Eat Well, Stick to a Budget

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Over the years being a low income home with a single bread winner, I have found a lot of people claiming budget friendly good healthy clean eating. Most really haven't met my standard of budget friendly. So here is what I have learned, and let me start by saying its okay to just be able to eat. I used to feel guilty by the food choices I felt I had to make for the sake of our budget. Yes, I have had week when I had to make $20 feed my family of four when our kids where toddlers. Yes, I have gone hungry so my kids could eat. I have found that food and housing is more important then any other bill though so if done well you can still eat well and budget well.

Step 1.

Figure out your realistic budget. This is what are you able and willing to spend monthly on food. Yes, monthly just bare with me a monthly budget may seem hard to keep but it is a great starting point, if you need help figuring out your budget check out this blog post for a ton of help. Currently my budget for just food is $500 a month or $125 a week (this is the highest amount I have ever budgeted for food in the last ten years). However, it really breaks down to $100 a week with $100 a month in food stamps.

Step 2.

More math. I break it down even further to this $10 per dinner ($70 per week) and $2 per breakfast and $2 per lunch ($28 per week) That leaves my $2 per week buffer. I spend $100 a month on pantry stables. This break down really helps me remember when I making purchases even outside my meal plan to help me stay in budget.

Step 3.

Plan. Plan. Plan.

I never know what my family or I am feeling up to eating until that night. So, I pick 7 dinners for the week but I don't place them really. I may keep a quick dinner for a night we have a lot to do, or a bigger meal for a weekend at home.

I have rotate my meats, seasonal foods(which are on sale at the time), and our cuisine. I usually keep some core inspiration each week so that I can not go crazy planning new stuff all the time. My core go to are Italian cuisine, Mexican, a simple American, oriental, medetarian, home style and I try to slip a vegetarian dish in when I can.

Step 4.

A staples pantry doesn't happen over night. So, each month pick items that will help you be more successful in cooking. Like buying good sea salt, pepper, garlic powder(not salt), baking soda, baking powder, starch, in bulk. (think Sams or Costco) Also, buy things like flour, rice, sugar, syrup, brown sugar, butter(or butter substitute) in bulk when you can too. Stable herbs to have in you cupboard is Italian herb blend, ginger, red pepper, cumin, chili powder, turmeric. With these six spices you are able to season almost any cuisine. Bulk purchase of snacks like nuts, crackers, chips, and other snacks is best to do during a pantry purchasing. One of the easiest ways I have found to help me stick to my budget is Prime Pantry through Amazon. You do need a Prime Account but you can try it 30 days free. In a year I save so much more then I spend on my membership.

Get to know your resources.

Food Stamps -For me getting food stamps was the biggest pain in the butt however, every little bit it helps. So apply worst case you are denied.

Food Banks -There is local resources too, like for me there is two food banks that do monthly commodities where I simply brought in the required identification and each month they give you different staples. This may or may not work for all depending on what your food restrictions are. We try to do a mainly GF and DF paleo style diet. Some let you kind of shop for what works for you. Great stuff to look for is peanut butter, tuna, canned beans, rice, some even do produce, or meat. For a while ours did 10 lb bag of chicken pieces frozen with skin on and bone in. I made a huge batch of bone broth and separated the meat out and used the meat in meals.

Farmers Markets -When in season can have great deal, and some double food stamp money too. Also at the end of the day they maybe willing to work with you on price, sometimes they give produce away that they can't sell.

Local Co-ops - There are local co-op groups that do things from produce, to meat, dairy, and even bake goods. Here for me, I use bountiful baskets it cost $3 to join and I get a huge basket of produce for $15. The only down side to co-ops is you usually have to pay almost a week in advance for items then you have to pick up during a very short window of time, but the prices are amazing. Plus their bulk offerings are also great.

Weekly store Ads- This is something I use a lot is either ad match through Walmart or I go straight to the store. Kingsoopers (Kroger) is my favorite. Though stores like Spouts, and Trader Joes has a similar thing (they are just not close enough to me to make it worth my time and money) I am now able to make small step to insure I am getting better quality items, like organic and grass fed. Watching for sales on those items helps me figure out my weekly meal plan.

Step 6.

Eliminating unneeded items. Going out is nice but super expensive and can add up quick even the "cheap" out to eat. Reducing snack, and "junk" food helps a lot. Also cooking for the size of family you really have eliminates waste. I am the eldest of seven kids so I was used to cooking for a small army. Realizing 1 lb of meat for any meal is enough for my family of 4 was a game changer for me. For drinks I enjoy tea, and fruit flavored water, it is also healthier and cheaper then buying premixed beverages. Everyone is different,so figure out what will work for you. If having specialty coffee makes you feel great then figure out another way to cut costs. You need to have food that brings you joy and health.

Step 7.

When in doubt consider increasing your food budget.

Look you need food to live to stay healthy, if you aren't eating the way you want to cut cost in other areas of your life. Maybe it is reducing your use of utilities, or you drop your cable bill. Each person has different needs and wants in life, maybe you can find more income somewhere. Bottom line is one part to being happy healthy is to be eating in a way that makes you happy healthy.

---See my budgeted Meal plan for a month

---10 ways to cut cost without even feeling like you did.

---Stay at home Date night admits the daily chaos.

#LifeLessons #Food #Drink