I’ve been posting all these recipes that you can make for *under $5; but, I realized that I hadn’t addressed how it is that I determine my own grocery budget and weekly menu.
It’s all based on per day spending. Here’s how I do it:
- First: I figure out how much money I have for the week to dedicate towards groceries: that number is usually between $20 and $40
- Then I divide that number by 7: this gives me the amount of money I can spend per day on food: so, if I have $40 to spend for the week on **food that means I have $5.71/day
- Then I divide that number by 3: this gives me the amount of money I can spend per meal: so, assuming I have $5.71/day, that means I can spend $1.90/meal
We’ll stop here for a moment to breath: I know that you might be freaking out now because $1.90 doesn’t seem like a lot of money to spend; but, trust me when I say that it is. You have to think about it from the perspective of buying raw ingredients and in bulk. The truth is that some meals may cost more or less than others on your menu; but, figuring out your per meal allowance gives you a jumping off point to start figuring out your menu for the week.
- Next I sit down with a piece of paper on which I break out by day of the week in the following manner:
Monday:
1.
2.
3.
- After I have done this I go back and figure out what I am going to eat for each meal:
Monday:
1. 1 cup of yogurt and coffee
2. Cheesy quesadillas and juice
3. Ramen with spinach and tofu, cup of applesauce for desert
- This is important: try and keep to meals which use the same ***base ingredients. You want to pick one protein for the week, one veggie for the week, etc. and stick with it consistently throughout your menu. I know that if I start off the week craving cheese and ramen and yogurt that I’m probably going to have variations on that all week. So, I might plan to have spinach salad, tofu stir fry, cheesy ramen, breakfast burritos, tortilla soup with lentils and egg salad on a toasted tortilla.
- Next: I make my “ideal” grocery list with the approximate prices of things and where I’m going to get them - you will get to know this information over time, as you develop shopping habits:
Grocery list - 10/4:
-6 packets of ramen @ 3/$1.00 - Cheaper Than Cheap
-2 bags of small white lentils @ 2/$1.00 - Cheaper Than Cheap
-1 16oz bag of spinach @ $1 - on sale at Lucky thru 10/5
-1 avocado @ $1 - on sale at Lucky thru 10/5
-1 container of frozen apple juice @ $.50 - on sale at Lucky thru 10/5
-1 3 oz can of Lucky brand mandarin oranges @ $.49 - on sale at Lucky thru 10/5
-1 can of Lucky brand chicken broth @ $1.09 - on sale at Lucky thru 10/5
-1 jar of Musselman’s unsweetened apple sauce @ $2.49 - on sale at Lucky thru 10/5
-1 dozen eggs @ $3.49 - 25th & Clement Produce Market
-1 quart of vanilla yogurt @ $2.98 - 25th & Clement Produce Market
-1 package, 10 count flour tortillas @ $2.19 - 25th & Clement Produce Market
-1 brick of Monterey Jack cheese @ $3.19 - 25th & Clement Produce Market
-2 packages of extra firm tofu @ $1.79 each - 25th & Clement Produce Market
-1 large yellow onion @ $.49 - 25th & Clement Produce Market
- This is the make you/break you part of the process: You need to total up your approximate grocery bill BEFORE you actually start to shop. The total for the above list (which is, incidentally, more than enough food for me to eat three healthy meals per day for more than a week) is $25.49 — it is imperative that you not take yourself to spending exactly what you have the budget for, as you will need to account for price variations and taxes. I try to keep myself under my budget by about $10, so that if the things which were on sale are gone I can still afford to get those items at regular prices. Not to mention that if you have a little excess grocery budget you can occasionally splurge and buy yourself a treat. I often will find something that is a treat that makes me sing with glee; like getting enough ground beef on sale to have a hamburger mid-week or finding Fudgecicles on sale for $2… Or, you’ll find that somethings you eat on a regular basis (like popcorn, apples, carrots, spaghetti) are unexpectedly on sale and you want to stock up right then so that you can take advantage of the lowered prices. You can’t do that if you spend exactly what you have.
- Next you shop: Do it all at once. Start with the place furthest away from your home and work inward. (Example: I go to Lucky first, then Cheaper than Cheap, then 25th & Clement Produce Market - which is right next to my apartment.) Take your calculator and a big backpack or reusable grocery bags. Many places will knock a quarter off your grocery tab these days if you bring your own bags and every cent counts when you’re broke.
- As you shop: you should be adding up the prices of items as you put them in your cart. If the price is drastically higher than what you anticipated, you should divide the price by 7 so you can see what the new cost per day for the item is. If it’s reasonable you can still purchase the item, provided you haven’t spent all your budget. When you check out of the first place, asses how much you’ve spent and sally forth to the next store. Ideally, when you are finished you should have spent exactly your budget or less than your budget. If you have money left over, don’t go out and spend it right away: put it in an envelope and forget about it. Do this for a couple of weeks in a row and you’ll have enough $$ saved up to go OUT to dinner one evening.
Thrifty tip #1: When you are shopping, don’t rush. Make sure to do your shopping at a time when you’re not tired or hungry - shopping under those conditions only leads to impulsive spending - which screws your budget up. Circle the grocery store as many times as you need, looking for everything on your list, as you might find it cheaper than the place you’d planned on buying it: for instance, I found ramen noodles on sale 5/$1 at Lucky one week when I had planned on buying them 3/$1 at Cheaper Than Cheap. Circle, circle, circle… you never know what you’ll find.
Thrifty tip#2: You CAN return groceries. If you find something cheaper somewhere else, don’t be afraid to take the more expensive item back. Generally the rule is that you have to take fresh produce/meat back within the same day as purchase; and, canned/dry items within a week. Granted, some places might only give you a credit; but, that’s okay because you can use that on another shopping trip.
Thrifty tip #3: You know those annoying grocery store circulars that the mailman puts in your mailbox? Check them out for cheap eats and weekly sales before you recycle them. Especially if you haven’t been shopping on your budget for a while and don’t know where the cheapo places to get grub are.
Thrifty tip #4: Clip coupons and become a “preferred card member” at all the groceries you frequent. This can lead to additional discounts and sometimes cash back… Where my parents live in Ohio the grocery store of choice is Giant Eagle; BECAUSE, if you shop with your preferred card member you earn $.25 of gas (purchased at their affiliate gas stations) for every buck you spend. Talk about thrifty! Good deal, good deal!
*Incidentally, $5 is a LOT of money to spend on a meal you make yourself, in reality most of those meals cost about a dollar to make.
**I generally set aside $10 outside of this for incidental expenses like shampoo, toilet paper or buying coffee beans, filters, milk or honey - I do not count this into my food budget. Because, you can’t eat shampoo and toilet paper; and, well - coffee - it’s just necessary to have if I’m not able to fit them into the budget. If I do not have coffee I will kill someone. I don’t use this $10 every week, most times it carries over from week to week… but, it’s good to have just in case because if you’re out of these items and you want to be able to replace them regardless of how you’ve allocated the rest of your grocery budget.
***You should always have eggs in your refrigerator or include them into your grocery budget. A dozen eggs is 12 individual meals if it has to be - eggs are INVALUABLE to the broke cook. I can’t stress that enough.
