Hi everyone! Me again.
tldr: how do you keep food costs down? How do you save money for holidays, too?
I searched at past posts and got some ideas, but didn't see this question addressed so thank you for any additional tips you have!
We've been going over our budget and talking about how we can make it work to comfortably have another baby. I'll feel good about it if we can figure out how to live on just my income in the event that my spouse stops working, at least for a period. We're good about budgeting when we have a goal in mind and are generally frugal (older cars, smaller house, no credit card debt), but we honestly have gotten so lax in 2020.
We have spent entirely too much on comfort food and small purchases on Amazon to fight boredom. Saving on traveling, gas, and eating out, but yeeeaaah. I looked at our transactions and was happy to see we're spending hardly anything on Amazon or entertainment. There is one major issue however: our food costs! YIKES!! We clocked $1600 last month just on food. That's for two adults, a kindergartener, and a small toddler. And two kitties.
How you might ask?? We are easily spending $200 on the family grocery bill every weekend, but then we also regularly stop into the grocery store mid-week and spend $50 or so, we had one $50 splurge for takeout on my birthday, and my husband has been relieving stress by buying fast food and energy drinks /snacks from the gas station, apparently. He spent over $200 last month on junk (I'm not perfect, I spent $20)—seriously, fast food and gas station purchases. And I see that the boys have been getting Tim Horton's on Saturday mornings while I run, among other very healthy choices, too, such as Wendy's. haha
So we just had a lighthearted but still honest conversation about how we could have another baby if we can meal plan and get him to stop eating like a fifteen-year-old stoner. lol
My husband apologized for being so lax, which I'm not really mad about but it does feel like throwing money down the drain. But the first step to making this work is identifying where we need to improve, and now we know!
What I would love are any of your suggestions on how you meal plan, shop, cook, etc., for a big family on one income. Also, I am thinking about the upcoming holidays and how we can save some dough for my son's birthday and Christmas. I mean, we won't be throwing any parties or hosting family, so there will be savings, but other tips are welcome.
Here are the top tasks on my list:
tldr: how do you keep food costs down? How do you save money for holidays, too?
I searched at past posts and got some ideas, but didn't see this question addressed so thank you for any additional tips you have!
We've been going over our budget and talking about how we can make it work to comfortably have another baby. I'll feel good about it if we can figure out how to live on just my income in the event that my spouse stops working, at least for a period. We're good about budgeting when we have a goal in mind and are generally frugal (older cars, smaller house, no credit card debt), but we honestly have gotten so lax in 2020.
We have spent entirely too much on comfort food and small purchases on Amazon to fight boredom. Saving on traveling, gas, and eating out, but yeeeaaah. I looked at our transactions and was happy to see we're spending hardly anything on Amazon or entertainment. There is one major issue however: our food costs! YIKES!! We clocked $1600 last month just on food. That's for two adults, a kindergartener, and a small toddler. And two kitties.
How you might ask?? We are easily spending $200 on the family grocery bill every weekend, but then we also regularly stop into the grocery store mid-week and spend $50 or so, we had one $50 splurge for takeout on my birthday, and my husband has been relieving stress by buying fast food and energy drinks /snacks from the gas station, apparently. He spent over $200 last month on junk (I'm not perfect, I spent $20)—seriously, fast food and gas station purchases. And I see that the boys have been getting Tim Horton's on Saturday mornings while I run, among other very healthy choices, too, such as Wendy's. haha
So we just had a lighthearted but still honest conversation about how we could have another baby if we can meal plan and get him to stop eating like a fifteen-year-old stoner. lol
My husband apologized for being so lax, which I'm not really mad about but it does feel like throwing money down the drain. But the first step to making this work is identifying where we need to improve, and now we know!
What I would love are any of your suggestions on how you meal plan, shop, cook, etc., for a big family on one income. Also, I am thinking about the upcoming holidays and how we can save some dough for my son's birthday and Christmas. I mean, we won't be throwing any parties or hosting family, so there will be savings, but other tips are welcome.
Here are the top tasks on my list:
- Always shop Aldi first. I love Aldi (US discount grocery store in case you don't have them) and I know we save a lot by going there, but we don't seem to have time to stop at two stores. We can, though. Just gotta make time! Also, remembering to get TP and paper towel when it is in stock as well as buying Aldi diapers is a big savings over the store brand at our local supermarket.
- Cook treats at home. We are guilty of buying a four-pack of muffins on the weekend or some cookies as a nightly treat for the boys if they're good, but I can make those things for SO much cheaper and in much larger quantities, plus the boys can help so it can be an activity.
- Meal plan. We're not great about this. We usually just end up doing all the usual stuff: burgers or brats or chicken on the grill, tacos, pasta dishes, etc. I meal prep salads usually during the week, but doing things like making a pot of hardboiled eggs would be great for little snacks or egg salad and eggs are SO cheap and healthy. But we also would love some healthy casserole recipes, so I'm on the look-out.
- Drink water. Just drink water. We don't need every drink to be sparkling water with fancy flavors. Just have to get in touch with my inner r/HydroHomies.
- Bring meals to work. My husband is only at work for four hours a day, but he doesn't bring any food so he gets hungry mid-shift and buys a meal. He said he will come up with ideas for what to bring, even if it is just PBJ. I'm happy to help keep items stocked and even help portion them since he leaves crazy early in the morning. I work from home, so no worries on my end.
- Buy a chest freezer. Since we're aiming to get our food costs down to $200/week, I decided to get a chest freezer for $200, which I just ordered and can go pick up. We're good about getting steam-in-bag frozen veggies that the kids like and we use for meals, but we run out of space in our freezer every week. If I could stock up on meat when it's cheap or other staples, that would help. And I designated a cabinet in the basement for extra pantry space because I am starting to run out of room to keep extra items upstairs. Bulk is the name of the game!