detergent, health/beauty items, etc.

So, good thing it is July 1st!  I'll start making my old-fashioned list today and see where I end up at month-end.

[Iggy aka IG]

Hi WIRers!  This thread caught my eye since I've been obsessively, as usual, surfing the net for how to save on grocery articles. 

One thing I've been doing the past several months is keeping my grocery receipts so I can refer to them for the What's for Supper meal cost SS thread.  Since then, I occasionally refer to the receipts to ensure we are actually using what I purchase.

Before the recession hit, I was spending over $550/mo on groceries.  Since then I stopped buying frozen and processed foods (for the most part).  I average about $320 a month (not including birthday or holiday food shopping months), and would love to lower that amount even further.

Details:  I receive a commission check once a month so that is when I shop.  During the month I fill in with fresh produce, and DH buys his granola bars, dried fruit and beverages.  We are separate potters, and it is just him and I.  I follow a low carb diet for the most part, and DH has recently started watching his sugar in take.

Luck to everyone!

ETA:  I consider booze to be a separate category. 

[whoisjohngalt]

I've been trying to get our grocery budget in line since Jan.  I did really well Jan and Feb and then....well....there were Bdays and holidays and other events and now it's completely out of control again.

We are doing no eating-out from 06/22-07/22 - so far so good.

It's harder for me to save on food in the summer months bc we go to farms a lot and somehow always seem to spend a lot.

Like last Friday we did PYO strawberries and I walked away with $16 worth. 

[chicg]

I go out to eat a lot socially, so I count that in my entertainment budget, not my grocery. If I go to lunch at work or pick up carryout (rare) for myself because I don't feel like cooking, then I include in my grocery budget. Not sure where to categorize booze yet, I've just lumped it into grocery costs. I don't do well with too many catagories so I'll probably just leave it there and add a few bucks/month to the grocery budget for that.

Whoisjohngalt - A pint of strawberries from the farmers market here is $7, I'm sure if you did PYO you got a TON more for $16.  It's really hard, I try to buy organic and I love supporting the farmers at the markets but it's so much more expensive then the imports at the discount grocery store.  Taste is much better and I believe in spending more for local and organic but when you're watching your pennies, it's tough.  It's sad that things are that way, it should be cheaper to buy locally.  The moment "local" became a foodie buzzword here, prices shot up.

But yesterday I did well!  Took lunch to work, ate a snack before going to a concert so I didn't buy anything there or late-night food after, making my lunch today while working from home instead of running to the store...now I just need to keep this momentum throughout the month.

[whoisjohngalt]

Strawberries were 2.5 per pound, but even with a husband and 3 kids no one needs THAT much.  I didn't make jam or anything, although I wish I knew how, I would have.

I also mentioned this before, but as simple as not going to the store has saved me money.

So, if I did my weekly shopping and then 2 days later don't have something - oh well, no one has died yet from not having A item for a few days.

[yogiii]

The other thing you can do is put some sugar and lemon juice on them, let sit for a little and use as a topper for yogurt or ice cream, or on small slice of pound cake.  I bet they'll go fast that way!

[greeniis10]

I also mentioned this before, but as simple as not going to the store has saved me money.

Yes, so true!  I'm not into large stockpiles (garage, basement full, etc.) but I HATE to run out of things I use often.  So, I've started buying large packages of toilet paper, cases of organic, no salt added tomato sauce, bottles of lemon juice (prefer fresh, but can't always afford that), laundry detergent etc. from walmart.com or Amazon.  NOT going into the store as often has saved me money.

I try to buy most household items and non-perishables online.  Then I only go into a store for fresh produce and cold items.

[chicg]

when I worry fresh food might go bad before I eat it, I either toss it in the freezer (berries freeze really well) or head to Google and enter "how do I store/freeze/preserve xxxxx."  There are so many tips with how to save your food from waste.

And sadly I could probably eat 2lbs of fresh strawberries in a week, maybe that's why I'm working on weight loss too

Good tip about not going to the store as much.  I live in a small apartment without much storage space but I've found it's helpful to have a small stock (I have one tupperware box under my bathroom vanity) for things like razors, toothpaste, body soap. I hate to pass up free/good sales on those but can't go overboard. It helps not to run to CVS or wherever when I need just one of those replacement items, and would likely buy $20 worth of random stuff just because I'm at the store. I don't like doing huge grocery shops but no need to go more than 1x/week, no more running for "just one thing."

I'll have another successful day today, thanks letting me stay accountable here!

