We have a $400/month grocery budget. For 2 people and 2 dogs, this is pretty high, even if it includes all household items (toothpaste and toilet paper, etc) and dog food. Over on the money boards, there are people who feed a family of 4 on less. So, if I were to need to cut our budget, this would be a good place to start. And the truth is, with rising gas and grocery prices, and a loss of income coming up at the end of June, I might very well need to take a closer look at this- or at least keeping our grocery budget where it is even as prices go up.

I am not, however, ever going to be one of the extreme coupon people. In fact, I have a hard time remembering to look at my CostCo coupons (or take them with me). So if I’m not going to spend time actively seeking out deals, what’s the key to keeping the grocery spending on track?

Planning.

I want to call out here two of the blogs over on the left of the page, The Empty Kitchen and Not So Desperate Housewife. Both of these women have busy families and really work to schedule their weekly meals. Knowing before you go to the store exactly what you are going to make for dinner this week cuts down on impulse buying and prevents the last minute grocery store run for that one item you need (which often leads to more impulse buying).
Instead, you have a menu. You have looked through your pantry/cupboards and know what you already have, and know exactly what you need. There’s no wandering up and down the aisles wondering what sounds good, no standing at the meat counter wondering if you want chicken or ground beef, and how much you should get. Instead, you know. Because you already know what’s for dinner.

We do not do this. We do have a couple tricks, though, to keep spending down.

When my husband cooks (because he is the cook in the family) he always makes enough for two nights worth of dinner. That’s right, we plan left overs. This means that on a night when we’re both tired and crabby, instead of going out to dinner, its even easier to heat up the left overs. With any luck, I can also get a lunch of it too.
We also stay fully stocked on our staples. We always have rice, penne, cream of mushroom soup, tomato paste, and milk in the house. I’m not a good cook, but with these items and some general spices, I can make a quick and easy dinner. (Caveat: We have a rice cooker. Without it, rice would not be quick or easy.) Add either some chicken or ground turkey (which we use in place of ground beef) and there can be variety in the meals. It helps that we both really like the simple dinners made from these items. And again, knowing we can have dinner ready in half hour or less cuts down on the urge to eat out.

But, you might say, after seeing my budget categories, eating out would keep the grocery budget down. True, but at a cost. Our eating out budget is $125 a month. That brings the food budget to just over $500 a month, with eating out 1/4 of that. Does that mean we can afford to eat out one week a month – 7 nights? No, we’re usually good for 2-4 dinners out, depending on where we go and whether or not we split entrées.
And the eating out budget, also a very likely place for there to be cuts once the income goes down.