We’re “starting fresh” this January, completing 22 mini-challenges in 22 days for a cleaner, fresher and healthier kitchen and grocery budget. Just joining us? Read about the what’s and why’s on the mini-challenges, as well as the previous days tasks, and jump right on in!
There’s something “accomplishing” about doing something with food, even if you don’t eat it. Do you know what I mean?
For example, the chopping the lettuce and cooking up the mushrooms yesterday. Neither were eaten, but the mere fact that I did something with them made me feel so accomplished. It’s a mighty nice feeling too!
With a clean fridge and a goal to eat what we have already cooked underway, we’re moving on to day 3! Ready to go shopping and fill the fridge?
Ha ha, just kidding. 
Ya’ll know me better than that! There’s one very important to-do, to do, before we start spending money.
Day 3 – Create a Grocery Budget
All of us are going to fall into one of two categories: we either have a budget, or we don’t. Today’s challenge will be slightly different, depending on which group you fall into.
For those who already have a grocery budget established – verify that your budget is accurate. Are you allowing more than you really spend? Or are you spending more than you allow? After a review of last year’s bills, I’ve been doing the latter. Consider what you’re buying with your budget (soda? junk?) and see if you can cut that out of your budget (and therefore your kitchen) for the next two weeks. You’re over the hump if you have a budget established, so don’t do anything drastic on me. Simply take a look at what your receipts say and see if your return is worth your investment. Adjust your numbers accordingly.
For those who do not have a grocery budget established – having a grocery budget is one of the single most important tasks you must complete in order to achieve our goal frugally. Below is the chips and salsa version of a how-to create a budget, but read my eight-part creating a budget series if you need more help in this department.
1. Review all grocery receipts for the past month and add them up for a total.
2. Consider this total. Does it seem exceedingly high? Exceedingly low? Does it properly align with the size of your family and your nutritional needs?
3. Take this number and divide it in half. For the next two weeks, make it a goal to spend no more than this number.
What’s the purpose of a grocery budget?
First, knowing what you’re allowed to spend BEFORE you spend it is HUGE! Ever get sucked in by the olive oils? Let me explain.
There are SO MANY different types of olive oils to choose from. Some are from Spain, some from Italy, some from California… some are cold-pressed, some are twice-pressed, some are organic… dark bottles, light bottles, tall bottles, fat bottles… and each and every one of them comes with a different price tag. Sure the tiny bottle of olive oil priced at $13.99 looks like it’s better for you in its fancy schmancy jar, but is it really? (perhaps, but we’ll get to that later)
The issue at hand is whether or not we can afford that $13.99 bottle of olive oil. Can you? Unless you have an established grocery budget, your answer is TBD and you’re going home empty handed.
Having a budget gives us parameters to work within. It’s like explaining the rules of the game before playing it. Ever try to unwrap a new game and play it without reading the rules first? Or remember WAY back when your friends were playing some game outside and you wanted to play too. Two questions come to mind: “Can I play?” and “What are you playing?”
We need to know what game we’re playing. Take the opportunity to create your own rules.
Here are a few other simple guidelines to help you out. Don’t skim if you already have a budget. These apply to you too.
- Make your budget match your dinner plate. In theory, dinner plates are 1/4 meat, 1/4 starch and 1/2 should be produce, right? Your budget should reflect this as well. If your monthly grocery budget is $400, then only $100 should be going towards meat, $100 towards starches and $200 towards produce. (This is food for thought people – theory – not financial advice. Marinate on this for a little bit and we’ll talk more details soon.)
- Processed food costs more than real food. Despite what the nay-sayers say, this is true. A simple loaf of homemade bread costs 25¢. Your loaf will be made entirely with real food, nothing artificial and no preservatives. Try to find a loaf meeting that criteria at the store and you’re easily looking at $3 a pop. A “family size” bag of potato chips will run $4.25 where one pound of in-season fruit will be only a buck. Stop wasting your money on the junk and buy the cheap (real) food instead.
- Look at your budget in terms of percentages. Financial advisor Dave Ramsey recommends the average family’s food budget (including eating out) to be 5-15% of their monthly income. There are things to consider though – size of family, where you live, dietary restrictions, etc., – so I’m not saying Ramsey’s estimate is the absolute line drawn in the sand. However, it is a decent guideline to consider. If your grocery budget is sitting at 50% right now, I’d be willing to guess you’re spending a little more than is really necessary on food.
- Convenience costs more than hard work. Want to be able to pull breakfast sandwiches from the freezer each morning? Then set aside an hour on Sunday and make enough for the whole week. Pre-packaged convenience foods are marked up exponentially because there’s very little work involved on the consumer’s end. In reality, you’re paying for the convenience, not the food. Take for example this 4-count box of Jimmy Dean biscuit sandwiches that Groceries-Express has for $7.19. We’re paying $1.80 per pre-cooked sandwich, but we’d only pay $0.56 if we made them ourselves (14¢ for one egg, 13¢ for one sausage patty, 4¢ per biscuit and 25¢ for one slice of cheese). Make them yourself and you’ll end up with three times as many sandwiches for the same cost! Cut out the convenience and get your hands dirty!
Day 2 Update
As you can see, the mushrooms are cooked and lettuce is chopped. In addition, the kids have eaten all but two pancakes! Mission accomplished!
