Level 3: Super Saver
Ask Yourself: Do we throw away too much food?
According to foodnavigator-usa, University of Arizona anthropologist Dr. Timothy Jones’ research on food waste revealed:
“On average, households waste 14 percent of their food purchases. Fifteen percent of that included products still within their expiration date but never opened. Jones estimates an average family of four currently tosses out $590 per year, just in meat, fruits, vegetables, and grain products.”
That same study from the University of Arizona in Tucson “indicates that 40 to 50 percent of all food ready for harvest never gets eaten.”
Hear Jones’ personal suggestions for saving food—and saving money—for yourself at NPR.
Does your family waste almost $600 of food each year? You may surprise yourself by calculating the cost of food you throw away. And like before, I ask: what else could you do with $600? Make a car payment? A credit card payment or two? Start a college fund? Take a mini-vacation?
A little planning is all it takes. What will you do to waste less food—and change your family tree?
Grocery Budget Extreme Makeover Part XIII
Grocery Budget Extreme Makeover Motivation
If you’re a parent who has taken Dave Ramsey’s Financial Peace University, you’ll remember when he talks about what you would be willing to do if your child had a curable disease that required you to raise thousands of dollars in a short period of time. Without hesitation, I bet every parent in the conference facility—or watching Dave on video—was on board. I know I was. And I still get teary every time I see that lesson.
He’s right, of course. As parents we would go to the ends of the earth to save our children medically. Why is it then that we cut off our noses to spite our faces when it comes to saving them financially? Why is it that desperation must be upon us before we are willing to “change our family tree,” as Dave says?
Of course none of this is intentional. When we’re too tired to cook and choose to go out to eat instead of fund our children’s college education—or our own retirement funds—we’re not intentionally sabotaging our family’s future. We’re simply in self-preservation mode: “I’m really tired; I’ve worked all day. I deserve a meal that I don’t have to cook—or clean up after.” Dave, of course, is much harsher than (I hope) I am and counters that with “No, you don’t!”
I won’t go that far. I know how you feel, and you do deserve some time off, someone to pamper you for a change, a meal you don’t have to cook—or clean up after. But you also deserve a life of financial stability, or Financial Peace as Dave calls it, where you and your partner don’t fight about money; where your kids can go to the movies and you don’t have to take that money out of the grocery budget; where you can take a paid-for vacation; or where you can choose to leave a J-O-B you don’t like to pursue your dream.
That’s what this series, The Grocery Budget Extreme Makeover, is about. It’s not about saving a little money on your grocery bill. It’s about changing your life. Initially, of course, it was about changing my life, my family’s life :). And it has. Making a few small changes over time have added up to a new way of life and hope for the future. As corny as that sounds, it’s true.
I don’t think my husband will mind if I tell you that before we implemented the new budget, complete with monthly budget meetings, we fought about money a lot. He had no true understanding of how much it cost to run a household, and I thought I “deserved” a few new things for the house and kids every month. Simply making a plan—together—and sticking to it has allowed us to move forward financially, and closer as a couple.
Do we still have medical school and graduate school debt? You betcha. That’s a mistake I’ll be living with for a few more years. But now, instead of feeling consumed and disemboweled by the debt (sorry for the graphic description, but that is how I felt), I feel empowered. Not only are we systematically, and successfully, paying it off, but for the first time in our lives I feel like we’re LIVING; that our future is hopeful; that we will be able to fund our retirement, our children’s educations, and maybe even vacations :).
The money I’ve saved by developing and implementing The Grocery Budget Extreme Makeover has changed our lives. The next question is: Will you let it change yours?
Grocery Budget Extreme Makeover Part XII
Level 2: Dollar Diva
Ask Yourself:
The questions that we will be asking ourselves throughout the Grocery Budget Extreme Makeover are what I call the Hard Questions. They may not be fun to answer, but they’re necessary if we are to be honest with ourselves, improve our family’s health, and save money.
Here’s the question: Do we eat out too much?
Do you know what percentage of your income you spend at restaurants or other quick stops, such as coffee shops, convenience stores, at movies or sporting events, or at snack machines, etc.?
