Grocery Budgeting
Over $500 dollars. That is our record high on grocery spending in one month. Never again will we do that! I thought that shopping at Wal-Mart was a good, inexpensive idea when we first got married. Having been single, I had no idea what it meant to really grocery shop or feed a man. I typically ate meals like cereal for dinner, or a combination of rice and peas with some salt and pepper. Perhaps that's how I stayed so skinny.
I was only in Augusta, Ga from November after our wedding to June when we moved. I tried to keep our grocery budget to $100 a week, so $400 dollars a month for 2 people. That is too much. When we left Georgia in June and moved to Wilmington, NC (trying to figure out what we were doing) we spent some time with the Smith's. Thankfully Meg taught me a little about budgeting and couponing. We now shop at Harris Teeter and do not spend more than $60 a week on groceries. This includes toiletries, paper products, etc. Get an envelope, put your grocery money in it, and when you run out...do not buy anymore! There have been days when we are grocery shopping and we take items out of our buggy in order not to go over. Once you do this, it is freeing. Trust me, try it once!
I learned of websites like Southern Savers that help you to know what is on sale for the week and what coupons match the sale items. I learned what a good "buy price" is for an item. You should always look for an item and purchase it at it's lowest price, and stock up. You may have seen the shows on TV about extreme couponing. That's not what I do... and I don't know of any stores in North Carolina that allow you to use that many coupons in one trip. Typically you can use 20 coupons per household per day. Grocery stores run on an 8 week cycle. We also began menu planning. Each week we write down what we are going to have for dinner. We both take our lunches to work and cereal, grits, eggs, or oatmeal are our breakfasts. I cook 3 or 4 nights a week and the other nights we have leftovers. Occasionally we eat out. (Our monthly budget for restaurants is $50, and this is doable!)
Having this plan in place, I was able to cut our monthly grocery budget from $400 a month, to between $200 and $220 a month. Almost half! I am not 'as' frugal as some, but I think this is a significant discount. I have not paid more than 44 cents for a tube of toothpaste or over $2 dollars a box (usually I get them for 1 to 1.50) for cereal in a year. That, my friends, is worth learning.
Another website I have just learned about is Grocery Shrink. This lady has been on the Dave Ramsey plan (from what I can tell) and she only spends $50 per person, per month on groceries. Phenomenal! I haven't become quite that talented yet. If you want to take it another step, you can buy produce at a stand or grow your own food and freeze or can to save money.
This year I am growing tomatoes. Next year, I plan to have a garden with onions, squash, zucchini, and beans. Baby steps :) I am going to try from her website to learn to can and freeze for winter.
I have always admired how frugal and wise my grandfather has been with money. He has a garden and they keep food over winter. I love the simplicity to it all and how you can grow your own food without preservatives and know exactly what is in what you are eating.
That's all for now folks. I hope this helps you in your grocery budget!
I was only in Augusta, Ga from November after our wedding to June when we moved. I tried to keep our grocery budget to $100 a week, so $400 dollars a month for 2 people. That is too much. When we left Georgia in June and moved to Wilmington, NC (trying to figure out what we were doing) we spent some time with the Smith's. Thankfully Meg taught me a little about budgeting and couponing. We now shop at Harris Teeter and do not spend more than $60 a week on groceries. This includes toiletries, paper products, etc. Get an envelope, put your grocery money in it, and when you run out...do not buy anymore! There have been days when we are grocery shopping and we take items out of our buggy in order not to go over. Once you do this, it is freeing. Trust me, try it once!
I learned of websites like Southern Savers that help you to know what is on sale for the week and what coupons match the sale items. I learned what a good "buy price" is for an item. You should always look for an item and purchase it at it's lowest price, and stock up. You may have seen the shows on TV about extreme couponing. That's not what I do... and I don't know of any stores in North Carolina that allow you to use that many coupons in one trip. Typically you can use 20 coupons per household per day. Grocery stores run on an 8 week cycle. We also began menu planning. Each week we write down what we are going to have for dinner. We both take our lunches to work and cereal, grits, eggs, or oatmeal are our breakfasts. I cook 3 or 4 nights a week and the other nights we have leftovers. Occasionally we eat out. (Our monthly budget for restaurants is $50, and this is doable!)
Having this plan in place, I was able to cut our monthly grocery budget from $400 a month, to between $200 and $220 a month. Almost half! I am not 'as' frugal as some, but I think this is a significant discount. I have not paid more than 44 cents for a tube of toothpaste or over $2 dollars a box (usually I get them for 1 to 1.50) for cereal in a year. That, my friends, is worth learning.
Another website I have just learned about is Grocery Shrink. This lady has been on the Dave Ramsey plan (from what I can tell) and she only spends $50 per person, per month on groceries. Phenomenal! I haven't become quite that talented yet. If you want to take it another step, you can buy produce at a stand or grow your own food and freeze or can to save money.
This year I am growing tomatoes. Next year, I plan to have a garden with onions, squash, zucchini, and beans. Baby steps :) I am going to try from her website to learn to can and freeze for winter.
I have always admired how frugal and wise my grandfather has been with money. He has a garden and they keep food over winter. I love the simplicity to it all and how you can grow your own food without preservatives and know exactly what is in what you are eating.
That's all for now folks. I hope this helps you in your grocery budget!
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