Stick To a Grocery Budget 2016

[SuperSaver]

Grocery/Food spending in 2015 was mildly horrific. I really want to cut costs in the new year and make it more manageable and spend less on alcohol and restaurants which drags the average way up. 

Anyone who wants to join in the challenge, we'll check in at the end of the month and see our progress.

Family size: 2 (25 year olds) Plus we host dinner parties a couple times a month and bring a dish to a party 1-2x a month. We also pick up the tab when our younger cousins visit (Ages 3-18).
Average food spend in 2015: $682.75/month
Target food spend for 2016: $525/month
Projected savings $1,893.25

Anyone want to try to get their food & drink spending reined in a bit? Or continue their efforts from 2015?

[SuperSaver]

I've spent $52 on groceries so far this year and $103 in Restaurants.

29% of my monthly budget has already been spent, but I have enough groceries I will be fine with just getting a bit more fresh produce and fish over the weekend for my sushi party with our young cousins Saturday and Girls Luncheon I am hosting on Sunday.

Our bar is stocked well so hopefully for the rest of the weekends we entertain this month we can drink our current supplies rather than buy more.

[GermanStache]

I will join! And hopefully will stick not onnly to a grocery budget but also to reporting back to this thread.

Family size : 2 Adults
Location: Germany (meaning pretty reasonable priced food)
I buy (or like to buy) lots of organic items and try to avoid packaging but have come to peace with the fact that i cannot save on food AND buy everything organic. However I do buy mostly ingredients and do not buy many packaged foods. I cook from scratch, we do not drink much alcohol. We drink mainly Water, however not tap but bottled (but in glas bottles that do get refilled about 50x, so not the kind of bottled water that is known in the US). We do like meat and splurge on deli meat and stuff and I like it. I will try to do it within my budget.

I budget 75 EUR per week for groceries, this is without drinks and paper items. Just for food. I budget 75 EUR for each Friday of the month, so for January this is a budget of 375 EUR.

ETA: Last year we averaged 462 EUR per month, so this "75 EUR per week" will be quite a challenge... at least in those months with only 4 Fridays. I chose a weekly budget so that I have to manage a shorter period of time instead of whole months.

We also eat out about two times a month, but this is an extra budget.

[Vanguards and Lentils]

Thanks for starting this. I like the idea of calling it a "food" spend since grocery spending decreases restaurant spending and vice versa.

My average last year was about $300/month for just me in both categories :[
I am shooting for $250/month and I'll start by taking more of my meals at home.

[Bee21]

I'm in. Family of 4, 170 per week.

[samburger]

We spent most of 2015 trying to figure out how to spend $300/mo or less on groceries for 2 adults (both with weird dietary restrictions). Turns out the secret sauce is Aldi + shopping once every two weeks (instead of once per week)

Buuuut now we're trying to eat a diet of at least 50% vegetables. Not sure what this means for our grocery budget yet, but we're a week in and it doesn't look good.

[Knitwit]

I'm in! Two adults, currently averaging $400 a month, would like to drop this down to $350. Originally I wanted to drop it to $300, but the price of fresh produce has skyrocketed here recently - some items up 100% from this time last year! - to the point that my grocery has put up signs apologizing.

To counter this, I'll do a better job of shopping sales, plan to use more seasonal produce, and continue to reduce waste of leftovers.

[Maya]

Our average was $650/month for a family of 4 (kids are tiny still - 4.5 and 2) last year and I'd like to get that down to $600. not much of a decrease, but here in Canada there are lots of media reports of groceries going up a lot this year. Seen cauliflower at $6/head recently! Really going to focus on eating down our pantry and freezer and then sale shopping and price matching. Price matching saves about $10-15 per shop.

[OmahaSteph]

In 2014-2016 my household went from two adults and two kids to just me and two kiddos, then added a second adult again (who is a foodie), plus Thing 1 now eats like a teenager.

So.

For a family of four, maybe $600 per month, not including toiletries and household stuff I get at SuperTarget. I'll track the first quarter and if it seems too easy, I'll lower it for the second quarter.

[andy85]

single dude checking in...