Think there’s not much difference in the cost of eating at home versus eating out? Check out The High Cost of Eating Out and The Cost of Eating Out vs. Making Meals.
Between you and I, now that I rarely eat out (for budget and health reasons), when I do, the food is never as good as I remember. Honestly. I don’t miss it like I thought I would. What I do miss is someone else cleaning up the kitchen!
Grocery Budget Extreme Makeover Part XI
Level 2: Dollar Diva
Shop Wisely
Decrease the number of trips you make to the store—any store. This will decrease your exposure to “wants” thereby decreasing impulse purchases. Really, it works! Not to mention, it is good for the environment. Think about how many ways this reduces your carbon footprint. It also decreases wear and tear on your vehicle, and how much you spend on gas. Calculate how much cutting out two or three extra trips saves you in gasoline expenses.
To make this calculation, multiply the price per gallon of gas by the number of miles driven roundtrip. Then divide that answer by the miles per gallon your vehicle gets. Or check out this online fuel-cost calculator that does the work for you, or this road trip calculator for long trips between specific cities.
For instance, gas at $3.50 per gallon multiplied by 30 miles roundtrip, and then divided by 20 mpg. fuel efficiency equals $5.25 per trip. That may not seem like much, but how many trips do you make in a month? And what could you purchase, pay down, or even earn through investment, instead? Even if you saved—and invested—only that $21 per month at 8% for 25 years, you’d have almost $20,000. Don’t believe me? See how much you can earn.
Here’s where to calculate how much more quickly you could pay off your car. And here is my favorite calculator site for mortgage, credit card, student loan, and other financial decisions.
Remember, the above example takes into account only the savings generated by decreasing your gasoline costs. Think about how much less money you probably spend on impulse purchases at the store, or food to eat while you’re out shopping.
How, specifically, could you improve your financial situation by decreasing the number of shopping trips per month? Take the challenge and let me know.
Grocery Budget Extreme Makeover Part X
Level 2: Dollar Diva
Challenge Yourself
Look at the three most expensive items on your grocery receipt and find less expensive alternatives. Click here and here to see how others answer the question, “What’s your most expensive grocery item?”
Every month I reevaluate all of my grocery expenditures and search for lower cost alternatives. Here are a few items where I have found less expensive options.
For me, the most costly items are specialty foods for my younger daughter who is on the SCD (Specific Carbohydrate Diet). Once I finally learned to cook some simple meats for her (twenty three years of being a vegetarian meant my meat cooking skills were nil), I replaced the Applegate Farms hot dogs, which were $7.99 per pack at the only store that carried them, with local organic meats from the farmer’s market for between $3.50 and $6.00 per pound. In a pinch, when I couldn’t find local, organic meat—or couldn’t stomach the cost at Whole Foods—I did buy grocery store chicken, but those of you with kids on the SCD know how potentially dangerous that can be given the possible additives.
I also stopped buying cheese, another food of which we eat a lot, at the grocery store. Now, I buy it in five-pound blocks at the restaurant supply store, where they slice it for free. This means that I can make provolone taco shells, SCD cheese “crackers,” toppings for spaghetti squash, and so on without feeling guilty at the cost of the small packages. Earlier this month I paid $2.59 per pound for provolone, and $2.99 per pound for Swiss purchased this way. Another additional benefit is that they slice it extra thin, which extends the number of servings, and makes it easier to melt when we use it as toppings for pizza, etc. Just in case you’re wondering, when I get it home from the store, I separate it into four or five quart-sized freezer bags and store it in the freezer until we need it.
Convenience foods, specialty items, meat/seafood, dairy, and out-of-season produce are often the most expensive purchases for American consumers. How about you? What are your three most expensive food items?
Grocery Budget Extreme Makeover Part IX
Level 2: Dollar Diva
Challenge Yourself
Set a Goal. After you calculate how much you typically spend each pay period for groceries (not including toiletries or other non-food items), set a goal to decrease the amount you spend by at least 10% the first month. For instance, if you spend $500, you would set a goal of spending no more than $450. (30 seconds to set the goal if you’ve been keeping track of what you spend)
After I wrote this post I decided to google “grocery goal,” and I found a few people who have successfully decreased their grocery budgets by setting new goals, just like we talked about, and a few who talk about the nitty gritty of their personal process.