[marvholly]

Greenlis
You might want to consider an excel spreadsheet. You can have separate columns for food, HBA, cleaning stuff, paper goods, animal stuff, wine, eating out……Whatever. I do use one but NOT that divided. You bring your receipts home each shop & enter within a day. You can set it to auto sum any column or line items you want.

I am a single. Mostly cook at home predominantly from shopping the perimeter (produce, meat, dairy, and bakery) of the store. I do irregularly use a few convenience items: frozen pizza, boxed noodle/rice, canned soups, canned tomatoes, frozen veggies, boxed stuffing.

I am finding the need to raise my food spending budget about 5-10% to be able to eat what I really like and be somewhat healthy (fat & sodium controlled, fish, fresh fruit, salads & veggies). It does help to plan in 2 veggie meals/week – pasta, tofu, black beans…. Also, with the cost of fish I am doing tun 1 week and fish filets/shellfish the next.

ANY eating out is generally done about 2x/month and w/a early bird/senior special and/or a coupon such as the Groupon I will use next week and comes out of my personal spending $$ which also includes mani/pedis, clothes & gasoline.

[Sam_2.0]

I am planning to track food items only in my budget. HBA/cleaning shouldn't be very much as I am still working through my stockpile from a couple years ago. And I tend to make one big Walmart online purchase to get those things when needed. Easy to get $50 worth for free shipping and I can prevent a lot of impulse purchases that way.

I won't count liquor right now either since I wont be having any for awhile, and DH buys his when he wants it. I am also not going to count Aly's birthday party or moving party foods.

Sent from my SPH-L710 using proboards

[Iggy aka IG]

06/30 $18 and some change for fresh produce (a need), pistachios (a want) and eggs.  Used 2 coupons.
07/01 $8.21 Butter (for two recipes), turkey dogs and Colby.  The latter were both on sale.  The dogs were an impulse buy.

[greeniis10]

Thanks for the tracking suggestions, Holly!  I think what I've concluded is my food budget is a MESS for 2 reasons:

1. I buy things in bulk but sporadically.  Ex: I buy a case of organic, no-salt added tomato puree one month and then won't need any for quite a while.  Same thing with laundry detergent (bought a case from Amazon in Sept. 2012) and won't need any again until probably next month.  I buy gallons of white vinegar, bleach, and large bags of baking soda for cleaning and that lasts quite a while but then re-stock whenever needed.  It's handy and thrifty to buy that way but hard to have a average monthly expectation of what I need to spend.

2. Even though DH's food isn't included in my budget I buy tood for others.  Ex: DS2 is having a super-busy 3 days at work this week so I bought food to make him some of his homemade favorites and put it in his fridge for whenever he gets off of work.  I also buy "goodies" and extras for the grandchildren.  We'll be going to a party tomorrow night so I'll buy the fixings to make a side dish.

Yep, no wonder I'm interested in this topic: seems to be the only one that's all out of control for me!  I'll keep reading and learning from you all, though, so thanks!

[greeniis10]

Oh, and I wanted to add that a juicer is also handy for whenever produce is starting to go bad.  Even if it's some goofy combination of stuff that wouldn't necessarily taste good all mixed together to drink I've found that adding it to soups or other flavorings for meals in place of or in addition to sauces works well.

Drawback is if I find a flavor I REALLY like it's hard to replicate because I've just made it with whatever hodge-podge of ingredients needed to be juiced!

[marvholly]

Greenlis

1. Set a reasonable weekly or monthly budget for your food stuff. Then set aside $X/week/month for those sporadic purchases (I assume something like Costco or Amazon purchases). I do that for my 1x/month treat food (shrimp this month).

2. Since it appears you are doing ‘special purchases’ fairly routinely it IS part of the regular budget.

[kjto1]

Jul 1, 2014 15:46:15 GMT -5 whoisjohngalt said:

I've been trying to get our grocery budget in line since Jan.  I did really well Jan and Feb and then....well....there were Bdays and holidays and other events and now it's completely out of control again.

We are doing no eating-out from 06/22-07/22 - so far so good.

It's harder for me to save on food in the summer months bc we go to farms a lot and somehow always seem to spend a lot.

Like last Friday we did PYO strawberries and I walked away with $16 worth. 

My DH loves going to Farmers Markets.  I think it is expensive - he buys more than he would at the grocery store - we usually spend $40-60.\

I try to meal plan and only go to the grocery store 1x per week.  Like previously said - nobody has died from running out of 1 item for a few days.