455/month for all consumables
347 - grocery (80/week - also includes paper products and toiletries)
43 - alcohol (10/week)
65 - dining out (15/week)

Yearly = 5460
4160 - grocery (80/week - also includes paper products and toiletries)
520 - alcohol (10/week)
780 - dining out (15/week)

(math may be off due to rounding)

[elaine amj]

Family of 4 - I'm trying to get our grocery budget down to $500/month. December went well so we'll see how January goes! A little worried since we're Canadian and as I guessed, grocery prices are increasing. Looks like we might cross the border for our groceries more regularly (like we used to).

[happyfeet]

Two adults
All food. All beverages. All drugstore stuff. 
2013/2014 $945/mo discovered MMM
2014/2015 $608/mo
2015/2016 $588/mo

We eat well. Lots of meat and fresh veggies. We host all the holidays and the family likes fancy stuff so in November and December we were over $750. But then one month was $315.

My aim would be $500 average monthly. My budget runs March to April.
I think it is important that one person controls the shopping and I like the suggestion of going every other week.

Costco is a weakness.

[Rosy]

I'm in - two adults in Florida and I am just now tallying up the grocery bills for the last three months to get an average.

My advantage is having a garden, being able to shop on a military base, plus I am a good cook and I like cooking from scratch and I have storage space for items that only go on sale every three months.

The eating out was totally out of control in December - so that is the low hanging fruit to reign in for this month.

I'll check back in with exact numbers when I have them - I'm guessing it is around 100 to 120 a week for groceries.
Around $200 for eating out on average which is fine, sometimes it is only $120 other times it is $250 - I wouldn't mind finding a couple cheaper places to eat, but we are foodies and enjoy eating out once a week. December was insane at maybe $450 plus just for eating out and that doesn't count the extra expense for party food over the holidays.

I don't really know yet if I can significantly slash the grocery bill - but once I see the real numbers maybe I can find a way to cut it by 10-15%, we are frugal, but we are foodies and don't intend to live the rice and beans route - there is no reason to, food is a good thing:), but I like the challenge of staying within or under a certain amount and I am always thrilled to find new ways to save money without sacrifice:)

[SuperSaver]

Why is the food prices in Canada increasing so much this year? I know your prices are more than USA food prices, but was there a contamination or shortage issue for you all? I can't believe some is actually doubling in cost- seems outrageous.

[kathrynd]

Why is the food prices in Canada increasing so much this year? I know your prices are more than USA food prices, but was there a contamination or shortage issue for you all? I can't believe some is actually doubling in cost- seems outrageous.

Don't worry about it..I'm not.

Shop the sales and stock up.(a lot)
Shop stores that knock 50% off produce and bakery
Reduced meats, etc
Find out when your stores do their reduced sales...ask if you need to.

Stop buying junk and processed food. Actually cook
However , it is always good to have a few quick meals on hand...

[Ebrat]

I have no idea what we spent on groceries last year...probably $140-180 a week including alcohol.  We don't eat out much, buy a lot of organic stuff (esp. expensive for meat), and like a glass of wine or 2 with dinner most (okay, pretty much every) nights.  So my goal is to actually track this year, and at least stay under $140/week.  Hopefully once I start tracking I can identify places to cut back even more (e.g., we make homemade granola, and I bought oats at Costco last week for a third of the price of the smaller containers we usually get at Trader Joe's).  We're also planning to cut back on the wine and whiskey purchases.

[drudgep]

We spend $200 per month to feed a family of 3. 2 adults and 1 very large 1 year old. My fiance coupons and finds great deals that we eat at home. Very fortunate to have her. She is going to start a blog here soon to post some tips and tricks, maybe I will post once she gets it up and running, help some people achieve their dreams!

[elaine amj]

Why is the food prices in Canada increasing so much this year? I know your prices are more than USA food prices, but was there a contamination or shortage issue for you all? I can't believe some is actually doubling in cost- seems outrageous.

