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Every month is there groceries spoiling in your refrigerator? Are bananas turning brown and gooey, bread going moldy, and cake mixes going stale in your kitchen?
Did you know Americans throw away 40% of the groceries they purchase per year? That adds up to $165 billion USD per year (According to MarketWatch.com).
If your family’s grocery budget is $400 per month for a year you are spending $4,800 ($400 x 12 mos) on groceries. If 40% is wasted you are throwing away $1,920 in groceries per year.
Wouldn’t you prefer this to be in your savings account? Maybe it’s time to re-evaluate how you put together your grocery budget.
Wait…do you even have a grocery budget at all?
Growing up, my parents never seemed to have a grocery budget either. My mom only purchased what was in the sale papers that week. Yes, she took two kids to the grocery store with her on a weekly basis.
My dad literally buys the same thing every single week even to this day; 5lbs of hamburger, 1 loaf of white bread, a case of Coca-Cola, and a bottle of ketchup. He is a really unique character. What can I say?
If you are stuck in a routine similar to this one I have created some steps for you to follow to get out of this rut. And better yet, this will help save you money on your monthly food budget.
4 Easy Steps To Create A Grocery Budget
1. Review your credit card statements and bank statements from last month.
You are looking at every account is used to pay for food. Below are the categories you’ll want to separate them into.
- Groceries
- Lunch cafeteria’s
- Restaurants
- Vending machines
As you come across these write them down under each category along with the amount spent. I promise this is about to make sense.
2. Add the amounts together for each category
This is going to show you how much you spend eating out along with how much you spend at the grocery store. Are the amounts surprising to you? Is the amount more or less than you originally thought?
3. Set a goal for your grocery budget
I know this seems like you should’ve done this step first right? If I had asked you to set your goals first it would’ve been hard for you to be specific in how much you want your grocery budget to be.
My monthly budget for 1 person is $150 per month. For the last 2 years, this budget has worked wonders for me because I rarely eat out. I never have to throw away spoiled food. In the next step, I’ll show you how I achieve that.
Ok, you have seen how much you are already spending at the grocery store. Now, it will be easier to decide how much of that you want to cut to prevent overspending and spoilage.
Helpful tip: If you throw out a lot of food consider spending $100 less at the grocery store for next month.
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4. Make your grocery list
Here is how I’m able to stay within $150 per month.
I review recipes to decide what I’m going to cook. I’m not worried about eating the same thing multiple days in a row. I live for leftovers. On Sundays, I cook two meals for the week. I triple the service size of each recipe. I even pack these meals for lunch at work.
Once you know what you are going to cook your grocery list will consist of only ingredients. I stick to recipes with cheap meats such as chicken, tuna, and ground turkey. I purchase red meat only when it’s on sale.
Make your grocery list in the kitchen. Only add items your family is currently eating. These are usually snack items.
Consider cooking certain items from scratch while you are creating your grocery budget:
- Pancakes
- Spaghetti
- Chili
If you’re feeling adventurous
- Bread
- Biscuits
- Dinner Rolls
I have found that flour and eggs are cheaper than boxes of pancake mix.
One can of hunts spaghetti sauce and a package of raw pasta is cheaper than the frozen pasta meals.
If you have the patience to wait for the bread to rise you’ll get more servings for the same price as a store-bought loaf of bread.
A little secret: It takes me about 25 minutes to make biscuit dough and cut out each biscuit. In the end, I have 12 biscuits for only $1.20 total. How much is a can of biscuits with 10 or fewer servings in your grocery store?
*Side note: alcohol is not included in a grocery budget. You will need to budget separately for that.
Concluding Thoughts
Review your statements from last month, add together how much you are spending in each food category, set a grocery budget goal, and make your grocery list.
Following these steps every month will make it easier to find your budget sweet spot so you can keep more cash in your pocket. The best part about this setup is you only have to do step 1 once.
You’ll know when you go over your budget. It’s going to be trial and error for the first 90 days but you’ll get the hang of it. It will become 2nd nature if you stick to it.
The best part of making this a habit is your grocery list will only take you 20 minutes to complete every month. How awesome is that?
Have questions, email me at ask@howtobudgetnow.com
Looking for more great money-saving tips? Subscribe below and get my FREE ebook, How to Save Money on Your Utilities. You’ll want to check out my chapter on decreasing your grocery bill. Who couldn’t use a little extra cash each month?!
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