I’d love to hear about your personal grocery budget goals and any successes or questions you’d like to share.
Grocery Budget Extreme Makeover Part VIII
Level 2: Dollar Diva
Be Prepared
After planning your meals and preparing your grocery list, set a price cap for each item based on the in-season sale cost and vow not to pay more than that. Make sure to have contingency plans so that if an item costs over your limit, you can substitute a different item, or use a different recipe. (15 minutes)
For example, if you planned to serve peach pie, but peaches are not in season and are over your price cap, but strawberries are in season and the cheapest they’ll be all year, serve strawberry shortcake instead. This would also be a great time to stock up on strawberries for the freezer, or to make jam, etc.
For an interactive map of what’s in season where you live click here, or here for a more general list. And this site even includes a list of in-season meats and seafoods.
Grocery Budget Extreme Makeover Part VII
Level 2: Dollar Diva
Add to Your System
Menu for a month:
This is much easier than it sounds and takes less time every time you do it. First, locate or make, by hand or computer, a blank calendar or meal planner that has plenty of room for writing. Second, grab your family’s calendar for the month and mark on the blank calendar any dates when you won’t be eating at home. Third, note on what dates meals need to be available quickly because your kids have practice, you have a meeting, you know you will be working extra hours, etc.
Easy: Make one week’s menu, then repeat it every week (15-30 minutes)
Easier: Start by planning only dinners (15 minutes)
Easiest: After every meal you eat this month, write down the menu items on a blank calendar for next month on the same date. (1-3 minutes per day)
Check your pantry, fridge, and freezer for the items you will need to prepare the meals you have listed. Add any needed items to your grocery list now. (15 minutes)
This trick alone has saved me the most money. So, if you want a lot of bang for your buck start planning your meals and let me know what happens. If you’re already a meal planner, I’d love to hear how it has affected your budget.
Grocery Budget Extreme Makeover Part VI
Level 1: Bargain Belle
Ask Yourself:
The questions that we will be asking ourselves throughout the Grocery Budget Extreme Makeover are what I call the Hard Questions. They may not be fun to answer, but they’re necessary if we are to be honest with ourselves, improve our family’s health, and save money.
I hope you’re sitting down. Here’s the first question: Are our portions too large?
According to nutrition doctoral student Samara Joy Nielsen and Dr. Barry M. Popkin, professor of nutrition at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill schools of public health and medicine the answer is probably yes. In this press release Nielsen offers, "Clearly the problem is that Americans are eating too much food. The problem is the combination of a rapid increase in eating at fast-food establishments, an increase in selected foods such as cheeseburgers and soft drinks and the portion sizes we report in this new study."
If you’re still not sure, you can take this quiz.
Don’t get discouraged; changing the habit is not as hard as you think. Here are a few ideas.
1. Use antique or smaller plates. This is an easy adjustment to make and your family probably won’t even notice. At least mine didn’t.
2. Another solution is to put the “leftovers” into containers and into the refrigerator or freezer BEFORE serving.
3. Transfer your snacks to attractive dishes; don’t eat directly out of the package. Eating out of the package is a sure way for me to kill half a box of Thin Mints in one sitting.
Although we’re talking about portion sizes at home and how decreasing them can help your grocery budget go further, adjusting how much you eat while dining out is even easier.
1. Don’t supersize at fast food restaurants regardless of the savings,
2. Or split the large meal with your spouse, kids, or friend.
3. At eat-in establishments, request a lunch sized-portion or ask if you can order from the lunch menu.
4. As a last resort, ask that half of your food be packaged in to-go containers BEFORE your meal is served.
I hope you have a good weekend. I’m looking forward to seeing some sunshine. And before I go, I know it’s not really related to this post, but I have to give a shout out to everyone from Chapel Hill, Carrboro, and UNC, where I did my post-bacc pre-med work and my husband did his Ph.D. Enjoy something at the Armadillo Grill for me!