My personal theory is that as the exchange rate worsens, Cdn grocery prices will go up. We get a LOT of our stuff from the US - and typically prices here will stabilize to slightly higher than the US for quite a lot of things. For the past few months, we have been shopping more in Canada but I fully expect prices to rise to the point where I will find it cheaper to shop in the US again.  In the meantime, that rarely affects local travel - so this year, we will be spending a lot of time in Canada!

[meyling]

I'm in! My goal will be $150 a month. Just me for the most part. I know I can keep my grocery bill to less than $30 a week and if I only eat out once or twice a month I should be set. I also just started using ibotta which should help a little.

[1967mama]

Another Canadian here. I saw cauliflower for $6 for a small head this week too -- ridiculous. Apples are currently $1.75/lb anywhere I've looked.

This all makes me think I'm going to have to be much more intentional with my summer spending at my friendly neighbourhood farms. I am also trying really hard to eat seasonal produce, or at least frozen or canned if its out of season.

[choppingwood]

This all makes me think I'm going to have to be much more intentional with my summer spending at my friendly neighbourhood farms. I am also trying really hard to eat seasonal produce, or at least frozen or canned if its out of season.

Happily, I am still eating winter squash that I stocked up on in October, blueberries frozen in July and red pepper and tomato sauce and salsa that I froze in August. The produce that I`ve been able to buy recently in Edmonton and north has all been at reasonable prices: No. 1 red potatoes at $4.99 for 20 lb; mandarin oranges at $5.00 for a 5 lb box; and brussels sprouts at .99 per lb. 

I saw cauliflower at $7.00 a head! It is a combination of serious drought and the fall in the Cdn dollar.

[Knitwit]

Here are some of the regular (non-sale) prices at my local store (Superstore) that I noted this week:

• sweet peppers - $7.88 for a 2lb bag (used to be $5.99)
• cucumbers - $4.97 for a 3-pack (used to be $2.79)
• cherry tomatoes - $4.97 a pint (used to be $2.99)
• romaine hearts lettuce - $7.99 for a pack of 6 (used to be $4.99)
• iceberg lettuce - $3.49 per head (don't have a price book entry on this, but I'm sure I've never seen it that expensive)
• cauliflower - $6.97 per head (used to be $2.99)
• broccoli - $3.97 per bunch (last year this time it was $1.48; may have been a sale price)

My grocery store's sign says it's a combination of the poor Canadian dollar and a "challenging" growing season in the US (where most of our produce is sourced from).

There are still some great deals to be had. Just the other week I got a 10 lb bag of russet potatoes for $2, cabbage was $0.69 per lb this week, and citrus season is in full swing. It's just a matter of shopping what's on sale and in season.

[kathrynd]

Canadian here.

Cauliflower was $7.99 at the store today. Some people will be silly enough to pay it. Me? I'll wait until it has a tiny blemish on it, and it's on the $1.49 table. Same with the asparagus I scored today. Two huge handfuls for $1.49...I gave half to my daughter and son-in-law.

All our food is either on sale..or the reduced table. I have no issue cutting off a bruise.

Instant coffee was on sale today (that is what we like to drink)..bought 8 bottles...just in the nick of time.We were on our last bottle, from the last sale.

[SuperSaver]

Ahh okay! Thanks Canadian MMMers for explaining.

My fiance and I wound up stopping at Costco last night as we were about to run out of cereal,  almond milk, chicken and cheese this week.With company coming in a couple weeks for a 4 day visit. We also got more produce as I am drinking green smoothies for breakfast. Cheaper and healthier than my old breakfasts. Went out on a dinner date and a networking lunch the past two days.

57% of Food/Drink budget is now gone.
Luckily Costco sized chicken and vegan milk is an every 7-10 week purchase. :) I told my fiance our mini goal is to not eat at restaurants until our company comes the 21st in 2 weeks.

[sisto]

I'd like to join this challenge too. We were already planning to cut down our grocery and alcohol bill, we are really dialed in with every other category. My biggest challenge personally is sorting out my Costco purchase from actual food. MINT thinks ALL of Costco is groceries. I also buy quite a bit of Costco items for other family members and it's hard to sort that out in MINT too.