[marvholly]

In my area (north burbs of Chicago)the farmers markets (I have 2 VERY close)are MORE expensive than the natl chain stores which are mostly WAAAY more expensive than my local fruit/veg market.

[whoisjohngalt]

We just got another $25 worth of strawberries - somehow I don't think my food budget is doing that well.....

[chicg]

Marvholly - I'm in Chicago and yep, we pay the farmers a premium.  I understand since they have to travel in but it stinks when you're watching the budget yet want to support independent farmers. The taste is far superior and I'll keep doing it while the markets are in season but I'm trying to transition more to clean eating and it's hard on a tight budget!

Whoisjohngalt - if you don't want to make preserves or freezer jam, pop some of the strawberries in the freezer if you worry about them going bad.  I put on a baking sheet and put in the freezer, then when they're frozen, transfer to a bag.  I'm jealous of all your strawberries.  I drove by a farm stand in MI and they're just about done for the year, I was hoping to get a case of them.

[whoisjohngalt]

Oh no, I went to Walmart last night and got some canning jars.

My husband gave me a whole canning kit for our anniversary a few years ago, so I am all equipped to go!!

[Sam_2.0]

My challenge starts today. Hitting up Aldi on my way home to see if I can get 2 weeks worth of food for $100. I know I CAN do it, the question here is will DH and DD eat what I get?

[whoisjohngalt]

Jul 7, 2014 13:39:05 GMT -5 Sam_2.0 said:

My challenge starts today. Hitting up Aldi on my way home to see if I can get 2 weeks worth of food for $100. I know I CAN do it, the question here is will DH and DD eat what I get?

I would love to "hear" what you get

[Sam_2.0]

Ugh. Darn tax this wont pass clean-eating muster, but some things its worth getting to know I have a quick meal DD and DH will eat.

I spent $104 and got:

2lbs tilapia - will be 3 dinners
3lbs hamburger - 3 dinners
3lbs chicken breasts - will grill up and portion out for 3-4 dinners
Hotdogs - 2 dinners
Turkey breast - lunches
Sausage - will pair with rice mix for two nights of red beans and rice
Tortillas - will do black bean tacos
And we have some leftover pulled pork from moving. So theres our main dishes for dinners.

I also got lettuce and fixings for salads, zucchini, broccoli, potatoes, onions, apples, and bananas. PB and J and bread for Aly, buns for dinners, chips and raisins for snacks. And condiments since we are starting fresh with the new house. Rounded out with milk, cheese sticks and slices, some greek yogurt, and two boxes of frozen waffles. One full cart! Not bad for the price I would say.

Sent from my SPH-L710 using proboards

[whoisjohngalt]

Holy crap, that's soooo much food for $100 - great job!!!

And while some might think it's not "perfect", I think it's great bc it's mostly healthy and I've never subscribed to completely cutting out certain food. 

So, you get an A+ from me

[Sam_2.0]

I love Aldi! Seriously. I checked the ads before I went and they still had the lowest price on everything.

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[megaptera]

I just want to throw this out for anyone who may be interested. I like to buy from a company called Azure Standard. They're an online natural food store based in Oregon that sells food and household items directly to customers. There are certain conditions; they deliver to specific "drop points," (the closest one to me is in the next town 8 miles away) about once a month, and usually a minimum purchase amount applies. While it's not convenient for everyone, it does provide access to healthy, organic (they sell non-organic stuff also), non-GMO products. And a lot of it can be purchased in bulk, which is what I like about it. (Sometimes I have to get a bit creative with my limited storage space. )

I tend to spend a ton of money on food (local raw milk, local pastured meats and dairy, etc.), so buying some of the non-local stuff in bulk helps me keep my food costs down.

Anyway, there is a lot more information on their website for anyone who wants to check it out.

[chicg]

Good job Sam.  Between price and quality, the closest aldi to my place has gotten very disappointing.  Their produce has no flavor and lately has been looking really bad too.  Sad bc I liked Aldi but I don't go much anymore except for something specific.  I did pick up 30 brats, 12 burgers, buns, chips, hummus and cookies for a BBQ the other day for $30 which was good, but the brats were just so-so. 

Thanks Megaptera, sounds like an interesting site.  I'll check it out.

I spent $25 on cherries, raspberries, garlic and fudge.  Not price-efficient, but I couldn't pass up Michigan farmstand goodness on my drive back to Chicago.  Luckily I have a lot of veggies and meat still in my fridge and should make it to at least the weekend without running to the store.

(on a side note, wondered why my credit statement was so high and all the new charges were grocery-related!  So glad to be accountable here so that doesn't happen next month).