Budgeting on Groceries: My Top 5 Tips!

Hey all!

I am writing to you today because I have been working on making our budget tighter and (hopefully) our savings more plentiful. When Chris and I first moved in together, our grocery shopping trips were mildly hilarious. We bought so many random items (S'mores chocolate milk anyone? Cups of edible cookie dough?) and we would just stock up like crazy. We lived on the third floor, and Chris built a pulley on our balcony to help us carry up all our grocery bags. Haha! We didn't have Ben yet, we were both working and we had supplemental income from the salon, and we basically just went a little crazy. We have slowly been learning to cut down on costs, cook more often at home, and waste less. (SO MUCH would go to waste!) I cook dinner pretty much every night - we might get takeout, go to a dinner at one of our family member's homes, or go out to eat once in a while, but typically Chef Bigliardi is serving the specials, y'all! I have become a better and more efficient grocery shopper through experience, tips from family and friends, and websites! It truly is a talent - I remember my mom stocking her coupon book every week before we went grocery shopping. Now, I am a little envious of her wild coupon skills! So, here are a few of the tricks that I use to cut down on extra spending...

1. Plan your meals. You guys - seriously. Plan them out. Make a list. Figure out what you're all going to have for breakfast (or at least a rough idea), lunch, and dinner. I usually plan dinner the most - it's the only one I actually write down for my meal planning list. If you're looking to save money, don't buy a bunch of extra stuff that you're not going to use! If you're just starting out in your own kitchen, make simple, simple recipes. That way, you don't have to buy a ton of ingredients that you're only going to use once! You can sauté or bake pretty much anything (okay, maybe not a Twinkie...) with extra virgin olive oil with a little salt and seasonings and it's delicious! (Chicken, sausage, peppers, zucchini, yellow squash, asparagus, tomatoes, potatoes, etc.) Look up meal ideas with like 3-5 ingredients, and go from there. I can link up some easy recipes below if anyone is interested!
2. Where to shop? Lately, I have been LOVING Aldi for our weekly meals. Chris was skeptical of Aldi at first because it's not really your standard grocery store and I think he thought the selection was questionable, but I love it! It's kind of like the same idea as Trader Joe's but really cheap prices and a low-cost system. (You pay a quarter to use a cart so you put the cart back after to get your quarter back and you bag up your groceries yourself on a long counter near the checkout area! This cuts down on their labor costs.) I actually have noticed that many of their products are high-quality and I can't tell the difference between their brand and the main brands. (Plus, they pay fair wages to their employees which I think is rad!) This week, I went grocery shopping and spent less than $60 on all of our food for the week. (We might stop back at the store for a couple of things but we should be pretty good to go for the most part.) This is for a family of three, and I paid less than $60! Before I started going to Aldi and planning out my list more efficiently, I would often spend well over $100 each week. (Seriously!) I also really like shopping at Meijer (certain things I have to buy at a big-box store, like our diapers/wipes and certain food items! I like only certain kinds of coffee and creamers haha!) which is a Midwestern grocery store chain - I like to think of it as "Fancy Walmart" and the fact that it more local to my region makes me feel less guilty for shopping at a big box store. (Walmart is good in a pinch but it's just not my favorite place in the world to shop! I don't think they have a good produce section and I just am not crazy about the whole shopping experience there.)

   

   EVERYTHING I bought at Aldi - all for under $60 dollars! What what!

3. Look into programs at your local grocery stores! I mentioned Meijer earlier, and I am a member of their system called "M-Perks", which is a membership rewards system. I shop there pretty frequently and that means that I often get tons of coupons and even random discounts off my total. I often get discounts around $6, which doesn't seem like a lot but it helps when you're budgeting! (Think about it this way - $6 is a full pack of baby wipes, or the price for a 3-pound bag of frozen chicken which would be enough chicken for 4 meals! Or a TON of zucchini. Worth it to me!) 
4. Get strategic about your meals. What can you buy in bulk that will be something you can use for multiple meals? I mentioned the large bags of frozen chicken breasts earlier - if you cook with a lot of chicken as a protein, buy in bulk. I used to also use raw chicken tenderloins instead of chicken breasts in recipes because it was cheaper, and if they were just cubed and put in pasta or a stir fry, we couldn't tell the difference.
5. Think about shopping differently. Before we had Ben, and even before I met Chris, I was always a spender. I loved buying myself little inexpensive things - a cheap outfit there, a makeup item here. I was never able to really save any money because I didn't think about it that much when I spent my money. I very rarely buy clothes now, because I know I can wear what I have already and no one's going to care! I often buy my clothes at thrift stores because they are unique, inexpensive and pre-washed (which means I can't shrink them like I always do with new clothes! Ugh!) I only buy new makeup when I need something or I know I will really love it. (I bought a Too Faced matte lipstick a couple of years ago and I only wore it a handful of times. I also bought a Smashbox matte lipstick and ONLY wore it for a wedding Chris and I went to! I could have bought the same shade from a drugstore brand and not wasted the money.) Only buy the expensive stuff when you KNOW it's going to be something you're really going to use.

Thanks for reading, everyone! To those of you who may not live on your own or don't have any littles yet, this may be extremely boring for you, and for that I apologize! Now that we are trying to budget our money efficiently and we have a family of 3, I love learning about how I can save money and think about money differently. Remember that as hard as it may be, try not to stress about cash too much. Money comes and goes, and as soon as you think you're not going to be able to make it work, something could happen to bring wealth into your life! (And vice versa - so don't get too comfortable with spending frivolously because it's a hard habit to break! I speak from experience.) 

Hugs,

Megan

Also, what are your grocery shopping tips for me? I always love hearing other people's ideas! What are you making this week for dinner? Anything special?