The changes we made at the beginning of the year, including the way we shop and having more meals with leftovers, are starting to pay off. We budget $500 a month for groceries and for the first three months of this year we’ve been able to stay under that amount.
One BIG change I inadvertently made at the end of January was menu planning for the entire month of February versus just two weeks at a time and it made a big difference in our spending. I still started out still by shopping the pantry and freezer when I created menu, then added in dishes I could create from a Costco chicken, and finally filled in with other dishes. Menu planning this way had me looking even more closely at what was on hand in the pantry, fridge, and freezer, and being more creative in figuring out how I could use what we already have. It also helped us shop for items that could also be used or extended into the following month. For some reason, the whole-month process seemed to work and the result meant we enjoyed a good variety of healthy, tasty meals without overspending on food.
The photos below were taken from our two shop-a-thons in March to show what we bought and how much we spent:
Total spent at Costco: $196.68
Total spent at Aldi: $61.70
Total spent at Whole Foods: $30.36
Total spent at Publix: $50.69
Total spent at Target: $6.89
What we bought the second shopping trip in the second week of the month:
Total spent at Costco (Round ll): $69.76
Total spent at Aldi (Round ll): $14.19
Total spent at Whole Foods (Round ll): $20.94
Total spent in March: $451.11. The only impulse items above were the Cadbury creme eggs (my favorite candy) and the Dave’s English muffins – they were regularly $5.99/package (big no) but the day we shopped were BOGO, and $3 each was a good price for a quality product. Otherwise, every other item was on our list. We spent a bit more than planned on the chocolate-peanut butter pie, but we really wanted to try it and they sell out quickly.
The meals planned and eaten in March were, in no particular order, (items already on hand are in italic): Swedish meatballs w/cream gravy and roasted potatoes (2 meals), farmers’ market pasta (2 meals), chicken and dumplings (2 meals), slow cooker chicken adobo with bok choy, chicken noodle soup (2 meals), air fryer beef fajitas (2 meals), pasta with baked feta (2 meals), chili-stuffed sweet potatoes, slow cooker brats & sauerkraut (2 meals), stuffed peppers (2 meals), pepperoni pizza, sausage pizza, ravioli lasagna (2 meals), spinach quiche in gluten-free crust (2 meals), Korean-style beef with rice, bulgogi fried rice, chicken Alfredo, and noodle bowls with chicken & vegetables. We ate dinner out on our anniversary and ate dinner for free at our hotel for our overnight getaway to Great Smoky Mountains National Park.
I’ve pretty much given up snacking in the afternoons and instead have a five-ounce glass of wine in the early evening. Brett and I still enjoy a small piece of dessert each evening after dinner – the desserts pictured above will took us through the entire month of March. It all fits into the budget.
Buying Costco $5 roasted chickens to incorporate into recipes has made a big difference as has my return to cooking once again and planning meals with leftovers – I enjoy having a second day of meals that only need to be reheated. I try to stick to gluten-free products, but they are expensive so we shop very selectively for those. Costco can also be a real drain on the budget, but we look for affordable products that can be used in several meals over time to get a bigger bang for our bucks. We added in trips to Whole Foods this month for a few items, but we strictly limit what we buy there – it has to be for something we typically can’t find somewhere else. There were no trips to Trader Joe’s this month because we’re still using the items I stocked up on before I quit.
I’ve already gotten this month’s menu done and we’ve already gotten through the first round of shopping and are well under budget. All in all I am very please with how the planning and dining has been going this year, and how much we’ve been able to stay under our budget.
The Occasional Nomads 
By the way, I had typed up a comment on your anniversary post that got eaten and I didn’t have time that morning to try again, but CONGRATS! I liked the sound of your lunch the best, I think, though dinner sounded amazing as well đŸ™‚
Amazing how much money you can save when you plan in advance. I wouldn’t have thought switching to planning for the month would’ve made such a big difference, that’s for sure.
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The lunch was delicious and we are planning to go again this month. Brett said it will probably be our only meal of the day because it’s so much food (it was almost too much when we ate out all day). The dinner was perfection, from the service, ambiance, food . . . everything!
I had no idea we could save so much by planning once a month – it didn’t work that way back when I was feeding five of us. But for the two of us, it’s ideal. I’m already working on my May menu and it’s surprising how small the shopping list is, although I know I’ll be adding a few more things before we actually go shopping.
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