I decided to take a break from listing our entire week’s food and costs this week(Week #1 and Week #2). I am not sure I like doing all of that and I am not sure it is helpful. So this week, with the help of Mr T.3, I thought of some ideas of how I am successful at keeping our budget low, even with the rise of food costs.
Here are a couple of thoughts I have for you this week. I hope they are helpful. I am going to guess some/most of you will have the same response as my BFF. She says it’s great I do these things and that they work for me, but she could never do them. I totally understand. For me it is a choice to be able to stay at home, so even though this isn’t the most fun to me, I do it, because it makes it possible for me to stay at home. Give it a try. I’m not saying that it will be fun, but it does work.
1. Plan your meals. I feel so like my mother when I say that, but it really works. I used to only plan our dinner menus, but over time, I realized that lunches were haphazard and we didn’t always have the right things on hand or we had too much so food got wasted. So, I tried planning our lunches as well and it really helped. I know I sound like an old fuddy duddy, but I have a day of the week that I plan meals and a day of the week that I go shopping. We vary when needed, but generally, that is it. It is done and I don’t have to hit the store 5 times or think about what we need for dinner, etc. That part of this is really nice. Less to think about and figure out on a daily basis is always better in my book. I just write my meals out on a magnetic to-do list I bought at the $1 spot at Target. Update – I’ve since created this beautiful command center for my fridge that has my meal plan
2. Look through your fridge for ‘free’ food. When I plan my meals, I look through my fridge for those bits and pieces of things that can help to make a meal. One great and often used example, often when we have hamburgers for dinner there are leftover hamburger buns. Those then are used to make turkey or pb&j sandwiches the next week. If I buy a bag of potatoes and use 4 for baked potatoes, there are 2 left, those go into a frittata for dinner one night. This week, I needed bacon for that frittata. It only needed 4 slices. I found another family favorite dinner recipe that could use most of the rest. I guess it is that Girl Scout in me…using my resources wisely…AND it saves me a lot of money.
3. Make a list. Again, I feel so like my mother when I write that and again it works – maybe I learned a thing or two from her! 🙂 Take the plan you made and figure out exactly what you need for the week. Write a list or put the list in the app on your phone. Now when you go to the store, and this is the most important part, STICK TO THE LIST! I know they will have all those pretty displays and sales, but if you give in to them, then they win and you lose. I know some people who plan their meals based on what is on sale for the week. Kudos to them. It sounds fantastic and like it would really work. For some reason, it doesn’t work for me. It just feels like it takes too much brain power.
I’ve also written about an app that helps me stay on budget and how to keep this whole process organized each week.
What do you do that saves you money on food? I would love you to leave a comment. We can help each other…I always love new ideas!
I love your dry eraser board Idea. I write down what I have in the freezer and frig to make a meal with then make my menu. I think the board would make it easier to make my shopping list.
Thanks! I REALLY want to go get the one I’ve seen at Target, but have to be careful with $ right now. So, it will have to wait. Boo. I think the board would make it easy also when we change things around as we so frequently do. Then just erase it and change it – no arrows pointing here, there, and everywhere. 🙂