Grocery Budget Extreme Makeover Part V
Level 1: Bargain Belle
Start a System
Keep track of your food wisely:
1. Organize your refrigerator so that every item has a place. For instance, keep all beverages on the top shelf, all leftovers on the second shelf, all condiments on the second shelf of the door, etc. Make up a system that works for you and stick to it. I know it sounds odd, but using labels inside the refrigerator serves as friendly reminders for family members. Here’s a little more inspiration and instruction.
2. Use the restaurant rule of “first in, first out.” If you have two gallons of milk in your fridge, the oldest one goes in front so it gets used up first. (5 minutes)
3. When you bring groceries home place the newest items behind the older ones. This works for non-perishables in the cabinets too. (5 minutes)
4. Organize your freezer so that every item has a place. Use plastic containers to group like items. (15-30 minutes the first time)
5. Keep an up-to-date list of your freezer’s contents. (I keep mine in a magnetic file on the side of the fridge.) This will really help you use the food efficiently and decrease the chances of forgetting food in the depths of your freezer. Remember to add to, and subtract from, the list when you add or use food. Train your family to do the same. Here is a freezer inventory form to get you started.
What’s your favorite money-saving food-organizing tip?
Grocery Budget Extreme Makeover Part IV
Level 1: Bargain Belle
Shop Wisely
• Shop alone! I know it can be incredibly hard to shop without your children, but doing so can be a huge time and money saver.
• Shop on discount days at stores that offer them. Some stores offer discount days for seniors or students, while other stores have monthly discounts for everyone.
• Choose where you shop wisely. Buying all of your groceries at the same store is often more expensive. Where I live, the best deals are at the bakery thrift store where you can find the same breads sold in your supermarket, including Earth Grains, for .50-$1.50 per loaf everyday, the locally-owned chain grocery store, and sometimes the discount/clearance store that carries nonperishable foods. However, when I choose to shop the discount store, even for organic products that are drastically discounted, I remind myself that everything they sell is processed and is a “want” versus a “need.”
• Here is a sample list of shopping options:
1. Bakery Thrift Stores such as Entenmann’s, Kern’s, Pepperridge Farm’s: Bread, bagels, buns, cookies, etc. at deep discounts.
2. CSAs (community supported agriculture): Local, seasonal food directly from farmers.
3. Specialty food cooperatives or buying clubs: Purchase in bulk the items you would normally purchase at Whole Foods, Trader Joe’s or health food stores. Be careful. The prices are not always better, but you do support the co-op and save a lot of packaging and gas since you make only one trip to pick up the items.
4. Farmer’s Markets: The freshest produce and homemade goods you can get without growing or making them yourself. I have found the best prices on local, organic meats here. Some cities have them year ‘round and even take food stamps/EBT.
5. Local farmers, orchards, wineries, etc. for fresh produce and meat: Bulk and pick-your-own fruits and vegetables. Especially good deals can be found at the end of the season. Check Craigslist, Local Harvest, and regional online groups (type in “local food” and your geographic area).
6. Amish, Jewish, Asian, or other specialty stores owned by members of your community: Specialty products such as fresh Amish butter and kosher products.
7. Colleges and universities: Purchase locally raised meat, produce, prepared items, plants, and seedlings online or at farmer’s markets.
8. Produce auctions: regional auctions of local produce at outstanding prices (Google “produce auction” and your geographical location.)
9. Regional stores like Jungle Jim’s in Cincinnati: Even if you don’t live nearby, the discount produce section makes this store well worth the trip.
10. The Grocery Outlet and similar stores where you can find traditional groceries at deep discounts. (I would love to live in an area that had one of these.)
This list is not exhaustive, but just a start to get you thinking outside of the box if you typically do all of your shopping at one store.
What’s your local favorite?
