One of the questions I am often asked is "how do you keep your grocery bill so low?"
The biggest way to save money is to buy items for their nutrients, not because you want it. I think I could eat fruit all day long, but there would be big consequences for that!
We've made some big changes during the last six weeks. We've bumped up our food budget to $400, I started serving more meat and veggies, bought a 1/4 of a beef and a 1/2 of a pig, cut out almost all grains, and I'm trying to buy local items as often as possible. With a $400 food budget, I need to be very careful in how I spend our money.
Previously, I mentioned that I was able to cut our food bill down to $260 per month because I tracked all of our spending by category (protein, veggies, dairy, fruit, bread, junk, etc.). I decided that I needed to do this again.
I tracked all of the groceries that I purchased from the 1st-15th.
- I found that I spent $17.00 on almonds. ALMONDS, PEOPLE. With everything that I'm trying to do that was a DUMB purchase! Plus, I don't have any control when it comes to almonds so I don't really want too many of them around.
- I spent $5.00 on tinned fish... healthy, but we have cheaper alternatives!
- I picked up a package of hot dogs - spur of the moment (Yuck - why hot dogs?)
- Asparagus spent $2.50 per pound while green beans are only $1.00 per pound (while this is a nice change, it shouldn't be something I get into the habit of picking up every week)
- Spent $2.58 on canned chicken broth. When I make my own, I get twice as much broth for about $1.00.
- Local raw honey - love this honey, it's amazing! I know now that I can get it at our "market in the park" for a couple dollars cheaper. I didn't know this until Saturday though.
Frugal Tip: Taking the time to record and review your purchases will definitely open your eyes!
Check out WFMW at We are THAT Family for more tips!
thank you for the tips, I am going to be putting us on a strict budget in a week or two and all of your tips really help me!
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