12 Feb
Food Budgeting
Without a doubt the most difficult part of being married so far has been developing a married budget, and the area we struggle with the most is groceries. I’m often left feeling guilty because I am the one who does all the grocery shopping and I can’t seem to stay within budget. I get frustrated with myself in this area really easily because I’m terrible with money and it was only after I became good friends with That Husband that I was finally able to get out of debt (he was right there, coaching me along at every step).
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Here are our food budget limits:
Groceries (defined as all food related purchases other than eating out): $250
Eating Out (only logged when we eat out together each month): $100
We’ve been married for 4 months and I’ve only eaten out one time without That Husband, and when I log that I just put it under my own “personal category”. TH obviously eats out a lot for work since he is traveling, but the majority of the time the company pays for that.
I was using the excuse that we need to build up a base of supplies for a few months, but I think we are to the point where that doesn’t apply anymore. I know we could save more by eating the same thing every week (the way some families have Taco Tuesday and Pizza Friday), or if I cooked/baked less just for fun, but as I say to TH, I don’t want to live my life like that. I enjoy being in the kitchen, cooking and expirementing and I don’t think we should have to eat only beans and rice in our current financial state.
What are your food budgeting secrets? Where do you splurge and where do you save?
Also:
I'm a farm-raised almost-crunchy stroller-pushing picture-taking lifestyle-blog-writing gastronomy-obsessed divine-seeking thrift-store-combing cheese-inhaling pavement-pounding laughter-sprinkling lover of individuality and taking chances.
We buy the grocery brand food rather than name brands, for the most part there isn’t a taste difference because we make most of our foods. From what I’ve noticed stores also have more sales during the middle of the week to encourage shoppers to buy rather than at the beginning or end of the week.
1When it comes to actual budgeting we are of the opinion that budgeting is “More like guidelines” than something to stick to. We have a tracking system and we have an idea of how much we spend each month so we’re really close to grocery bills.
Sorry one more thing our groceries consist of household items too (i.e. shampoo, vitamins, paper towels).
McDreamy is the master budgeter and he keeps me in line (for the most part)…now that we are living our prairie years life, we go out a lot LESS. In the past we would think nothing of going out twice a week (and in NYC that’s easily a few hundred dollars a week), now we may go out once a month at most. Since we keep a kosher home, our expenses are greater than average. We can’t just walk into a grocery store and buy whatever meat or chicken is on sale. We go to a special butcher and because the meat is kosher it is about 3x the price of non-kosher meat & poultry. I try to think of menus ahead of time and shop for 4-6 weeks at once. We give ourselves a budget of about $600 for kosher food and about $300 for regular groceries (veggies, cereal, condiments, etc). I am typically able to stretch those purchases for a six week period, but now that I am home more I get tempted by the 24 hour grocery store on the corner that has a lot of yummy (and expensive) prepared foods.
2Comparison shop and buy groceries at strange places. For example, we try to buy all of our milk at Target because a gallon of milk is only $2 as compared to $4 or $5 at the grocery store near our apartment. Try to use coupons whenever you can and buy extras of items when they are on sale. Many things can be frozen for later (like bread). And absolutely buying store brand over brand name items helps.
3On the cheap side, we buy generic whenever possible, and rarely buy meat at all. There are 3 grocery stores within walking distance of where we live, and they each have specials on different things.
On the other hand, we eat out together about twice a week - we’re both grad students and we’re working, sometimes getting out of the apartment together is the best thing for our mental health. We try to keep it low-cost, but we easily spend $200 a month on eating out.
I also love to bake for fun, but I only have the time/energy to do that maybe twice a month… and I love baking bread, which is a very cheap hobby and saves money on buying store bread.
4We are pretty lucky to shop at the commissary (military grocery store). Prices are about half of a typical grocery store. But yes, as others mentioned, store brands on most things are just fine to use. I can tell you its hard to stick to a grocery budget because eating healthy is more expensive than just eating box macaroni or $1 items at McDonalds. Fresh products and produce start to add up so I’m constantly juggling between wanting to save money and have a low food bill and getting tons of fresh, good quality and healthy food items.
