Tired of Beans and Rice? How a Few Budgeting Steps Can Help You Budget For A Steak | How to save money on groceries

When I first started budgeting I had a few realizations after honestly reviewing my transactions for 1 month. 1. I went to the grocery store too many times, and 1.I spent too much money at the grocery store. For me, finding out that I spent $400 a month on groceries was shocking. It wasn’t even organic, so where was that money going?  Not to mention another $200-300 a month on going out to restaurants on top of that. I was a single woman spending nearly $700 a month on food. 

I also had credit cards and student loan debt that I was trying to pay off and even if I could reduce that amount by half I would have another $350 to spend on debt. So, I decided to rethink my budget and how I grocery shop.

$700 a month. On food. For one person. The average household income in the United States is about $63,000. Guess how much a family of 4 spends on average on groceries? Somewhere between $726 - $855 per month. Sure, it could be more or less, but after seeing how much I was spending, I decided to cut back but I also love food and didn’t want to starve.

So, I set out to find my happy middle. 

Click here to learn the simple, strategic, and mindful method my husband and I used to pay off over $50,000 of debt in less than 1 year.

Quick aside: When I was in college, I ate a lot of beans and rice. Part of that was because it was affordable but more so because my parents are Haitian and it’s impossible to have a meal without rice. I found out quickly that not many other people want to eat rice and beans everyday, so let’s explore some other options to whittle your budget down.

First, I had to find out what I wanted to budget and what I wanted to eat. For me, what I wanted to eat is the first thing I do when I budget. Believe it or not, spending $400 a month on groceries, I did not have a lot of meat, veggies, or fruit left over. I did, however, have every spice known to man in my kitchen.

I range from being super basic to being extremely extravagant with my cooking. Now was the time to be super basic, so I just chose a veggie, brown rice and usually chicken for my food. I already had balsamic vinegar, canned tomatoes, tomato paste and a few other items to make different sauces so every meal looked and tasted different, but the base was the same, just a veggie, brown rice, and chicken. 

There were some months when I only purchased exactly what I needed for the month that I spent more like $120-$150 a month. When I would tell people this, they ask me how much weight I lost or what it was like not having meat for a whole month. I ate meat, had enough to invite guests and never felt hungry. Now, I’m married and my husband and I budget $350 for groceries, but this month we’re only set to spend $200 because we (mostly myself) wanted to know what our meals would look like if we made more adjustments.

If you ever hit a hard month and went from steaks every night to ramen the next month, then you might benefit from these tips. You can also get 3 of my go-to budget meal ideas here.

Go grocery shopping once a week.

I am guilty of being the kind of person who would go to the grocery store every other day to get one or two items. Here’s the thing though. I didn’t need to. Let’s say I was making tacos and realized I forgot avocados. I would just run off to the grocery store and pick some up. While it certainly adds to the meal, the more I ran into the store to grab one or two items the more likely I would walk out with three to five items and I could have made my meal without it. 

Limiting your grocery shopping trips to once a week helps you decide the differences between wants and needs. It’s like the grocery store is that credit card you said you would only use in case of an emergency, then you start blurring the line for what an emergency actually is. You need to make tacos for dinner tonight, but do you need the shredded cheese you forgot? I know cheese makes everything better, but if you can break the habit of racing to the grocery store, you will become more efficient with grocery shopping and spend less money in the process.

Budget the essentials first. 

I know times are tough, but there can still be order in the uncertainty. You need shelter, electricity, water, probably gas to get you to that new job, and food. For some, you go to the grocery store and just get what you need and if it costs $100 this week and $150 another week, you just figure it will balance itself out. Sometimes it does and sometimes you end up eating ramen the last few days of the month. 

If that’s the case, take the time to go online and look at the grocery store near you. Look for what’s on sale. Look for coupons of items you were already going to purchase. Most importantly though, make a list and put the essentials on top. For myself, essentials are items that we are going to eat within the next 2 weeks for major meals and snacks at work. Ice cream doesn’t make it in the 10 for this list. 

Bonus Tip: For one week of grocery shopping, only purchase the essentials. Whenever I do this, it helps me find out how much I can cut and just how much I’m spending on impulse purchases or junk food. This way, when you see the $30 bottle of truffle oil, you will know whether you have the space in your budget since you know how much your essentials generally cost.

Choose items with long shelf lives. 

Everyone knows that buying food in bulk is less expensive in the long run, but not everything will last. Things like rice and pasta are a no-brainer, so let’s look at how to incorporate fruits and vegetables in a more conscious way. Of course, you can opt for canned items, but I want you to know your food is not limited only to canned and frozen items

For vegetables, think carrots, green beans, kale, broccoli, and bell peppers. With these choices, you can have vegetables in your fridge for over 2 weeks without having to run to the grocery store every other day. Things like kale, carrots and broccoli may come in larger quantities to help keep costs lower too.

Fruits are a bit more difficult, but you do have choices. Apples and oranges come in bags and generally are less per pound and can last a good 2 weeks. I personally am a fan of dried apricots and my husband loves dried figs. For us, those are more like indulgences, but they are also healthy and technically fruit. 

Have 2-3 meals you can cook in your sleep.

I am guilty of eating fast food for ease and convenience not satisfaction. I also have the tendency to have a craving for comfort food that I used to think I could only find in a restaurant. I personally need ways to combat those urges that come up each week so that’s why I always have the ingredients for my burrito bowl or chicken pesto pasta.

Whenever I get the bright idea to blow my eating out budget on [insert any place with a drive thru], I think about how much better my chili-lime bowl is going to taste. If burrito bowls aren’t your thing, find what is your thing and find a way to make it simple and tasty.

If your go to meal is unseasoned rice and half-cooked beans to save a buck, that's not going to work.

That’s why I have a few simple meals that I can make in my sleep that are also made up of items I usually have in my pantry without making a special trip to the store. The trick here is to craft these meals with items that you can just have on hand and they taste great. Since it’s easy to make, you won’t be as tempted to get fast food or order takeout, thus saving your budget a few more bucks.

These changes on their own are small steps. The goal is to use as many steps at the same time to see bigger changes in your spending. I believe food should be nourishing, satisfying, and affordable. With these types of changes, you don’t have to sacrifice your satisfaction for your wallet.

You can get 3 of my go to meal ideas right to your email address. Download the recipes here.

Sources: 

https://www.rockethq.com/learn/personal-finances/how-much-should-you-spend-on-groceries-v2