How We Eat on $250 a Month.

Blogged on Wednesday, May 14th, 2008 by Rachael. Filed in Blog365, Budget Advice.

Yeah, you think I’m kidding, right? Five people (two adults, three kids) eating ACTUAL food - not ketchup sandwiches or tartar sauce packets - on two hundred and fifty bucks a month? I must be joking.

No, I am so completely not kidding you. I know there are those of you who are reading right now saying, Come on, I eat on less than that. You can do better!, and there are those of you reading this right now saying, “But I spend that much every WEEK for my family!”

Step One: Make a Meal List!

I have a confession to make. I am addicted to making lists of things. If you’ve been here very long at all, I’m sure you’ve seen at least a list or two. I LOVE lists. They keep things organized in such a lovely neat way, and you can cross things off when they’re completed, which creates the most wonderful accomplishment sensations.

So, every month, Troy and I sit down and we make A LIST of what we are going to make for dinners/lunches/breakfasts/snacks for the next 30-odd days. I print off a calendar and we mark it all up from our list, deciding where each meal will fit and where we have days where leftovers is really the best option for a quick dinner.

In order to make a good list, and make it really work, you have to be able to visualize your entire month. You have to know what you’ve got planned already for that period of time - where the kids might be, or what might happen on certain nights that would keep you from being able to make a big dinner. For instance, every Thursday I’m either picking my youngest up or dropping him off, and that’s not a night we do a big family dinner. We eat healthy leftovers that day instead, so whenever I get home (with or without the little guy), I (or we) can still eat something good for us.

(This also keeps me from giving into the fast food temptation and just buying some fries for the drive home.)

Tip: PLAN LEFTOVERS IN YOUR MEAL PLAN!

Because you’re not only reducing waste, you’re actually getting all the use you can out of the food you bought! And planning meals on purpose that are so large you have leftovers is smarter and less work than trying to come up with an entirely new meal every night that’s still cheap to fix.

Step Two: Make a Grocery List!

Now that you have your meal list, you’re not just going to the store with that, right? RIGHT?

No, you need to take your meal plan, and the running list of all the other stuff you ran out of during the past month or so, and make a master grocery list out of it all. EVERYTHING. Don’t leave anything out if you can help it, because it’s always easier to do it all at once. There are always things you can’t necessarily buy in bulk and expect them to last a month (like milk, or fruit), but most of the things you need can be bought in a larger, more efficient quantity. And you save money that way too, usually.

Troy is actually so obsessed with this part that he insists on saving every single grocery list we make, so he can compare them to each other month’s list. It’s so darn cute.

Tip: DON’T FORGET TO BUDGET SNACKS!

Because if you don’t budget them in, you’ll spend money you didn’t mean to later because you were REALLY jonesing for a bag of chips or a chocolate cake. Trust me on this one.

Step Three: Make a Store Plan!

You went to all the trouble of planning a months’ worth of meals. You went to the great lengths of writing down EVERYTHING you need for the month in a grocery list. Now, the worst thing to do would be to just run to the nearest store and get everything there - because, chances are, that’s not the best economical decision for your budget.

What we do is visit, on average, three different grocery stores. Part of this comes with experience: I know which stores have the best prices on dairy, or produce, or frozen goods. But you never know what you’ll find (or what they’ll be unexpectedly out of), so one of the BEST reasons to make your plan and list ahead of time is that you already know what you’re expecting to do this month, and you can make informed decisions to do something else if you happen to not find a turkey breast for $1.15 a pound like usual.

There is a big chain near us (Kroger) that has great manager’s specials on bread and on meat, although the meat is hard to catch (it’s usually on Saturdays). However, I have gotten an average of six to ten loaves of bread at a pop for about $1 to $1.50 a loaf this way, and we freeze whatever we’re not using yet. This way, I can feed my kids healthier wheat bread, which is what I’ve always preferred. Planning ahead lets me feed them what I’d rather, instead of whatever I find at the moment when I’m already strapped for time or cash.

Also, we take advantage of stores like Aldi’s and Save-a-Lot, because their off brands are SO MUCH CHEAPER for dairy, produce, and boxed items than most other larger supermarkets or grocery stores.

Tip: HAVE AT LEAST A HALF DAY TO GROCERY SHOP!

Because it’s worth it, and you don’t need to feel rushed. Remember that once you get your technique down, you won’t have to do a big shopping trip more than once a month.

Step Four: Don’t Spend the Whole Budget at Once!

Maybe this should have been step one, but I’m putting it here because this is the point at which you might have realized you’re spending in line with your budget, and maybe you have room for more snacks - DON’T give in to the temptation to spend it all.

You’re going to need more food during the month than you bought. Maybe you’re having someone over unexpectedly, or your kids drank more milk this week than you thought they would. Maybe you made more grilled cheese sandwiches than normal because nobody was in the mood for anything else. Not only that, but you’re going to run out of dairy and produce anyhow - or it’ll go bad (if you bought to much), so plan on at least one more short store run each week.

Tip: BRING A CALCULATOR!

I love my calculator. It keeps me within budget, it helps me determine whether or not $5.99 for four pounds is a better deal than $1.29 for four one-pound increments (Hint: NO). And most importantly, it puts me in control of the shopping process. No more surprises at the register for me, unless they’re the really nice kind, when something is even cheaper than you thought.

Step Five: Stick To Your Plan!

The easiest way to screw the whole month is to not pay attention to your meal plan, and to totally space out on what meat needs to be defrosted when, or why you shouldn’t eat all the snacks in less than a week.

Be kind to yourself - you went to all this trouble, now follow through by doing what you planned in the first place. And then gloat when you stay within your budget, because DAMMIT, you did A GOOD JOB.

Final Tip: THERE’S ALWAYS ROOM IN THE BUDGET FOR AT LEAST ONE SPECIAL TREAT!

My favorites are gummi bears, Doritos, and sometimes ice cream.

Now go forth and budget!