As for eating out - - ever since our college days, we share 99% of the time when we eat out. Some places don’t allow sharing (we tend to avoid these places!) and tons of restaurants are great about splitting the plate so you feel like you did order your very own thing and you aren’t sharing a plate. We never get appetizers or soda (just water) and only occasionally get dessert. I know that sounds so boring, but we are able to have fun and eat out more often because we save a T-O-N of money compared to what others spend on one meal out.
Also, restaurant portions tend to be quite big, so we enjoy being able to eat everything off our plate with much less guilt since our divided portions are much more realistic for one person. (it helps to to go to places that offer that free stuff on the table to munch on like chips if we are really hungry) And no (I think you said you used to waitress), we don’t go super cheap on the tip because our bill is lower - we still try to pay a fair tip for good service. We seriously save so much money and can go out much more because of splitting our dinners!
5If you want to save on meat check out the meat counters a lot and look for little special stickers. They will put them on perfectly safe to eat meat that is either going to expire soon (because they cut too much for a holiday) or it is a dark cutter.
A dark cutter is actually a bit more tender than a regluar piece of meat, it’s just darker because of a wrong gas mixture and because it looks weird it sells much cheaper.
However with pork if something is marked down and it is very pale don’t get that. That is called PSE and it occurs when the pH of the meat is off and is really tough.
Jenna Reply:
February 12th, 2009 at 3:14 pm
Awesome tips! Thanks so much Sabrina.
blablover5 Reply:
February 12th, 2009 at 8:08 pm
It’s amazing what one can learn with a meats class.
Also when selecting steaks the more fat in the middle the better. It’s called marbling and it’s what makes a cut of meat tender and juicy.
We buy big bags of frozen chicken breasts and chicken thighs at Trader Joe’s and always have them in the freezer for quick meals. The meat is individually flash frozen, so you can take out a thigh or three at a time and not waste the rest of the meat. Also, I make a weekly dinner menu before going to the grocery store and that really helps when it comes to a) not buying unnecessary stuff and b) buying stuff like fresh herbs — i.e., if I buy cilantro for a Mexican dish on Monday, it can be repurposed for an Asian dish on Tuesday. Sometimes I buy ingredients for one specific dinner and I use 1/3 of it and the rest gets goes bad in the fridge. I need to get better at that!
We also are big cheapos who eat a lot of beans.
7You’re feeling bad about $250 of groceries a month?
8We spend $400 a month on food groceries only. Now mind you we are on two salaries (as long as I don’t loose mine or can find something else really quick).
Anyway my personal tip is: prepare a budget for starters and for seconds make a menu for the week. Plan ahead what you want to eat, write down what you need to buy and stick to it, it makes it a lot easier.
Let it first be said that I live in the city and everything here is super expensive. Limited access to a car also hinders me from following my own tips.
That being said, I think the biggest money saving tip is to buy in bulk…from either a BJs/SamsClub/Costco type store or stock up when there are great sales (we aren’t members of any of these b/c there are no local ones). For instance, on one shopping trip box brownies were $1 each. I think I bought 3-4 boxes just to have on hand. We also buy meat packaged by the grocery store. I spend more time at home trimming the fat, but the price is great. I portion out meals, marinate in bags and then freeze. So everything is ready.
Also, I try to go shopping every 3 weeks. I personally find that going to the store less often keeps me from impulse buying.
We try to keep our budget between $200 - $250 a month. Most of our eating out comes from our mad money, unless it’s a special occasion. We have a separate account for that too. I’m an financial analyst. I have an account for everything!
999 cents store. Seriously! All of my spices come from there. They also sell salad dressings and great produce. People think I am crazy when I tell them this but once they check it out, they understand. Saturday I bought celery, a box of cherry tomatoes, a BAG of oranges, a BAG of apples, a bag of garlic, a container of mini peppers (orange, red, and yellow), alvocados, a BAG of carrots, torts, bread, biscuits, sausage links (I really could go on and on.) I got a cart full of groceries and 6 potted flowers for the garden…all for $31.00
Jenna Reply:
February 12th, 2009 at 4:27 pm
Wait, are you saying you bought all of those groceries at the 99 cent store? I didn’t even know that the 99 cent store sold groceries!