What about you? Do you already have a grocery budget? Or are you going to have to spend some quality time with your spouse this weekend tackling this topic?
we have a budget, but its not written in “stone” so I tend to go over some. going to try for better acountabilty this year.
Aim to be exact if you can Karen. Having a specific number really causes us to be more discerning in our purchases.
I’m looking over our whole budget from last year and making adjustments. I think I need to up our food budget…
Growing life is important – don’t skimp out Steph!
I might actually make the switch to cash totally. I need to think about this – any thoughts?
If getting a firm grasp on the budget and consistently keeping it in check is hard, I’m all for the cash. I’ve even recommended it to a few of our friends. I’ll be the first to admit that $3 here and $4 there are just so easy when you swipe. Pulling out that cash though is a bit tougher!
I am the queen of doing a once a week shop, and that’s it – my husband isn’t allowed at the grocery unless he’s buying beer or wine for “research” (we brew our own). I’m thinking that I can probably do without the cash, but it might be wise this month since our garage door broke and my car needs new bearings (both sides on the front. whee) Happy new year to me.
I do have a budget…we’ll see how I do this month with a lower amount
Santa was a bit too generous with his gifts, eh?
Eliminating the husband from the equation does help the budget a bit. I always seem to spend more when he tags along, lol!
We have always had one but I don’t track it to see if I am on track. With my daughter having so many allergies our grocery budget has gone up.
I encourage you to write it down and track it RJ. You’d be amazed at how easy those numbers creep up when we’re not paying attention.
It’s impossible for me to budget for groceries, simply because in the summer, I’m buying tons of fruits and veggies from farmers to freeze/dehydrate/can, in addition to what I’m growing in the garden. I also attend a local produce auction and it’s impossible to know from week to week how much I’ll spend… it all depends on what’s going for a good price. We buy beef only twice a year… 1/4 side (and about $500) at a time. I only buy antibiotic-free chicken when it goes on markdown, and then I take all I can get to freeze or can. I buy wheat berries 50lbs at a time for bread-making. So, sometimes I may spend $800/month on food… sometimes only $100. It’s also hard for me to compare year to year b/c hubby is in the Navy, so with each move my food suppliers (and food prices) change, too.
That is a tricky spot to be in Lanette. I applaud you for making the best of it though, choosing smart ways to spend your money that have the greatest impact on your family. Wheat berries and beef are something that I’ve been marinating on for a little while now, but I need to first finish up the flour I already have on hand. I’m following in your footsteps though with Spring and Summer, taking full advantage of the marked down produce at our farmer’s market!
We budget $140/week for a family of 4 and that includes everything – food, toiletries, paper products, etc. I get it in cash each week and when it runs out, that is it. I make a list for each store and normally hit 2-3 stores on grocery shopping day (Thursday). My family knows that I don’t go to the store except on Thursdays unless it is an emergency (no milk). I think being cash only was the biggest help in sticking to the budget, you can’t argue with an empty envelope.
Your last note should be a motto: “You can’t argue with an empty envelope!” Dig it!
We have always done a food budget but this year we are going to use less coupons. I know crazy but I have found that I put to much pressure on myself to use them. I also found that by not using as many I tend to buy better food. Our budget is $550 for our family of 6. We also have 2 teenage daughters(and yes they eat just as much as boys just different things) and then 2 growing like weeds boys. I toyed with the idea of a side of cow this year but our state was hit hard by drought this summer and the price went up to $7.95 a pound. ugh. What are your thoughts on CSA? I have never done one and am wondering if that would even save money for a larger family.
You’ve done well to have your budget so low for your large family – kudos Heather! And I don’t think you’re crazy on the coupon front either. CSA – I’ve looked into a few in our area and I LOVE the idea of picking up a random box of fresh, organic vegetables and not having to think or shop for them. However, the programs in our area aren’t really worth it for my small family. We’re able to get much of the clean 15 items in bulk from Costco (organically), and we get good deals on the ones that don’t need to be organic too (oranges, bananas, etc.) The per pound price on non-bulk items isn’t really that high either, but I also live in central California. If I lived in an area that didn’t have as great access to fresh, local produce, I’d definitely consider the CSA route.
My budget is $150 a week for our family of 4 and I’m so determined to stick with it this year. Last year I’d often spend well over $200 and then waste so much of the fresh produce. Not any more!!!
That’s a good budget to stick to Jodie! If you aren’t doing it already, stir-frys for dinner and smoothies for any time of the day are GREAT ways to use up produce that’s about to expire. Or you can always freeze it – that’s my motto!
Our budget is $200-$250 a month for our family of three because it has to be. The higher number is for the summer time with all the fresh produce like the huge boxes of blueberries we get from Michigan. I think it needs to be the $250 every month for us to eat as healthy as I’d like us too,but for now this has to work. I need to work on using up all our produce this year because invariably there is always something festering in a drawer in our fridge. Usually celery. We like to put it in soups and eat it with peanut butter,but it usually gets all wilted before we eat it all.
Have you tried celery in smoothies? My husband LOVES it and it has a pretty mild flavor. Maybe salads and stir fries too. Hopefully as time goes on, we can find ways to incorporate the healthy stuff without sacrificing your entire budget.