January is now almost half over! Hard to believe. I wanted to let you know how I am doing on my Grocery Budget Crack-Down Plan.
1. My monthly budget for groceries (food only) I loosely set at $300 for the month of January. So far this month I have spent $161.95 on groceries, and that includes $16.50 for my Bountiful Basket this week. Not to bad. Considering I still have half the month left I am pretty much on track. I am really feeling like I will spend LESS than my goal!
2. We haven’t gone out to eat! YAY! When I have caught myself too tired for dinner and just wanting to buy a pizza…I don’t! Because I have this FAB monthly menu plan I made so I have been prepared so far. My kids like it too because they always know what is for dinner. I have LOVED having my month planned out in advance. If I need to switch around a day or two here or there I can, as I have all the ingredients already. I have been buying fresh foods twice a week.
3. I am couponing again, a little. Only on things I am buying anyway. I am planning on doing doubles at Albertson’s next week to help with a few items I need. I also saved $8 at Walmart last week on items I was already buying. Love that.
4. So far I have been better about making everything from scratch and being creative. When the kids want a treat I don’t go out and buy special ingredients. We use what we have and make it do. The other day we made no-bake cookies. We haven’t had those in forever!
So far I have been very pleased at how things are going in our house. What about you? How has your grocery budget been shrinking?
Previous posts in this series:
2012 Grocery Budget Crack-Down Plan
2012 Grocery Budget Crack-Down Plan: Menu Planning
2012 Grocery Budget Crack-Down Plan: Menu Planning Binder
mobuck
I love all of this…My dilema is that I really enjoy the bountiful baskets each week, but it makes it hard to plan a monthly menu when I’m not sure what I will get in my basket each week. Any suggestions?
marnec
I know what you mean mobuck. For January I tried to plan my main meal around what I have in my food storage and freezer (like pasta, chicken, beef, sauces, etc) and then just shop for the little fresh extras during the week (like a few tomatoes). So far it is working for me. I love not having to worry about dinner!