I super failed at this - $1500 for July. We're about to go to one income so it is super necessary that I get this way down.
I can't really figure out where I go wrong. Probably less meat? We've been BBQing lately so I have been buying these $8 racks of ribs. Usually each week I buy those, lunch meat ($4), a pack of burgers ($5) and a 12 pack of chicken thighs ($5). I need better meal planning - we usually rotate through about 3-4 dishes each week but it does get boring.
How do you guys handle produce? I find that fruit is my biggest indulgence - and it's even in season?!
So I don't think $25 of meat is your problem -- that's $100/mo out of your $1500. I suspect you are like me, and it's planning and overbuying. How much food goes in the trash after a week or two in the fridge? How many bottles of ketchup are in the pantry because you saw it and couldn't remember if you needed more? (not that I've, umm, ever, uh, had that issue -- just don't look over there at the balsamic vinegars . . . .)
Also, what does that $1500 cover -- just groceries? Or groceries + takeout + eating out + office lunches + household products? I think the recommendations change based on the answer -- e.g., if the problem is takeout (like mine), then maybe the answer is to actually buy *more* of the frozen/convenience food things, so you at least have something quick in the freezer. OTOH, if that is all groceries, then you're buying too much packaged/convenience foods and shopping at expensive stores, so that's a different fix.
As you can see from my posts, I am struggling to get this all right. But the things that work when I get all the ducks in a row are:
1. I start menu planning in my fridge, freezer, and pantry. I cannot believe the amount of crap I have piled up there! So for ex., I have some cauliflower and broccoli and salad greens left over from the giant farmer's market haul, so next week's menu is going to include those -- so there's half my veggies already taken care of. I also have some not-well-labeled frozen leftovers, so maybe I'll have a "kitchen surprise" night and just defrost some miscellaneous things.
2. I look for meals in which I can re-use components. My go-to is to grill up a bunch of chicken and a London Broil and onions and peppers for fajitas for Sunday dinner, and then have the chicken and peppers for breakfast (omelets) and/or lunches, and serve quesadillas for another dinner, and then use the beef and onions to make cheesesteaks.
3. I am working very hard on being realistic about how much food I need and how many nights I am really going to cook a whole meal. Before I started this, I would frequently find myself at the end of the week never having cooked two of the meals I had planned, so they would roll over to the next week, and then I'd add 3-4 more, and repeat the cycle. Now I look at the calendar: if one of the kids has a 7PM practice, or I have a late meeting at work, well, I just know I'm not going to cook then, so I make sure to have hot dogs or frozen mac and cheese or leftovers or whatever on-hand for something quick. And I also look at the amount of food I cook: my family doesn't like leftovers, so when I cook up a four-pack of lamb sausage for me and DH, I need to assume that I am going to have two left that need to be used up somehow (usually for my lunches). This is *hard* -- DH and I both grew up in houses where food = love, and you'd always make too much at risk of having too little. But I have started realizing that when I make 4 chicken breasts for 4 people, we really only eat 2-3, and so I am freezing the chicken breasts in much smaller packages now and just cooking less.
4. Shop at Aldi's or equivalent for baseline things. I admit, I can't do that all the time, because they don't have everything I need. But, man, I think I topped $100 at Aldi's once, and every Wegman's shop is $200-300 (and that's even with a lot of house-brand stuff!). Part of it is that Aldi's prices are cheaper for comparable stuff. But an even bigger part is that Aldi's doesn't have all of the tempting treats, like the giant deli counter. It's easier not to get lured off-course at Aldi's specifically because it kind of sucks. :-)
Honestly, most of it is just paying attention so you can spot your own weaknesses. When I started this in February, I thought this was going to be easy-peasy. Hah! It's really made me recognize how unconscious I have been about this stuff and all of the underlying habits/beliefs that have helped me fall into bad habits. Good luck!!