Beth Reply:
February 12th, 2009 at 10:03 pm
I also buy knock-off sweet ‘n’ low, equal, and splenda at the Dollar Tree. It is a GREAT resource for cleaning products, too.
Jennifer Reply:
February 14th, 2009 at 3:07 pm
Yes! I live in Houston and you can find all sorts of stuff at 99 cents and Dollar Tree. You have to check it out!!! During Hurricane Ike all of the bread shelves were empty at the regular grocery store but I went to 99 cents and bought 5 different kinds of breads…my neighbors were curious a to where I found them.
I wanted to complete my previous comment. We spend an average of $400/month, but we mainly buy organic, and no meat since my Hubby is vegetarian. I make my bread at home (we have a bread machine, but I have good recipes that don’t need one either) and I cook a lot from scratch (pizza dough included).
My planning meal (and what you ran out of), look through your list, check what brands you know you will use and search for printable coupons online and see if some of the products are on sale (last time coupons+sales I saved $11 on my weekly groceries). Some stores have coupon days were you can double or triple coupons, it can be useful, but again you have to make sure you stick to your list.
If you have a farmer’s market, or a tailgate market go there for fresh vegetables and fruits, it’s fair prices and usually the farmers give you some extra on certain items.
11I second that 99 cent store comment- you can get organic stuff there too. They have a huge grocery selection.
12I agree with the 99 cent store recommendation. It’s really an amazing resource for families on a budget!
13Oh, how I feel in the deepest corners of my being this post!
I moved in with my boyfriend about a month ago. We have dramatically different grocery shopping styles.
I was raised by a good small-town Saskatchewan Momma who always had a full pantry and only bought things on sale. As a result, I’ll scour the flyers when they come out, figure out a meal plan for the week based on what is on sale, and go to two different grocery stores to get the best deal. I buy name-brand and store-brand products interchangeably.
G is totally opposite. He is picky, particular and..did I mention picky?
He buys the same brands, the same products, every week, in season or not, for full price. His organic strawberries and Chocolate Soy Milk have caused my grocery budget to skyrocket!
I used to spend maybe $50 a week on groceries. Now we spend over $500 a month. It’s insane. But at least we split it…and I sneak in a few no-name products while he’s not looking!
14We buy store brand for canned goods, frozen vegetables, flour, etc, etc, etc. We are really lucky to have an ALDI near us (I don’t think they have them in Texas, but a 99-cent store would be a good substitute), so we mostly use ALDI brand. Except the pasta. The pasta is nasty.
Our brand name splurges are Hellman’s (Best Foods) mayo, drinks (Caffeine Free Diet Coke is something I crave), Duncan Hines cake mixes, and…I can’t think of anything else. Oh yeah, Ziploc bags-just quart and gallon sized. I’ve had too many blow-outs with generic large bags. Generic sandwich and snack-sized are fine.
We do splurge on meat, though I only buy that at Sam’s Club. If you get there as soon as it opens you can usually find marked-down meat. I portion it into Ziplocs (hence the splurgy bags) and freeze it. We buy hamburger, pork tenderloin, steak, whole chickens, chicken thighs, etc…
I only go to Kroger or Wal-mart if I can’t find what I want at ALDI or the Sam’s meat counter. We still spend about $400 on groceries, but we’re trying to build our food storage, so I think it’s justified for now. Yikes, sorry for the long comment!!
15you should really rethink the whole menu idea. It does not have to be constricting. I have 6 kids and a husband and I do $400 a month in groceries. I bake alot. I like to experiment. It can be done. try thinking of a menu in this vain.
Monday is soup day
Tuesday is casserole
Wednesday is meat dish
Thursday meatless
Friday pasta
Pick what ever catagory you would like for the day of the week. And then when you actually make your menu you can plug in whatever food sounds good to you that week/day.
I also do not assign the exact meal on a certain day but let my kids pick what they want off the ‘list’ and in this manner we don’t feel rstricted, we have alot of variety, but we stay on ‘budget’ knowing that whatever they pick I have the ingredients for it in the cupboard.
