Yes, you read that correctly. Barring any financial disasters or major life changes, we will be paying off a house in less than 24 months.
How can we possibly do this? The two biggest factors are: two incomes and careful money management. Part of our money management includes adhering to a strict saving/giving/spending (SGS) plan each month. (AKA... The Budget)
Our SGS plan has several categories, one of which is for groceries, and it is set at $80 a month. If you have debt that you want to get rid of or if you want to be able to save more money, consider these 5 strategies that we use to keep our monthly grocery budget at or below this amount.
- Cash only: We bring cash to pay for our groceries. When we used credit cards (which we have since cut up) and even debit cards, I always had a hard time staying within the budget. When you only have $20 to spend, that is what you spend. You will spend more time evaluating how much items cost and how they fit into your budget if you only bring cash.
- Bulk foods (when it makes sense): Buying in bulk can often, but not always, save you money. If you know you will not be able to use fresh food that you buy in bulk before it spoils, don't buy it! Otherwise, you are literally throwing money away. Also, compare the price per unit on bulk foods versus smaller packaged items. Retailers can often 'trick' you by charging more if you buy in a larger package. If the grocer doesn't list the price per unit, bring a calculator or use your phone's calculator feature.
- Unprocessed foods: Cook from scratch. Yes, it may take more time but if you plan properly you can cook a healthy, tasty, and low-cost meal by preparing all of the ingredients yourself. When you buy pre-cut veggies or fruit, frozen meals, or boxed meals, you are paying extra for the time it takes the producer to process the raw ingredients. A slow-cooker (e.g. a CrockPot) can take a lot of the time and hassle out of cooking from scratch. In order to stick to less than $20 a week, we make a lot of stews, cook beans and rice with Mexican flavoring, and stir-fry veggies and tofu.
- Coupons: If you get a Sunday paper, there are often several inserts with dozens of coupons in them. The key here is not to buy something just because you have a coupon. I once got a $3.75 pound of coffee for a $0.75 because I had a coupon for $1 off from the producer and my local grocery store had their own promotional $2 off coupon. I get the coupons and then go shopping the same day so that I don't forget about them.
- Low meat diet: Meat is expensive! I only buy lean cuts of meat that are on sale and then buy them in bulk and freeze a lot of it for future use. Even then, we only eat meat with maybe 2 or 3 meals a week or we use just a little in each meal. We get protein from other sources, such as eggs, tofu, and beans. Not only is this a healthier way to eat, it is also better for the environment.
Oh my gosh... can I go shopping with you? My hubby and I were trying $150/month on groceries, and we failed miserably. Our fridge was a sad, empty picture. I'm still convinced it's possible, but haven't quite gotten the science of it down. Would help if I planned ahead and cooked.:)
ReplyDeleteHow is this possible? Can you post examples of your shopping list? And from there post recipes? I would really, really appreciate the help!
ReplyDeleteHi Stacy. I will try to do a post on what to actually buy later on, but for now here is my advice.
ReplyDeleteI try to do three things in terms of a shopping list and one thing to make sure we eat the food we buy.
1) Keep staples in supply. (dried beans, rice, pasta, etc.) These items are cheap and can often be bought in bulk cheaply. The trick is to rotate when you stock up on staples so that you don't run out of them all at one time.
2) Buy what is on sale or low cost. Your grocery store frequently rotates the items it has on sale. If you pay attention, you will begin to see the sales pattern wherever you live. Also, in order to keep a steady supply of fruits and veggies in the house, I buy what is on sale or cheap (and we are willing to eat) and then make my meals around those items. For example, this week spinach and pork were on sale so I made lentil soup with a little bit of pork added and spinach (very tasty!) and we made enough to last several meals. Apples were also on sale at my grocery store for an amazing $0.44 a pound so I bought several pounds and will be using some for regular snacking and some for baking. Shopping this way means that meals are often more creative and exciting, and we don't get stuck in a rut buying the same foods over and over regardless of price.
3. Go to more than one grocery store if it makes 'cents.' (Hopefully, dollars) I am fortunate to have two grocery stores within close proximity of one another. One of them specializes in providing high quality but CHEAP produce and the other just has generally good prices but is not as cheap as the other on produce. I can walk out of the first one (Newflower Farmers Market here in Austin) with two large bags of produce for less than $10. The other one I go to for good deals on everything else. If going to two grocery stores just to save a buck means driving several miles out of your way, it probably doesn't save you money given the time spent and gas used to get there.
And for my final point on how to use what you buy. LEFTOVERS. In order to maximize on sales and minimize cooking time (since we cook from scratch), we make enough of one major dish to last the two of us for a week. This doesn't mean we eat the same meal 3 times a day, 7 days in a row- but we usually eat that dish for one meal out of the day until it is gone. (We both take our lunch to work as well.)
I hope this helps!