Buying Groceries for Less

Saving Money on Your Food Budget

Whether yours is a family of two or twelve, food is a major expense in every family’s budget. The average family of four spends approximately five hundred dollars a month on food. This is on actual groceries and not on restaurants or fast food. However, if you know how, there are ways to save big on your family’s food expenses.

To begin saving, it is essential to plan your meals. Otherwise, you will find yourself wandering aimlessly through the grocery store picking up whatever looks tempting, only to get home and not have what you need to complete your family’s favorite dishes. I spoke with Dawn Jordan, a mother of thirteen children, about how she plans her family’s meals. (Yes, I said thirteen children. I figured she’d have to be considered an expert on stretching food dollars.)

Using her computer, Dawn said she has a master list of fifty meals that she has tested on her family with winning results. She chooses fourteen of these meals without designating which meal will be for which day of the two- week period. This gives her the freedom to choose each day which recipe she wants to prepare that day. In choosing, she also refers to the newspaper grocery ads as to what meats might be on sale during that time period. Then she makes a list of the ingredients she knows she needs, checking with her food supply on hand. After completing this, she uses her word processing program to rearrange her list according to the aisles of her favorite grocery, to make shopping easier. She sticks to her list and avoids impulse buys, and never shops with her children in tow, if possible.