16We spend a lot on groceries. I prefer to buy organic local foods but those aren’t cheap. I buy staple items at Grocery Outlet and limit fresh veggies. I stock up on frozen more.
17I started coupon clipping to help bring the prices down!
We spend a bit under $400/month on groceries, but we do not eat out, so this $400 covers every breakfast, lunch, snack, and dinner that we will consume for the entire month. Plus, I feel like I am always having people over for dinner, so I am often feeding others off of our budget. If we did not constantly invite over others and it was just the two of us, it would probably be closer to $325/350 per month.
We never eat the same things in a week, but I always (always!) go to the grocery store with a list of what I will be making that week, and I never purchase anything NOT on the list. Even if a sale looks tempting, it will get shoved to the back of the pantry and it’s not worth it if I don’t utilize it. I decide before the grocery trip what meals I want to make for the week, list whatever ingredients I need, and buy just that. It definitely cuts down on the grocery bill when you are diligent about not picking up just one more thing here or there just because!
18I’ll ditto Cecy — the best way I’ve found to narrow grocery spending is on a planned menu! Even with fresh meat, lots of veggies and bonus treats (just because) … our grocery spending stays around $50-60/week. I also take advantage of sales when planning the week’s menu.. and keep staples in bulk (frozen chicken, pasta, rice, etc.).
19Menu planning.
It doesn’t have to be the same food every week but, plan it out so you can shop on sale and not tempted to go to the store for just one thing and come back with more.
Sam’s Club.
Buying in bulk helps, SO MUCH! Plus, it helps add to our food storage! We like Sam’s so much, we use it for date nights. Ha ha.
Shopping every other week.
The less trips to the store, the better.
Shop to sales ads.
Once you start reading ads every week, you’ll get to know the sales better. I only buy certain things when they are B1G1 and I know when paper towels, laundry detergent, etc go on sale.
Also, once or twice a month I make a bunch of meals and freeze them. We spend $350/month but that also includes all paper items, laundry and cleaning supplies, dog food, cat food, etc.
20There are two of us and we spend $100 a week on groceries and then probably $50 a week on eating out. We buy everything fresh and organic, so nothing ever seems to be cheap. I think the key for us is planning, and we use everything. We probably spend more eating out, but we make concessions other places, ie) we don’t spend money on drinking, entertainment, etc. I think your food budget is the very last place to cut.
21I also HAVE to do menu planning. I go every single Saturday and I try and spend less than $50 each week (I’m usually about right on). Then I do not go back. If I’ve forgotten something, I just wait until the next week. Once you walk back through that door, you’ll go over the budget.
I don’t find my menu constricting at all and I don’t really do a themed meal every night. I check out the sale prices and go from there.
22Since we’re both Accountants, we’re super budget-focused! We have all of our expenses budgeted out each month and we keep each other accountable. We have a Groceries category, a Dinner Out category (for all meals together) and a Lunch category for each of us.
As far as the actual shopping, I do most of that, so I try to bargain shop as much as possible! I usually go into the grocery store with a few basic ideas for meals in mind and then I see what’s on sale and plan my menus from there. CityBoy is pretty picky, so we stick to pretty basic meals. I usually do some form of Mexican food once a week (Turkey Tacos, Chicken Quesadillas, Veggie Nachos…etc), we like to make our own homemade pizza, and we LOVE grilled chicken & veggies (CityBoy plays with seasonings).
One more tip…SAMS CLUB
I buy things we eat lots of like Frozen Chicken Breast, CityBoy’s snacks, and Cases of drinks!
23I definitely buy in bulk when possible. Costco is awesome! Also, meal planning (even if it’s week to week) it can really help. Even if you don’t want to have the same thing every week, knowing exactly what you need for the week, rather than just buying things that you may need, can really help keeping costs low.