[Vanguards and Lentils]

I'd like to join this challenge too. We were already planning to cut down our grocery and alcohol bill, we are really dialed in with every other category. My biggest challenge personally is sorting out my Costco purchase from actual food. MINT thinks ALL of Costco is groceries. I also buy quite a bit of Costco items for other family members and it's hard to sort that out in MINT too.

I wish there were a way around this. The lack of this feature among other things (can't get more than 3 months when adding a new account, can't customize reports enough on the "budget page") is what made me switch over to GnuCash. There you can split purchases into two expense accounts, e.g., grocery + household. I'm sure there are more budgeting programs that let you do this.

[Maya]

You can split things with mint. Click on he expense and then click split. Just have to do it manually.

[Vanguards and Lentils]

You can split things with mint. Click on he expense and then click split. Just have to do it manually.

Thank you! Wow, I didn't know all these years that "Edit Details" was actually a button...

[jooles]

Family of 2 (40 to 50 somethings)

Historical budget $18/day and we didn't stick to it. 

We successfully experimented with a food budget budget of $7/day (not including paper products etc.)  Sadly, we did not stick to that even though we were successful.

In the new year we began again with the $18/day budget.  We fund this budget with cash every time we get paid.  Having real green dollars in an envelope marked with "groceries" makes all the difference for me.   I am happy to say I have been under budget since beginning again. 

Now I need to decide what I am going to do with the $$ left over.  Shall I leave these dollars in the grocery envelope and simply reduce the amount of $$ I need to fund the food purchases for the upcoming two weeks?  Or shall I put this to another use like paying down the little bit of debt we have?

[jooles]

Family of 2 (40 to 50 somethings)

Historical budget $18/day and we didn't stick to it. 

We successfully experimented with a food budget budget of $7/day (not including paper products etc.)  Sadly, we did not stick to that even though we were successful.

In the new year we began again with the $18/day budget.  We fund this budget with cash every time we get paid.  Having real green dollars in an envelope marked with "groceries" makes all the difference for me.   I am happy to say I have been under budget since beginning again. 

Now I need to decide what I am going to do with the $$ left over.  Shall I leave these dollars in the grocery envelope and simply reduce the amount of $$ I need to fund the food purchases for the upcoming two weeks?  Or shall I put this to another use like paying down the little bit of debt we have?

I need to track the alcohol spending :)  Yep, on the to do list.  Reading through your posts shined a spot light on that oversight.

[robartsd]

My grocery store's sign says it's a combination of the poor Canadian dollar and a "challenging" growing season in the US (where most of our produce is sourced from).

That makes sense. Here in California (where much of North America's produce is grown) produce prices have risen noticably, but not "skyrocketed". At least we're getting close to normal rain and snow so far this year (keep praying for it - the reservors are still way below normal).

[danipani85]

I'm in! My husband and I are in debt emergency mode so our grocery budget is going to be minuscule the next 2 months. We've been working on it and have it down to about $800 and that's including booze and household products but it's going to shrink to about 50-75 a week. Luckily we have about 35 pounds of salmon and halibut in the freezer and about 35 pounds of caribou so it should be fairly easy. At least I'm telling myself that. I have a grocery shopping issue and I'm terrible at menu planning. We've done pretty good this past week though so I'm feeling pretty optimistic. After February, my goal is to keep it at 400-500/month.

[LosAngelesFire]

I'm in! I already had started this plan, so it will be nice to post about it and read your posts.

My husband and I are in our 30s with no kids but several pets. I started reading MMM a few months ago. My food budget includes all drug store, groceries, pet food and eating out (aiming for $0 in eating out). My goal is $200/mo or $50/week. We live in Southern California and I love to cook.

I use a website called www.ohmyveggies.com for a weekly menu plan which covers dinner and lunch the next day. For breakfast, I make Greek yogurt and granola bars and eggs on the weekend.

November $498 (two trips out of town with lots of stupid purchases and eating out)
December $183 - AWESOME
1st shopping trip in January $7.83!!! (Pretty much out of room in freezer and have been trying to eat what we have on hand instead of buying more).

Good eating, everyone!