Grocery Budget Extreme Makeover Part III
Level 1: Bargain Belle
Challenge Yourself
• Use an envelope system for groceries this month, if you’re not already. See how to set one up here or where to purchase one here. (15 minutes to set up if you have not made one before)
• Challenge yourself while using the envelope system. Instead of putting your entire grocery budget for the week or month into the envelope, put in only a percentage of it. Try to make it to the end of the week or month without adding your reserve. If you really need it, you know you have it. Be proud of yourself when you don’t have to use it. (No time, unless you need to add the extra cash to your envelope)
• Personally, I use two envelope systems, one that I carry in my purse and one that I keep at home. Once a month, I write a check to myself for the amount we will need for our monthly “envelope” expenses. Then I distribute the money into the two different envelope systems, putting the bulk of it into the one I carry, and lesser amounts into the one I keep at home. I also use the one at home for expenses I know I won’t incur until later in the month so that I don’t have to carry as much cash. This allows me to make a conscious decision to decrease our spending, but gives me the security Dave Ramsey talks about. For example, I may budget $75 dollars per month for household expenses, but want to challenge myself to decrease this to $50. So, I put $50 into the main Household envelope and $25 into the reserve Household envelope. I know the money is there if I need it, but I challenge myself to stick to the $50. Most months I make it :)
• We really do spend more when we use credit versus cash. Don’t believe me? Check out this audio clip from NPR (the information about McDonald’s is particularly interesting), this article about a recent research study, or the original article entitled, in part, Monopoly Money.
Grocery Budget Extreme Makeover Part II
Level 1: Bargain Belle
Be Prepared
Prepare a list of five to seven quick dinners and post it on your cabinet door (or someplace less conspicuous if you prefer, like the inside of the cabinet door or in a notebook).
Make sure you have the necessary ingredients on hand for these dinners. Check your fridge, freezer, and pantry now. Write missing items on your grocery list before you forget.
I utilize a few meals that take 5-15 minutes to prep and 5-15 minutes to cook for days when I’d really rather order a pizza. (15 minutes to prepare the list if you look through cookbooks or online)
Ideas for quick and tasty meals can be found here, here, and here.
Grocery Budget Extreme Makeover Part I
Level 1: Bargain Belle
Get Organized
• Place a blank piece of paper on your counter in a notebook, or taped to a cabinet in your kitchen, in a location where it can live for the month. (30 seconds)
• Whenever you or a family member realizes you’re ALMOST out of an item, write it on the list. (10 seconds)
• Organize your list: Make it easy on yourself and write the item on the list in the approximate location in which you will encounter it in the store. You can make either a traditional vertical list, or assign each section of the store a location on the page.
For instance, if you shop at a store like our local Kroger where the produce section is on the left as you come in and the frozen food section is on the right, place all fresh fruit and vegetables at the top of the page on the left-hand side, first column. Frozen vegetables are near the bottom for the traditional vertical list, or on the bottom right-hand corner of the page because they are on the far right-hand side of the store as you enter, and therefore the last section shopped. (30 seconds)
• Check out this site for free printable grocery lists.
Warming Up for the Grocery Budget Extreme Makeover
Happy FruGal Friday everyone. As I always say, I know the name is corny, but the thoughts are sincere.
Next week, the Grocery Budget Extreme Makeover will kick into full gear. To get ready, we need to have a good sense of how much we spend per week, or per month, on groceries and other food.
If you’re doing the Dave Ramsey Total Money Makeover or Financial Peace University, then you probably have a good sense of this already. If not, let’s try to get a realistic estimate of your total grocery costs.
If you have receipts that are representative of your average shopping trips, total them up and use those. If not, make your best educated, REALISTIC, guess.
Don’t get stressed out. The goal of this exercise is to give you a baseline, a starting point so to speak, so that when you are saving a lot of money, you’ll actually know how much you are saving. For instance, if you typically spend $700 per month on groceries, and after the Grocery Budget Extreme Makeover are spending $500 per month, you’ll know that you’re saving $200, or just under 30%.
