But We Have To Buy Food!
How much does your family spend on food every week? I couldn’t even answer that question a few years ago. Mr. Sense and I enjoyed trying new restaurants frequently, and he whipped up some fancy meals at home, too. At grocery stores, I beelined for the organic section to stock up on little plastic containers of yogurt drinks and individually wrapped fruit strips (like organic fruit roll-ups– they are addictive!). Mr. Sense doesn’t drink much, but I love craft beer. We often brought our chess set to local breweries, which offered an upbeat but relatively quiet atmosphere. Mr. Sense used to bring me lunch at work everyday. Sometimes he would make something, but usually he stopped at a fast food place and grabbed lunch for both of us. One month, I looked over our credit card statement and added up all the restaurant bills, and was SHOCKED at the total. All that money gone, with nothing to show for it! We slowed down a bit after that, and a whole lot more a few months after starting parenthood. There’s something about watching your kid leave most of an expensive plate uneaten, but dousing it in ketchup or whatever so its leftover potential is ruined.
These days, Mr. Sense and I have a monthly dining out budget that allows us a couple meals out per month. My parents are local, and we switch off paying for lunch when we go out together. Our budget roughly covers one meal out with them and one meal for Mr. Sense and me, plus we get an extra restaurant meal when it’s their turn to pay. This seems like more than enough. Committing ourselves to following our budget makes avoiding convenience restaurant meals easier; we can’t stop at McDonald’s because it’s our turn to pay next and we only have $150 left.
We switched from shopping primarily at Martin’s to Aldi a couple years ago, which I estimate lowered our grocery bill by 50%. Not only are staples cheaper, but they don’t carry nearly as many fancypants items that sneakily bump up your bill. I’m easily seduced by little blocks of cheese with inventive names and healthy sounding snacks in brown paper bags, so I try to avoid those areas of the store, which is easier at Aldi. Healthy food is a priority for me, so I buy lots of produce but decide what I’m getting based on what’s on sale. We only purchase meat that’s on sale, and we are looking into buying a quarter of a cow to get lots of good local beef at a more reasonable price.
We also started embracing eating leftovers– yes, it turns out you can actually eat food left over from previous meals! You don’t have to let it take up fridge space for several days and then throw it away! I bring leftovers to work almost every day. I get tired of eating the same thing multiple days in a row, so Mr. Sense and I remake most of our leftovers into new creations. My favorite way to do this is by putting whatever you have into a tortilla with some cheese and grilling it on the stovetop. Almost anything works, especially if you keep a variety of different cheeses (cheddar, mozzarella, pepper jack) on hand. I also like to chop up meat and veggies from past meals and combine them with pasta, chicken stock, and lemon juice. Mr. Sense and Kid Sense aren’t as enthusiastic about leftovers, and I’m able to get through most of them by bringing them for work lunches, but we usually have at least one leftover remake meal as a family.
It’s wise to have a few dishes you can throw together cheaply that your family will actually enjoy. Besides quesadilla leftover meals, we enjoy breakfast for dinner and homemade pizzas (Mr. Sense makes the pizza dough in our breadmaker). All of these meals are easy to adjust according to what you have on hand; sometimes breakfast meals are pancakes with aging berries, and sometimes they are eggs scrambled with leftovers tomatoes and sausage.
There’s nothing original about suggesting you eat out less and buy food that’s on sale to lower your food bills. However, if you can change your mindset so that you consistently make more frugal choices surrounding food, it can make a huge difference in your financial picture. I recommend adding up all your food costs from the previous month using your credit card or bank statement, and then cutting that number by at least a third. Whatever the number is, that’s all you’ve got for the month. Promise yourself you’ll stick to that number and make a plan. Don’t spend it all on one big bulk trip at the beginning of the month, because you won’t have any fresh stuff for the second half of the month. Avoid restaurants entirely until you’re on the home stretch, maybe a week away from the end of the month, so you can see what’s affordable for you. After a month of practicing this way, decide on a food budget number that works for you; something that allows you to eat the things you want within reason, but forces you to plan ahead.
One last note: dining out and gourmet groceries should always be purchased with money you already have. If you’re digging out of consumer debt, you should avoid excess spending on food. Cook at home exclusively, avoid luxury goods, and stick to healthy but inexpensive staples like rice, beans, and frozen vegetables. There will be plenty of time for fancier dining later on, and it will be more enjoyable when you don’t have to stress about the long term costs.