P.S.
I also bought a bike off CL last night so I can now bike to the far away store I prefer (3.4 miles instead of the nearby store I walk to but doesn't have bulk bins). I can feel my mustache growing already!!

[Maya]

Groceries done and spent $46 this week. Could have been a bit lower, but it's the balance of eating out the pantry stores and buying a few things we were out of that we're on sale. Didn't need them this week though

Meal plan this week is
Pulled pork and beans, coleslaw, sweet potato fries and home made buns
Cabbage rolls
Chicken, mashed potatoes and frozen veggies
Sweet potato red lentil curry
Pizza
Lentil spaghetti sauce if looking for another meal

[Prairie Gal]

My grocery budget was $300/month (Canada) last year, including household items, OTC meds, whatever you would usually buy at the grocery store.

This year I would like to get it down to $250/month. Will start at $275.

Eggs and toast tonight for dinner, and would like to make something in the crockpot tomorrow that will last a few days. One night a week I like to have a big kale salad with sunflower seeds and a hard boiled egg for dinner. Bread is another downfall. I should get back into baking bread.

[pancakes]

I'm in.

I was doing this last year until early in the year when I moved to a new suburb and our local markets closed. I gave up on groceries all together and began eating out almost every meal. I wasn't tracking expenses at the time but as our monthly savings increased (pay increases, decreases in other costs) it was convenient not to think much of it.

On top of paying more than we need to for food, I've become sick of eating out and there isn't a great many healthy options around.

My goal for groceries and food is under $1000/month or $250/week (Australia). It should be very easy but I have months of bad habits to break.

We've also been on holidays for 3 weeks and weren't really cooking for months before that so our panty, fridge and freezer are all very bare.

[MrsYTF]

We are a family of five, (3 small kids), and we averaged $800 last year. My goal is to get to $600.
This includes various nonfood items such as cleaning agents, diapers, paper towels and such.

I plan to limit costco runs to every two months and put blinders on the nonfood section. Ignore clothing, ignore large fluffy towels, and such. I wish I could just go every two weeks to the regular grocer, but we simply don't have space for more than 4 gallons of milk at a time. And my little ones still drink quite a bit of milk .Will go once a week and hit the discount grocers harder as well as farmer's markets in the summer. I also plan to grow our own garden- had moderate success with that last year.

Good luck everybody.

[ETBen]

This is a good one. I waste so much on food. I know how to avoid it but still happens.

1 adult, 2 elementary school kids.  I pack their lunches 3 days per week.  Their father pays for school lunch the other 2.

$40 fast food
$100 restaurants
$300 groceries

Ive played with the budget over 9 months and this is more than reasonable. I usually go over on fast food bc I travel a lot for work and don't always plan. On target for restaurants . About 50 over on groceries.

[NonprofitER]

We need this too - much like the OP, groceries are a bigger struggle for us than most other expenses.

Family size: two active adults, one 6yo
All three of us take lunches daily.
Have always meal planned and we have very little wasted food (!) but DH expends over 3,000 calories a day due to running and his on-his-feet job.
No special diets, but high on vegetables/fruits and buy higher quality meats. Vegetarian meals 50% of the time. We have fresh eggs from backyard chickens, and sell extra eggs to pay for the feed.
We do host friends often for wine/cheese or light dinners - I'd say ~4/month.

The "Grocery" totals include all groceries, alcohol, toiletries, household extras, etc. Shopping at Costco for bulk goods, local grocery for week-to-week and specialty store for local dairy consumed by 6yo.  "Out" is all out-to-eat AND entertainment costs (like an occasional movie or function) which we lump together. Our family rule is that we don't eat out when its just us, but we do attend meals/ Happy Hour/ friend catch ups without much guilt.

2013 (Pre MMM) - Grocery Avg $780/mo, Out Avg $243
2014 - Grocery Avg $651/mo, Out Avg $152/mo
2015 - Grocery Avg $672/mo, Out Avg $142 - with the caveat that we hosted 6 extra adult family members for ~5 weeks of the year (who didn't pitch in food-wise). If I take out the extra family hosting, we spent $548/mo on Groceries.