Include these categories to determine your total food expenses (some of them overlap):
1. Eating out
a. Restaurants, sit-down or drive-thru
b. Hotels while traveling for business or pleasure
c. Convenience Stores
d. Meals out of the home while working, running errands, etc.
e. Coffees, teas, waters, or sodas while out of the home
2. Groceries
a. Typical groceries such as produce, dairy products, meats, baking supplies, etc.
b. Groceries purchased at farmer’s markets or CSAs
c. Entertaining: Any food purchased to host family or friends in your home, or to attend a function at someone else’s home, at church, etc.
d. Processed foods
i. Cans
ii. Jars
iii. Boxes
iv. Bagged mixes
v. Frozen foods that contain more than one item, i.e., frozen peas by themselves don’t count as processed foods.
vi. Candy, snacks, junk foods, special treats, or other addictions
vii. Snacks purchased at health food stores
viii. Prepared specialty or diet foods
ix. Sodas
x. Juices
xi. Bottled water (not necessarily “processed,” but heavily packaged)
3. Any other food items I have left out
You know what you eat better than I do. This isn’t an exercise in feeling guilty about what we do or do not eat, or how much we do or do not spend; it’s simply a bookkeeping exercise to determine if we know what we’re actually spending on consumable food items.
Don’t worry if you don’t know what you spend on groceries every month. Most people don’t. Click here to read more.
Use whatever method of tabulation works for you. If you prefer pen and paper, use that. If you prefer Excel, use that. Make it as easy on yourself as possible. And don’t forget to have fun.
The Grocery Budget Extreme Makeover: A proven system for feeding your family for less
Some of the references and jargon in this document are based on the teachings of the FlyLady and Dave Ramsey. If you are not familiar with them, I strongly recommend that you check them out.
I developed this system when I was facilitating a Financial Peace small group. When I explained that I cut our family’s grocery budget from $600 to $250 per month, one of the students commented that I could do that only because I am a stay-at-home mom. That certainly gives me leave to focus my time differently. However, everyone can benefit from conscious efforts to improve ourselves, so I wanted to offer a few tips for an easy system that allows you to feed your family more healthfully and for less money, even in these challenging economic times.
The System
I have broken these suggestions down into 3 levels, from Level 1: Bargain Belle, the simplest, to Level 3: Super Saver, the most time intensive, to allow you to choose the options that best fit your time and budget needs.
For instance, a single parent whose time and budget are severely limited may choose to implement options only from Level 1: Bargain Belle, whereas someone who Dave Ramsey might describe as gazelle intense may choose all three levels simultaneously.
To save the most money, select tasks from all three levels. Together they are a system and the more you choose to do the more money you will save. Remember, the goal is Financial Peace, and once you attain freedom from financial constraints you can choose to spend more freely, but then again, you may find that simpler is better—and healthier.
For those of you familiar with the FlyLady, you will recognize that I have broken tasks down into 15-minute segments wherever that’s possible. As the FlyLady says, don’t say you don’t have 15 minutes. If you look carefully at your day, you will find it. If you watch TV, you can do many of these tasks during commercials. For me, having a spirited four-year-old most often means that a task that should take a half-hour can easily take three, because I have to break it down into segments.
If you work outside the home, carve 15 minute chunks from your day during lunch breaks, downtime if your job has any, or after the kids go to bed.
For the Grocery Budget Extreme Makeover Warm Up click here.
For the Grocery Budget Extreme Makeover Part I click here.
For the Grocery Budget Extreme Makeover Part II click here.
For the Grocery Budget Extreme Makeover Part III click here.
For the Grocery Budget Extreme Makeover Part IV click here.
For the Grocery Budget Extreme Makeover Part V click here.
For the Grocery Budget Extreme Makeover Part VI click here.
For the Grocery Budget Extreme Makeover Part VII click here.
For the Grocery Budget Extreme Makeover Part VIII click here.
For the Grocery Budget Extreme Makeover Part IX click here.
For the Grocery Budget Extreme Makeover Part X click here.
For the Grocery Budget Extreme Makeover Part XI click here.
For the Grocery Budget Extreme Makeover Part XII click here.
For the Grocery Budget Extreme Makeover Motivation click here.
For the Grocery Budget Extreme Makeover Part XIII click here.
