Recently, a friend asked me how I manage to spend only $75 a week at the grocery store. Let me start by saying that I have a $100 weekly budget for both food and household items, which includes diapers, paper products, and other toiletries. On average, 75% of my money goes toward food and 25% toward household items. Of course the proportions vary depending on the needs of our household: most weeks I can get by spending only $10-15 on non-food items; some weeks I will need to make considerable household purchases and will spend less on groceries.
As food prices continue to escalate, I'm finding that my money is not going as far at the grocery store and consequently am having to make some (sometimes tough) decisions about what to buy and what to leave on the shelf each week. Like everything in life, unless you have an unlimited budget, you have to prioritize what's most important to you. Whether it's buying only organic produce and meats for your growing family or prepackaged foods for the ease and convenience it provides for your busy lives, there is an opportunity cost involved: when you buy "x," then you can't buy "y."
I have decided to start a weekly series here on Growing in His Glory to help you find ways to cut costs at the grocery store because I know how challenging it is to feed a family on a budget. Many of my tips are nothing new or earth-shattering, but hopefully they will inspire you to rethink your spending habits, re-prioritize what's most important for your family, or maybe simply try something new. Every Thursday I will offer a tip for ways to save at the grocery store. I also plan to include links, recipes, worksheets, and other tools to help us all cut back on food costs.
The bottom line is this: Everything we have is a gift from God. We
can squander our resources or preserve them by planning and saving for
the future.
"There is precious treasure and oil in the dwelling of the wise, but a foolish man swallows it up."
Proverbs 21:20
As I start this series, I invite your comments, suggestions, and helpful grocery store saving tips. I have so much to learn about this topic and hope you will share your wisdom with me.
How do YOU save at the grocery store?
May God bless you as you grow in His glory!
Keri
For comments or questions,
contact me at: growinginhisglory@gmail.com
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Keri, I'm looking forward to this series. I also budget for $100.00 and sometimes go WAY over.
ReplyDeleteThanks! I am hoping we can learn from each other how best to make use of the material blessings God has provided.
ReplyDeleteKeri,
ReplyDeleteI save money by using coupons and also shopping at a grocery outlet. We have a grocery budget, too, but with 5 children, it's a little more than $75.00. ;) I'm looking forward to this series! :)
Many blessings,
Lisa
Lisa, I have never been to a grocery outlet, but we have one nearby that I plan to check out. Thanks for your tip!
DeleteHi Keri,
ReplyDeleteI'm a newer follower to your blog. I don't know how I stumbled upon it, but I love it! I'm really looking forward to your series. One tip that I recently found helpful (and I don't know why I didn't do it before) is to make a list before you go shopping. I used to walk up and down the isles just picking stuff as I went. My grocery bill would be almost 200 dollars a week. I've cut it at least by 50 dollars.
Prayers and hugs,
Mandi
That's a great tip, Mandi! When I have left my list in the car or at home, our budget has suffered the consequences for sure! The list definitely keeps me on track and from impulse shopping. Thanks for sharing and glad to have you!
DeleteI save by using coupons, shopping sales, and only shopping 2x a month and spend no more than $160 for all groceries and household items per trip. I have several posts on saving at the grocery store on my blog including special savings tips for specific stores. Maybe it well help on this journey. Look forward to following.
ReplyDeleteMy favorite way to save at the store is buying marked down bread, produce and meat. A Ralphs near our church marks things down on Sunday morning so we swing by on the way to church. Bread is regularly $0.99 or less...this past Sunday I was about to get five bell peppers for $0.99 (they are usually around $0.70 each!). It saves us money and gives us variety...we eat whatever I find. :-)
ReplyDeleteI just thought last week that I needed to do something different. 3 of us plus Sunday company and I'm spending almost 100.00 a week. I'm looking forward to this series.
ReplyDeleteBlessings on your ministry here,
Pamela
Thanks, Pamela. I'm hoping to gain some wisdom from my readers too because there is so much to learn!
DeleteI too stumbled upon your blog as I was wondering how much is "normal" for groceries in our area. We live in Southern Calif and have one highschooler and 2 middle school boys and we spend 250 / week. Just wonderiing what others spend with similar appetities?
ReplyDeleteWe live in middle Tennessee so I suspect our prices are different from yours although from reading Life as Mom (I believe she lives in So-Cal, too.), I think you guys have greater and cheaper access to fresh produce. Plus, I'm feeding little kids with bird-like appetites, not growing boys, so your budget will definitely be bigger than mine. Hopefully, this series will help you find ways to cut costs at the store regardless of your budget. Thanks for stopping by!
DeleteI'm a new reader and am looking forward to what you find or others have to offer in this area. I am a long time cheapskate, uh frugal spender : ) I check tuesday circulars, for price comparisons or sales and I coupon clip. I try to keep my budget to $300, but lately it's been closer to $400 a month. My couponing is certainly not to the extent of the extreme couponers, but it helps. I buy when sales are on and freeze, dry or more recently can for storage. Our garden is producing a lot of our salad items and am expanding this year for more fresh veggies. We have a small orchard that is finally producing a fair amount of fruit to try to offset the cost of fresh produce. I homeschool so I make this part of our "earth science". Bulk stores are reserved more for gas purchases, especially now in So Cal gas at most stations is going for 4.29 a gallon so 4.19 at Costco is a help, also toilet paper, cheese and pet food I purchase here. Smart and Final has good bulk rice, pasta, cereal and dried beans. Stater Brothers seems to have the best meat especially for the price and regularly has decent sales. We started keeping chickens last May and they have been wonderful suppliers of eggs.
ReplyDeleteWith 3 kids at home and a bottomless pit for a teenage son I have to be creative with cooking a lot of large meals that I can freeze in smaller portions for him to heat up quickly when he needs another food fix. There are some smaller farmers market style stands that have good prices on fresh produce, so I'll make a trip here in conjunction with my Stater Brothers trip. I hate shopping so I really try to keep my trips to one, maybe two a month and budget to buy what I need and make do the rest of the time. Will be checking in as you continue this series.