Target for this year: Out $100/mo,Groceries $550/mo inclusive of any hosting friends/family.  Extra gold stars if we can do $500/mo for Groceries.

[Aussiegirl]

Two adults
All food. All beverages. All drugstore stuff. 
2013/2014 $945/mo discovered MMM
2014/2015 $608/mo
2015/2016 $588/mo

We eat well. Lots of meat and fresh veggies. We host all the holidays and the family likes fancy stuff so in November and December we were over $750. But then one month was $315.

My aim would be $500 average monthly. My budget runs March to April.
I think it is important that one person controls the shopping and I like the suggestion of going every other week.

Costco is a weakness.

Wow, this is fantastic HappyFeet!  Well done!   What were the main changes you had to make to get your grocery bill successively down so much? 

[Rightflyer]

Two Canadian middle-aged adults here.

Monthly food budget is $400.
Average monthly food spend over the last 2 months is $407.95*

So far this month we have spent $291, although that does include about 90 lbs of pork and chicken.

*We always seem to have about 2-3 months of food in the freezer. Always taking advantage of sales. Also a winter's worth of food in the cold room. Mostly potatoes, onions and apples from the garden, and lots of canned goods.

(Uh oh! Damn...is it possible to be an unwitting prepper?)

[fruitfly]

I'm in! My food "budget" is out of control.

Two working out of home adults, two kids (7 & 4). My older eats hot lunch at school, which is about $25-50 a month. Guess I'm packing his lunch from now on! The other gets lunch as part of her daycare costs.

This is my attempt at a weekly budget:

Groceries $150
Restaurants: $30
Lunches out: $40 (WORK IN PROGRESS)

I spent $141 this weekend at the grocery and I am bound and determined to eat it all without going out or wasting. Now if I can figure out what to do with 4 lbs of spinach (which my husband can't eat and my kid only eats raw and plain).

[FrugalWad]

I'm in! 2015 was averaging $600-700/month for two people, including all household goods like cleaning supplies and such. I'm hoping to knock that down to $400 or less this year. So far, I'm at $289 for food, $332 for household goods. Except for fresh fruit after this week, this accounts for all breakfasts, lunches, and dinners for the month. It seems like fruit is the killer, but I've convinced the FrugalGF that she can get whatever she wants for the week as long as it's under $15 total. Meanwhile, I'm just fine with $1.25/lb oranges, $0.59/lb bananas and the like. I'm cheap like that.

Right now, my daily breakdown works out to this for the month (not a great deal of variety day-to-day, but I'm easy like that):

Breakfast:
$0.10/serving oatmeal.
$0.10/serving cocoa powder.
negligible sugar and salt.

Lunch:
$0.69/serving holiday sale turkey
$0.24/serving tortilla
$0.20/serving mustard hot sauce
$0.30/serving sauerkraut
$0.59/serving banana

Snack:
$0.40 orange
$0.10 homemade sweet bean treat
$0.10 homemade sweet cornbread

Total: ~$90

Dinner is where things get the most expensive, typically. We're really knocking this down by trying a lot of cheap and nutritious soups and stews for the rest of the winter. These are working out to about a dollar or so a serving.

It's really looking like we can make $400 work for two people. I'm going to keep the booze expenses parked in the entertainment category.

2016 is looking like a more mustachian year already!

[kathrynd]

I'm in! My food "budget" is out of control.

Two working out of home adults, two kids (7 & 4). My older eats hot lunch at school, which is about $25-50 a month.

I spent $141 this weekend at the grocery and I am bound and determined to eat it all without going out or wasting. Now if I can figure out what to do with 4 lbs of spinach (which my husband can't eat and my kid only eats raw and plain).

May I ask...why did you by 4 lbs of spinach?
I also like spinach...but in small amounts. I eat it fresh first, and then cooked.

have you considered freezing what you don't need...and eat it later?

[fruitfly]

My son is obsessed with spinach. He wanted it for his birthday. He's 7. He'll eat a lot of it but I am not sure he can eat that much! I took half of it for smoothies. :)

[Making Cents]

I'm definitely in!

