In the month of November we had our lowest budgeted month for groceries yet. We paid approximately $250 for two people’s groceries for the entire month, which isn’t too bad at all! I’d be happy to get it even lower but I realize this may be unrealistic and don’t want to be stressing out too much about our spending; as long as it’s reasonable I’m definitely okay with it.
The main reason why our grocery bills were so low in November was because we ate everything in the refrigerator until there was nothing left. It wasn’t as pleasant as getting to pick whatever I wanted out of a variety of things, but it felt great to actually use up almost all of the food we purchased before going to get more. It easily cut our amount of food waste in half or so.
If I don’t feel like eating peppers but that’s all that’s left in the fridge, that’s what I get! I think that living in a first world country has created a mindset where people don’t even notice the food that is going to waste simply because they don’t want it. Many people can only dream of having a choice in what food they eat, if there is any food to eat at all. I realize I completely sound like a parent telling their child to eat all of their vegetables because “there are starving children in Africa”, but it really is true!
Another thing we have been more mindful of is when we go away for a few days to visit family (which is the requirement since they live so far away), we try to be mindful and not do a big grocery shop right beforehand. Inevitably some of that food goes to waste as we forget about it or don’t get back home in time to eat it all. It’s better again to leave the fridge a little bit emptier rather than more full.
Some of the regular practices we have such as buying what’s on sale for the week and freezing, and getting discounted meat and other items (as long as they’re still good) also helped to lower the bill. Staying away from junk food helps too. We’ve been making more of an effort to avoid frozen pizza and the like. It’s not that this food is that expensive (when on sale), but I end up hungry 15 minutes later because it’s basically just eating cardboard crap! So I end up eating twice the amount, gaining weight, feeling crappy and spending more money in the grand scheme of things.
Good for you for reducing your spending so nicely on groceries!
While we have really reduced the amount we throw out we haven’t really reduced our grocery bill each month. It is significantly lower than previous years where we were not paying any attention at all, but each month it sits between $450 and $600. We recently purchased quite a few meat items on sale, so we are hoping that we have enough stuff to get us through a good part of January. May only need milk or eggs. That would be a nice way to begin the year.
At least you have reduced waste. I think that’s pretty important! And that would be a great way to start off the new year and recoup the extra costs that come along with December :)
Buying things in bulk, like dries beans, is so much less expensive than buying cans. Of course you have to remember to soak them overnight OR invest on a pressure cooker. Dried beans in twenty minutes with a pressure cooker is pretty good and I am not worrying that something dreadful is leaching out of the cans.
Making a weekly pot of soup is a great way to use up odd bits of veggies and rice and pasta…you can add almost anything. It is great to have on hand for lunch or even breakfast. (I am weird)
This past summer I discovered that if I had dressed salad left over I could chop it up, lettuce and all and add it too tomato veggie soup. The vinegar from the salad dressing adds a nice kick and you don’t notice they were slightly wilted in the soup.
I could do with a pressure cooker, but I’d be annoying to deal with soaking overnight. One day maybe! haha Soup for breakfast, well I’ve seen you eat weirder! :P That’s a great idea for salad, never would have thought of it!
you only have to soak the beans if you cook them the regular way, not when you use the pressure cooker.
We always seem to have problems with our grocery budget! It’s either we buy too many snacks or buy too much food and it spoils.
We’ve definitely done both of those things. But the snacks I can say are 100% the other person’s fault. But I do tend to lean towards getting fruits and veggies and when they are on sale and maybe pick up a few more than we can eat on time.
Just like Michelle, I always buy too many snacks or buy too much food and it spoils. I am definitely going to make a better effort at eating everything in the fridge until there is nothing left before I grocery shop again. That alone should be a noticeable decrease in my grocery spending. Thanks for the helpful tips :)
You’re welcome. Good luck with it ! It honestly does help.
Good tips. I always feel really guilty when we end up throwing away food. Milk and meat are my biggest downfalls. I buy them thinking I’ll cook with the milk and cook the meat, then I get busy and don’t do either. This year I’m making a concerted effort to eat everything we buy and eliminate food waste.
I’ve done the same before, but I usually try to remember to throw the meat in the freezer if I am not going to get to cook it.
$250 for two people in one month is AMAZING. I feel like sometimes I haven’t eaten a vegetable in weeks and that’s because even though we do cook at home, it’s not the healthiest stuff.
That reminds me, there’s some spinach in the fridge I should use up…
In winter (usually January) I try to have one month when we eat only the inventory in the pantry and refrigerator/freezer. We mostly drink only water and tea so we don’t have to run out for drinks. My hubby likes fruit daily so that is an exception. It is a nice budget booster after December which tends to be our most expensive month.