24i’m lost on this one. we have 400 (maybe 450? we do a weekly budget) per month for ALL our expenses (minus rent). but it’s in pounds. and england is expensive. no matter how we do it. so. we shop at costco. it’s cheaper. and this sounds gross (but it’s not! promise)…but i eat canned soup for lunch everyday. it’s cheap and it makes it so we can afford to have a nicer dinner. and, sometimes, when i can’t go shopping, i plug in the few ingredients i have into google search and a few recipes pop out. that way no new ingredients needed, but new recipe found.
good luck. sometimes when you’re trying to live on a budget, a little sacrifice is needed. and the food isn’t as good, or varied. but, you eat less because it’s not as good…haha. oh man.
Jenna Reply:
February 13th, 2009 at 2:56 am
Do you know about the tool on allrecipes.com? You can search for recipes by ingredient. There is another site that does it as well but I forget it. I use it all the time, and it’s great to be able to put creative dishes together straight from what we already have in the cupboards.
$250 a month is a pretty tight budget - especially since you are eating all your meals from groceries (breakfast, lunch and dinner). We usually spend about $500 a month at the grocery store and then another $200 or so each month eating out. We do live in nyc so things are more expensive here, but I still couldn’t imagine getting by on such a small budget. Also, I am vegetarian and health-nut when it comes to food so I end up buying more “speciality” and “high-end” items that cost more…
As for money saving tips, I recommend:
- buy fruits/veggies in season
- buy in bulk / large sizes (portion controlled items like yogurt, 100 calorie snacks, etc. are always more $$ for less)
Amber Reply:
February 13th, 2009 at 11:47 am
Agreed - Both my husband and I are vegetarians. Food is expensive and fresh fruits and veggies as well as specialty items are more. Eating healthy is so much more expensive. I strive to spend less, but can easily see us dropping $500+/month on groceries alone. I know we could save some money with some better meal planning.
We make sure to stock up at Costco, especially when we have coupons for pork chops. We also try to watch the circulars for the grocery stores and use online coupon sites like cool savings and coupons.com.
You can also check out one of those coupon sites like coupon mom, they can save you up to $300+ a month on groceries.
27We’re pretty bad as we don’t keep track. Ours are usually fairly high due to all the “special” food I need like rice bread, pasta, flour, potato milk, etc. And my allergies also mean that we need to get more pricey processed meats, so that they do not have wheat in them. (Plus, it probably doesn’t help that I don’t eat beef.).
In the last few months our grocery bills have also been inflated because of all the different medications I have been trying (and having most of them not work out.) Thankfully our insurance covers most of that, but we have to submit it for a rebate.
28we used to eat out a lot, but we wanted to save more money to eventually have kids and buy a house, so we’ve limited eating out only about once a month.
the past two weeks i have saved about $15 using my new coupons and price-matching system. we try to plan a few meals a week around what’s on sale (especially meat)…i still buy things we need even if they aren’t, though. i shouldn’t feel guilty about buying ingredients for a dish i love making! but surprisingly a lot of the things we normally use have been on sale or i’ve found coupons. (it’s important to only use coupons for things you would actually use even if you didn’t find a coupon.) i imagine the more coupons i store up and the better i get at the whole price-match thing the more we will save.
so…we’ve gone from spending $300-350 a month to $200-250. and this month will probably be closer to $175-200. those few dollars of savings add up fast!
29We usually spend at least $600. That includes an occasional meal out, no alcohol or soft drinks are ever purchased. We don’t eat a lot of meat (usually only chicken a few times each week). We eat mostly fruits and vegetables. I have tried and tried to save money in this area but find it impossible. I would love to see a detailed list and meal plan for a month of groceries for $250. I would be ecstatic if we could get it that low.
Jenna Reply:
February 24th, 2009 at 8:15 pm
I’ve been thinking about this idea and I’m not sure I quite now how to tackle it. But I’ll keep working on it. It could be a very interesting post.
My trick is to use the calculator on my cell phone. Everything that goes in the cart gets added up (and rounded up to the nearest $0.25). That way when I’m headed for the checkout and see that I’m overbudget I can take out any splurges I tried to justify buying.
Jenna Reply:
February 24th, 2009 at 8:16 pm
I REALLY like this idea! I’m going to start doing this.
one of the 5 grocery stores near me has a lot of buy one get one free deals. I try to shop those deals every week.
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