Family Meal Planning on a Budget: How I Saved $80 on Groceries Last Month

Do you struggle to save money on your grocery bill each month?

I always have, and I really thought it wasn’t going to be possible to get it under control, because every time I tried, I ended up spending more than I intended.

Does that happen to you, too?

Well, I was determined not to give up. Instead, I started doing better with meal planning on my meager budget and watching for sales that could help my family eat well for less.

It began to get better, thank goodness. Especially during the past few months.

If you could save money each month on your grocery bill, how much would you want to save?

Here's How I Saved $80 on Groceries

I am so grateful for being able to save on groceries last month, and I’m hoping to save more than that before this month comes to an end. As a single mom with a low food budget, I cut corners wherever I can.

What has helped, thus far, is setting a budget goal and then, trying to be more flexible in my meal planning. I already plan for budget meals, but then, when I am at the store, if I see a sale on something my son and I like, we load up on it, sometimes changing what I had planned for that week or month in favor of something less expensive.

I also get more than we need when something’s on sale, which saves me money all month long. For example, if I intended to buy 2-3 boxes of cereal that week, but I get there & find that the cereal has a BOGO sale, or an even better deal than that, I try to get enough for the entire month.

When I can, I get some for the following month, which means I already save on the next month's total amount. Now, that is not always easy to do.

What if you don't have extra money to put toward the next month's groceries? If not, don't worry about it. Sometimes I don't, either.

But when I can, I put a little money aside for exactly those kinds of deals because the payoff is so big. If I can buy next month's cereal or oatmeal, or pasta, or whatever, then I might be able to buy something next month that would normally be too expensive!

Or, I can build in a cushion I wouldn't normally have for something I didn't plan for, like having friends over, or a celebration that adds to that month's budget.

Last month, I was in heaven, because so much of the food we buy regularly was on sale. And more than once in the same month!

Family Meals on a Budget: 5 Ways You Can Save on Your Groceries, too

Here is what you can do to save on groceries...

(1) Shop the sales, first looking to see if the things you eat regularly are on sale.

Publix often offers BOGO sales & Kroger often offers buy five and you save $5 or $10 by doing so. And I am sure there are similar sales at your favorite grocery stores, too.

(2) Next, look for things on sale that you don't buy normally & figure out ways to include them in your meal planning for that week, or the next one.

That is how my son and I discovered a new pasta sauce we like. I saw a big jar of it on sale for $1, so we grabbed it. And we loved it when we used it for our ravioli dinner.

So it became one of our go-to pasta sauces, and whenever it's on sale for $1, we stock up.

(3) Stock up whenever you can...

Especially if it is something you have a regular part of your meal planning. If you can buy next's month's oatmeal or rice, then you've already saved money on next month's bills, too.

Now, some stores have limits on how many you can buy at a time. I think  often can only use the deal once in one shopping session.

So I find out when the sale ends and then, go back several more times before it's over to stock up.

(4) Put aside money each month that you are able to, so you can take advantage of windfall sales you weren't expecting...

I haven't always been able to stock up the way I'd like to, if I haven't put enough aside. So I created a budget for sales savings.

I have been building it gradually, but am hoping to eventually have $100/month available just to spend on stocking up.

Mind you, I don't intend to ever actually spend that much in one month on stocking up, but I'd like to have it available, just in case. And it's easy to see how it could happen occasionally during months like this past one, when so many things were on sale.

What you can do is calculate how much you have saved ahead for the following month and then, put that aside at the beginning of that month. If you're able to add to it, that's even better, because that would increase your ability to take advantage of the sales.

(5) Get creative with your meal planning...

If I have loaded up on a $10 for 10 sale with my pasta sauce, I am going to try to find several different pasta recipes to try, in addition to our favorites. I may even look for different kinds of meals -for example, a cream sauce could be used on meals other than pasta ones.

Access my free lifestyle library to download free meal planning worksheets.

The Dinner for a Dollar Update

Several months ago, I mentioned that I was using the Ultimate Healthy Meal Bundle to do a better job of planning healthy meals, without busting my budget. And I said that one of the books in the bundle had inspired me to plan for a dinner budget of $1 per dinner per person.

The Update: I still have not gotten there yet, but neither have I stopped trying. I usually end up around $1.25 or $1.50 and I can live with that, to be honest. I’m not sure I will reach dollar perfection, but even getting close is a big improvement.

Meal Planning for Occasional Splurges

 
About once a month or so, I plan for a meal that costs more than my usual budget allows us. We love pasta, and once a month, we plan a ravioli extravaganza that ends up costing about $12, all told.

Far from dinner-for-a-dollar, it ends up costing about $6 per person.

But it’s worth it. We do save by buying the grocery store brand ravioli, but we get the pasta sauce we like most and the shredded cheese we like, to go on top. Every once in a while, we even get rolls to have with the meal, which adds almost $4 more.

Note: The pasta sauce does occasionally go on sale for $1, as I mentioned above, and we stock up when it does, but for this meal, we buy the sauce we love even when it's regular price.

I think it’s important to splurge every once in a while, as often as your budget makes possible, so you don’t feel too deprived. So we do.

What are your meal budget struggles? And what helps you save a little (or a lot) here and there?

See you next time!

Love, Jeanine