We are foodies/organic health nuts with no impulse control. It is the one area of our budget that is really challenging for me to get a handle on. Numbers are pretty similar to the OP:

Average food spend in 2015: $656/month (before MMM I fear it was over $800 - ridiculous exploding volcano for 2 people)
Target food spend for 2016: $500/month (bonus points for $400/mo which is actually the max I think it should be)
Projected savings $1,872 to $3k

So far so good in 2016. We are on track for the first time to spend under $400 this month, largely because I got out of my monthly Costco run for $217!! (roar of applause) NO prepared or frozen foods except for frozen broccoli cheaper than fresh. For the record, that has NEVER happened before, and we should have no excuse for another trip to the store until Feb. I spent yesterday and today cooking up a storm of healthy cheap meals:

veggie quiches (broc/tomato and spin/tomato)
the Frugalwoods rice/beans/mushrooms recipe
Tuna melts
lentils with carrots
carrot cake
strawberry&blueberry crepes
avocado/egg breakfast sandwiches

planning to make a canned salmon version of shepherd's pie/fish pie with carrots and peas, as well as some stuffed potato skins with smoked salmon, capers, and homemade creme fraiche.

(I have a ton of canned/smoked salmon, capers, several pounds of potatoes and onions, and about 5 lb left of a ten-pound bag of carrots that i need to use up before it's dead. Recipes welcome!)


I'm going to ignore the fact that I was away at a conference for a week and ate off my travel per diem. Totally irrelevant to my budget victory. ;)

[Rightflyer]

I'm definitely in!

We are foodies/organic health nuts with no impulse control. It is the one area of our budget that is really challenging for me to get a handle on. Numbers are pretty similar to the OP:

Average food spend in 2015: $656/month (before MMM I fear it was over $800 - ridiculous exploding volcano for 2 people)
Target food spend for 2016: $500/month (bonus points for $400/mo which is actually the max I think it should be)
Projected savings $1,872 to $3k

So far so good in 2016. We are on track for the first time to spend under $400 this month, largely because I got out of my monthly Costco run for $217!! (roar of applause) NO prepared or frozen foods except for frozen broccoli cheaper than fresh. For the record, that has NEVER happened before, and we should have no excuse for another trip to the store until Feb. I spent yesterday and today cooking up a storm of healthy cheap meals:

veggie quiches (broc/tomato and spin/tomato)
the Frugalwoods rice/beans/mushrooms recipe
Tuna melts
lentils with carrots
carrot cake
strawberry&blueberry crepes
avocado/egg breakfast sandwiches

planning to make a canned salmon version of shepherd's pie/fish pie with carrots and peas, as well as some stuffed potato skins with smoked salmon, capers, and homemade creme fraiche.

(I have a ton of canned/smoked salmon, capers, several pounds of potatoes and onions, and about 5 lb left of a ten-pound bag of carrots that i need to use up before it's dead. Recipes welcome!)


I'm going to ignore the fact that I was away at a conference for a week and ate off my travel per diem. Totally irrelevant to my budget victory. ;)

Spicy Pickled carrots.

Great accompaniment for most meals and gets you a serving of veggies in as well.

[Making Cents]

You know, I'm a veggie gardener but embarrassed to admit that I've never pickled or canned anything (too lazy and anyway fall is too busy at work). That's a great idea though. I will try that.

I read that there are ways of blanching and freezing carrots in a pinch, but that just sounds like I'd be asking for trouble and if I get it wrong I really don't want mushy thawed carrots to get rid of 6 months from now.

[Rightflyer]

Freezing carrots works too. We never blanch them.
Just cut them up, into the freezer bag, suck the air out and into the freezer. Never had them go mushy.
We save about half our crop this way.
We'll end up using those after the one's we store in the cold cellar (in soil) are used.

[LosAngelesFire]

About $32 spent this week, but have family visiting and plan to eat out with them on Saturday night which will kill my budget for the rest of the month.

A small win today when I declined to go out with coworkers for lunch. So hard to stick to my guns when they want to socialize.