Almost $800 in 8 days! ON FOOD! One year, we spent almost $800 on eating out and groceries in less than two weeks! And that’s when I decided, we decided something had to give! Something had to change!
As a family of 6, we were constantly busy with two restaurants, homeschooling, and sports. We were in the throes of travel baseball, and by the end of the night, we just wanted to grab something quick. And then I looked at our bank statement over 8 days, and I almost died! That year, my life changed! Forever changed. We were not only eating too much, we were spending frivolously on FOOD! Not even experiences. FOOD! And while some people are great spending $800 on food in 8 days, it made me feel sick to my stomach! We could have paid someone’s rent with that $800.
So the next week, I came up with a workable grocery budget and household budget with different categories. I’m a pen to paper gal, so I created some fun grocery printables, budget printables, to track all of our spending, AND our debt too! I learned, then, we could make do! We didn’t need MORE groceries. We needed less because a lot of times we were wasting leftovers by just eating out the next day! And if our goal was to be debt free and help other families, we really needed to get our budget and grocery spending under control.
So here are 5 ways to Make Do versus Buy New or more groceries!
Check your pantry, fridge, and cabinets for staples.
Check your freezer for meats and items that would complete a meal.
Then write down a list of all the foods you have!
Meal Plan based only on foods you have on your list!
Go on Pinterest or a website where you insert the ingredients you have, and see what new meals you can make! Get creative!
Something that we also do that helps is that we plan meals that are vegan or vegetarian. My husband and I are plant based this month, so we do plant based often. But with our children eating meat sometimes this can be tricky! So I find creative ways to make meals where the kids don’t even realize they are missing the meat! Some frugal staples or meals that are go to meals for us are:
Spaghetti with sauce and pasta.
Meatless Chili with rice
Beans and rice, and vegetable
Tacos are a weekly must have
Breakfast for dinner is always a frugal meal as well!
Another way I’m able to make do with groceries for a family of 6 is that I shop sales all throughout the year, so my freezer and pantry is full of things that were on sale! We stock it with things we know our kids will eat so we are not wasting food just because it’s on sale. Some items that we buy often are muffins, juice, snacks, easy on the go things that we know are cost effective and easy to grab for our busy lifestyle.
Another thing that I try to consider when grocery shopping is our core values as a family. Our core values as a family is to be able to serve others well. So I buy extra for neighborhood kids and kids who may come over unannounced. As a family, we want to be a beacon of hope and light, so we always want to have extra snacks and drinks to love on people. That’s important to us. So because this is a core value of ours, we make sure our grocery shopping reflects that. What are your core values as a family when it comes to groceries. I want our food to fuel us to do what we feel called to do AND not make us feel awful and sluggish! So those are the items on my grocery list that I want to focus on (as well as sales). Think about what is important to you as a family. Is it to be debt free? Is it to help others? Is it to have financial freedom? Think about those things as you are “making do” with your groceries. Your goals. Your vision as a family should be the driving force of WHY you can make do with your groceries instead of buying more! You can do it!
Throughout our newish minimalism journey, I’m learning that a little goes a long way and that we can intentionally live a great life leaning into less and making do instead of buying “new” or more! So now, what’s your best “making do” mom hack?
5 Ways to Make Do with Groceries
Until next time friend,
Shelly
If you’re wanting more tips, you should check out some of my fellow minimal mom friends and what they have to share here! They all have some great tips! Click Below!
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