I don’t know about you, but at the very end of December, between the holidays and being sick, we ended up eating way too often and blew our budget. Not to mention that grocery spending was completely out of whack for the majority of 2023.
And so, in the spirit of New Things for the New Year, we are working hard on reigning in our grocery spending.
In the years of us learning to manage money well, pay off debt, and save up our emergency fund, I’m bringing back a few of my tried and true tricks for fixing a wayward budget.
So, if you aren’t already doing this, here is what we’re doing to keep our grocery budget in check.
1. Tracking what we spend.
Since our grocery shopping got out of hand last year, I’m actively tracking what we spend on groceries, separate from my general spending tracking. This will help me have a true representation of what we’re spending each week at the store. And if you haven’t done this yet, I highly encourage you to do so as well!
As I tell most of my coaching clients – the key to fixing our struggles with money is in knowing where our money is actually going. So let’s track what we’re spending so we can make better decisions!
2. Updating our inventory list.
We’ve done this a million times, but we tend to forget to update our inventory list as things get used (it’s tough sometimes since all five of my family members know who to cook). So we’re spending time this weekend doing a brand new inventory of everything we have at home.
3. Meal planning.
We’re sticking with many meals we already know and love to avoid purchasing specialty ingredients or ones we may not like. I typically plan five dinners for the week. This leaves one night a week open for repurposing leftovers and YOYO (You’re On Your Own) nights. Since our breakfasts are pretty simple (cereal, oatmeal, yogurt + granola, homemade bagels, or sourdough) and our lunches are usually just leftovers or sandwiches, I don’t plan those meals out. But do whatever works best for you!
P.S. If you’re looking for an already done meal plan for you, I’ve got an entire month of meals planned out, complete with recipes right here!
4. Use what you’ve got!
I’m a big fan of as little shopping trips as possible. My husband always tells me I’m the only girl he knows who does not enjoy shopping. And I mean any kind of shopping. It wouldn’t matter if you gave me a $1,000 shopping spree – I still wouldn’t want to go. But one thing that helps keep our grocery budget in check is fewer trips to the store. So instead of running out to the store because I forgot to buy XYZ, we just have to make do until the next planned grocery shopping trip. Thank the Good Lord for Google because it’s so nice to be able to Google substitutes for the things we’re out of!
5. Eating leftovers.
I saved the best for last because it doesn’t really matter what you buy at the store or how much you spend if you’re consistently tossing leftovers every week. You will have a hard time keeping your grocery budget in check if you’re tossing food. So, let’s repurpose those leftovers into other meals!
The key to this is in how you store the leftovers. Don’t throw everything into one container! Instead, separate out the different components. Those leftover veggies that no one ate the other night can now be tossed into a sheet pan meal! Those leftover meatballs that were stored without the sauce can now be repurposed into meatball subs, soup, or tossed with gravy and mushrooms over mashed potatoes or rice! Boom! You’ve got a new meal using leftovers!
Of course, this list isn’t exhaustive, but these are a few ways to help us reign in crazy grocery budgets!
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