It's the end of week one on our new budget (don't know what I'm talking about? check that post out here!) and let's just say it was a reality check!
I'll start from the beginning, giving you every single detail, including the exact cost we spent on groceries for an ENTIRE week's worth of breakfasts, lunches, AND dinners (whaaattt?!), how to actually meal plan for the week, and the meals I selected for our first week :)
I even included sample meals you can make with common household ingredients to
help you along!
Let's start with meal planning. If there is any way you want this budget to work ($100 a week on groceries, consumables, etc.) you MUST do this part of the plan. It's slightly tedious, but I think as time goes on, this will get a lot easier.
Step One: Take an inventory of what you already have in your fridge, freezer, and pantry.
*Note: I did NOT include spices. If a recipe called for a specific spice, I just double checked if I had it first without writing it down*
Write down everything you have that you can use to make a meal. Don't forget those cans you have tucked away in the back of your pantry ;) My inventory included all kinds of stuff: frozen shrimp, frozen salmon, all different kinds of canned beans, green chiles, pasta, tortilla chips, dried red lentils, frozen vegetables, etc.
Step Two: Begin looking at your inventory list with the mindset that it's your grocery list.
Use this list to create meals (or at least parts of meals) before looking up recipes.
Example Meals using my small inventory list from above:
- frozen shrimp + canned beans + green chiles + tortilla chips = shrimp nachos *the only ingredient you'd need to purchase would be some cheese. These could just as easily be tacos if you bought tortillas/shells in addition to cheese.
- frozen salmon + pasta + frozen vegetables = baked salmon with a veggie pasta in lemon butter sauce. *Only thing you may need to purchase is lemons and butter (if you don't already keep those handy)
- canned beans + red lentils + green chiles + pasta = vegetarian chili on top of pasta *may need to buy vegetable broth &/or other seasonings if you don't have them on hand
So your grocery list from those 3 meals above is:
- cheese
- tortillas/shells *if you choose to do tacos instead of tacos*
- lemons
-butter *most people have butter on hand*
-vegetable broth
And that could easily cost you $10 or less depending on which grocery store you choose.
Think about it...
$10 for 3 dinners (and probably leftovers, aka lunch) including a SALMON DINNER. You can't even buy a salmon dinner out in a restaurant for $10.
Okay, so now you know the first couple of steps in making this budget work.
Step Three: Search for recipes!
Make sure you find some that include as many of your inventory ingredients as possible and create the rest of your meal plan (don't forget to include night's out to eat and leftovers!)
Our dinners for the week were as follows:
Monday - Salmon, potatoes, and salad
Tuesday - Slow Cooker Turkey and Red Lentil BBQ Sloppy Joes topped on Russet Potatoes
Wednesday - Date Night! (this budget comes from our "Other" budget category)
Thursday - Shrimp and Vegetables Noodle Stir Fry *prep Freezer Lasagna for Sunday's dinner*
Friday - Shakshuka
Saturday - Tacos
Sunday - Make-Ahead Freezer Lasagna
In addition to dinners, we bought stuff for extra snacks, specific items for a salsa recipe (that's delicious and makes enough for a couple MONTHS!), breakfasts for Zach to take to work, and extra meat for the following week or weeks.
Step Four: Make a grocery list and go shopping!
For this one, we mixed things up a bit. We usually shop at Trader Joe's. And believe you me, this store will always have my heart. And even though it has some ridiculously cheap prices for things, the selection is minimal and we didn't want to shop at more than one store.
SO, I swallowed my pride and we went grocery shopping at our local Walmart Neighborhood Market. (Don't hate me for saying that!)
I'll admit though, it was awesome. The best part about doing this is I was able to grocery shop ONLINE first, pick out the exact items, compare, and get almost an exact price of what we could expect to spend.
Try it out here!
Even better, here's a free $10! Just sign up and you'll get $10 off your first grocery order!
When I made this grocery list, it was SO minimal I thought I was forgetting items. I remember thinking, "this can't be right..we won't have enough food."
Our total cost of groceries was $92.14
If that seems like a lot of money still, keep in mind this amount paid for:
6 dinners (12+ meals if you include the leftovers we had for lunches), enough ingredients to make 10 breakfast burritos for Zach, about 13 pb&j's,* an extra pound of chicken breast to keep in the freezer for a future meal, two dozen of THE MOST expensive eggs (we have standards, alright?;)), 4lbs of meat, specific items for recipes we wanted to try, and plenty of other things!
And keep in mind, this isn't just for one person, it's for TWO people so really it's like 24+ meals!
*make ahead freezer pb&js! We use a whole loaf of bread and make sandwiches ahead of time. Take one out in the morning and by lunch time, it's perfectly defrosted! Eat it for lunch or a snack. These are perfect for kiddos' lunches too!!*
Step Five: Put groceries away and prep anything you can for upcoming meals!
For example we go grocery shopping on Sundays and try to prep anything we can that will make our lives just a little easier.
This particular Sunday we prepped all of the pb&j's and breakfast burritos and got dinner ready.
This makes Zach's mornings SO much easier. He can pop his burrito (or burritos) in the microwave, grab a sandwich for later and be out the door.
Step Six: Marvel in your budget savviness and take a break!
My tips:
- Plan ahead (inventory, meals, grocery list, etc.)
- Use the online Walmart grocery store website to get an idea of cost
- Budget in an extra pound or two of meat (to keep in freezer for emergency dinners)
- Only go grocery shopping ONCE a week
- Take pictures of your online grocery cart to make sure you get the most accurate price and exact products you pre-selected!
**Extra tip: Opt for grocery Pick Up to avoid any temptations while roaming the aisles! ;)**
This is by far the most detailed I've ever been when explaining grocery shopping, but I think it's totally worth it for anyone trying to save money or make a lifestyle change.
Also, I think it's important to note that just because you're on a budget does NOT mean you're suddenly eating a ton of processed foods and ditching health standards.
Please do not use the "I'm on a budget" excuse as a means of eating poorly and compromising your health or goals. No amount of money is worth giving up your health.
I really hope this post helped guide anyone who is interested in trying this budget and grocery shopping method.
I apologize for it being so long-winded, but there was a lot to cover :) If you made it this far, we're automatically best friends ;) And you deserve a little gift :)
SO, be sure to download my free Inventory List and Grocery List PDF! Click the picture below! :)
Be sure to save to your computer and print using the "Scale to Fit: Print Entire Image" to get the best printing results!
