As a stay-at-home-mom to two under two, my life is full of them. But every once in a while, an idea pops into my head and manages to stay there, through the diaper changes, the late night feedings, the car seat wrangling and the tantrum throwing, until it becomes an idea I can’t ignore. And that’s where this idea was born. There’s no better time than now to evaluate spending habits, and I chose to start with an area we can’t cut out of the budget, but could certainly cut down on: food.
A close examination revealed that my family of 3.5 consumes, on average, between $350 and $400 in groceries a month, for a grand total of about $4800 a year. We’re fairly frugal, so I realize we’re probably on the low end of the spending spectrum anyway, but there’s always room for improvement. I’m not one to pick an easy target, so I’ve set my goal at cutting my grocery budget (and consequently, my grocery spending) in half, bringing our monthly bill down to $200 or less.
The rules:
* I will not compromise my family’s health for this experiment. We will continue to eat three meals a day, and they will have some nutritional value.
* I will not drive all over creation for a good deal. The munchkins don’t love being in their carseats, and I don’t love listening to them whine when we’re in the van for too long.
* I will cut out non-essentials. We may forgo desserts for a while, and it may be a few weeks before I enjoy an ice cold Cherry Coke again. If I can save $2400 a year by sacrificing a few sweet treats, it will be worth it.
* I will not stop eating out. Eating out is a separate portion of our family budget, and does not relate to this challenge. Although it is worth noting that if I were to stick to my 30-day $200 menu, I would save not only $200 a month on my grocery bill, but would also save whatever we would have ordinarily spent on eating out as well. Alas, I can’t get Abby to sign off on giving up her Chick-Fil-A play dates, so we’ll save cutting back on the restaurant spending for another day.
How will I do it?
Careful menu planning. Thoughtful spending. And learning to say no to Abby's request for that $1.29 box of animal crackers in the check-out line.
——————–
So that’s the big idea: cut my grocery spending in half, keeping it under $200 a month for breakfasts, lunches and dinners. If I can do it this month, I may try again in April. A penny saved, after all, is a penny I can invest in the kids’ college funds…or maybe put towards a pedicure.
I've started another blog to journal my efforts toward reaching my goal this month. Click here to follow along.
Good luck! Grocery frugality is a bit of a hobby for me. :) Some things that have worked for us have been cutting out a lot of meat, amping up healthy cheapness like beans, rice, and low-cost produce. Eliminating all processed and packaged foods helps a lot. Make homemade chips and salsa (I have recipes if you want!) Bake as much as you can at home - I have recipes for great white bread, wheat bread, bagels - it really adds up. Find a bakery thrift store (its not as scary as it sounds!) if you don't want to always bake your own sandwich bread. You can even bake your own animal crackers for Abby!
ReplyDeleteCount me in for a challenge too! I think I can trim mine a bit to get down to your ratio per person - $80 /person I think? That would be $360 a month for us - about $40 less than our current budget.
If you want to post meal plans, google calendar is really easy and you can make a public link for it.
Good for you. Like Catherine, it's a bit of a hobby for me too. :) I actually recently spoke to our MOPS group on saving money on groceries. Fun times!! Can't wait to hear how it goes!
ReplyDeleteAngela