7 Simple Ways I Cut Our Food Budget in Half: A Non-Guru's "Guide" to Groceries & Meals

The Backstory {Because I'm a writer and even a post about groceries has a backstory.}

I'm no guru about anything. Unless there's a guru status on laundry-avoidance because I've got that one nailed.

I'm not a decorating expert or a financial expert or a parenting expert. I've got a knack for certain things but not to the extent that I can professionalize any of it.

I'm a real wife and a real mom and a real homemaker, somewhat of a hacker and a slacker. I'm long on dreaming but short on patience and follow-through. And though I love finding better ways to do everyday tasks, I become easily overwhelmed by complicated systems and binders and planning sheets. Don't get me wrong, I actually love organizing and plannerly products and to-do lists. I can browse the aisles of Staples for hours. But I've learned that for me, I have to keep systems, procedures, and tasks as simple and personalized as possible.

I use a spiral notebook, pencil, and calculator to budget and pay bills. I keep a one-week dry-erase calendar on our fridge for our family schedule and meals.

The way I plan meals and buy groceries is equally simple.

These aren't the sort of posts I normally do. But because meal-planning and grocery-shopping are tasks that all of us have to do, I thought I'd share my easy, non-guru methods with the rest of you. Take it or leave it. There are lots of actual experts with entire blogs and books devoted to this subject. But if you want a Cliff's Notes / non-extreme / no coupons way to approach the often-dreaded task of feeding your family easily and economically, perhaps you'll find some encouragement here.

This year my husband and I set some rather audacious financial goals. We decided we were ready to get super serious about some endeavors that we've put off because we've had more important issues to tackle. Timing is everything. We're at a good place and on the same page. We've squinted at the numbers and squeezed every dime out of each possible category.

The trickle-down effect is this: we pretty much cut our food budget in half. Because we're just getting started on this "adventure," I can't tell you how well it's going to work long-term. I can only tell you how it's working so far through February.

Can I be honest? I hate even writing about money and "systems" and goals. Doing so makes me accountable. But deep down I know that accountability is a needful thing. It would thrill me to be able to update you 6 months from now and say, "The non-guru guide is still working! We're saving money! We're still not starving!"

But the only way to reach our goals is if we're realistic and honest about ourselves, our spouses, and our individual situations. After many fits and starts over the years, months of couponing and stockpiling and knowing the amount of time it takes and mental energy it requires and physical exhaustion I feel afterward, I decided to take a mostly non-couponing, super realistic approach to planning and shopping.

I've devoted the last two-ish years to rest. And during those two years my husband and I resolved that I would not take on added stress and time-consuming endeavors, like coupons and being hyper-vigilant about the grocery budget. My goal was to keep food in the house, lunches in the lunchboxes, and dinner on the table. Sure, I was mindful of food prices and I saved when I could but I didn't stress or obsess. This was all fine and good and necessary for those two years. In the process, however, I also got a little bit lazy.

I'm in a different place now, ready and able to be more proactive about my responsibilities. But proactive in a reasonable and therefore {hopefully} sustainable way. This is not a sprint; it's a marathon. I need a system that can work long-term.

So here's my non-fancy / realistic / no-coupon way of slashing our food budget. In half. {Yes, it's possible.}

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The Plan {Because even if you hate plans, you've got to have one. A plan is 90% of the battle.}

1. A monthly plan. I plan out all the meals I'll make in a month and approximately how many leftover meals we'll also have. I don't assign meals to a day. That's too hard-core and inflexible for me. I write out our meals one week at a time but I have a plan for the meals I'll make over the month. A month's worth of meals + lunch stuff + breakfast stuff gives me my grocery list for the month.

If this sounds like too much work and planning, I'll let you in on a secret. It took me ten minutes. No lie.

Behold my very sophisticated system. {And terrible photo.}

I make a list of our meals and how many times I'll make it or how many leftover meals it will provide. When my tally reaches 30 meals or so, I'm done. Then it's on to the grocery list.

2. Make a grocery list based on my monthly menu. I've been surprised at how little time this takes. Maybe 20 minutes? Then I divide up what I'm going to purchase where.

3. Shop with purpose & with a plan. I'm now doing my shopping at two main stores, Aldi and Costco. I make one big trip to both stores in a month and those two trips get most of what we need. I purchase more milk, bread, and produce in between but I'm trying to get most of this stuff at Aldi too. A new one just opened up not too far away so that's making it easier.

4. Paying cash. We get paid once a month and that means we budget, pay bills, and plan groceries and meals within a monthly scope. Years ago I did the cash system for groceries and it really does make a difference so I'm doing it again. 

When you hand over those hard-earned bills to the cashier, you think twice about how much you really need something. When you know that cash has to last to the end of the month, you're careful with it. I've read that paying cash for your groceries lowers your bill by 30% on average.

5. No eating out. Not that we did much of that anyway. It was more of the little things that added up. A drink from the drive-thru. A Starbucks treat. Lunch at the coffee shop. This means more planning ahead and being disciplined {such a painful word} and delayed gratification. I'll be honest...this is embarrassingly hard for me. My love language is food treats. And also lip gloss.

6. Our meals are simple-ish. I enjoy really good food. I even enjoy making the occasional gourmet dish or dessert. But day in and day out, my time and energy and passions don't jive with fussy meals. I've found what works for us and there's a fair amount of repetition. But we enjoy a hot meal most nights around our kitchen table and that's my definition of win.

7. Know yourself. There are many ways to save big on your food budget but I've learned that none of them will work unless it's realistic and doable for you.

My time, sanity, and health are valuable and finite. If meal-planning and grocery-shopping and money-saving uses up a lot of that time, sanity or health, then I may have saved bunches of money but I've paid a hefty price.

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Full disclosure. I didn't think we could stay within this budget without coupons, store-hopping, making everything from scratch, and deprivation. I thought it would take more time than it does. I thought I'd be stressed. I thought I'd be grumpy over what I couldn't buy. I've never been so happy to be wrong.

A few more things. We eat healthy-ish but it's far from ideal. I try to purchase mostly real, whole food. I attempt to avoid too many processed foods but I don't obsess. While I would love to buy mostly organic and local, it's not within our current budget. I will be able to do a bit more of this during farmer's market season. We don't have food allergies nor are we gluten-free or dairy-free. In short, we do the best we can with the resources we have and I don't fret about imperfections. Each family's needs and priorities are different and one's budget will obviously reflect those differences.

Have more questions? {Why Aldi? Why Costco? What do you cook? What is your monthly food budget?} Ask away in the comments and I'll do my best to answer you there.

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This post linked to {and featured on} the Grace at Home Party hosted by the lovely Richella at Imparting Grace. 

This post first appeared at a la mode: a little scoop for every slice of life.

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