The First Step to Saving on Groceries: Plan

May 3, 2012 by Hollie

“The plans of the diligent lead surely to abundance, but everyone who is hasty comes only to poverty. (Proverbs 21:5 ESV)

There are plenty of ways to save money on your grocery budget. Searching Google for “how to save on groceries” returns 20,900,000 results! The tip I am going to share with you today is nothing new, but it may be one of the hardest to implement because it takes discipline and time. My first suggestion to anyone who asks me how to save money on groceries (or anything) would simply be, “plan.” If you only implement one of the tips I share with you in the months ahead, it should be this one!

There are a few different ways to plan and save money on your food bill: creating a food budget, menu-planning, and pantry inventory.

First: Create a Budget

Budget can be such an ugly word. When a people hear the word “budget” they normally think of restrictions. I would challenge you not to think of it this way. Instead think of it as freedom and control! You set the budget, you tell your money where to go. Instead of being a slave to your paychecks you are now the master. This is a much better relationship to have with your money! The number one thing you can do to save money on groceries is to decide how much you should spend each month on food … and stick with it! If you are entirely new to budgeting, then you should give yourself at least three months to land on a good amount for your family. A simple way to develop a realistic budget  is to record all of your grocery expenses over the course of a few months to see what you typically spend. Once you know what you naturally spend every month you can work out a realistic grocery budget. Doing this will keep you from setting a budget that is too high or too low.

There really aren’t a lot of rules to budgeting aside from setting a goal and sticking to it. Just because you are a family of five doesn’t mean your budget will look like every other family of five’s. We are all different, like different foods, have different dietary restrictions, live in different areas, etc. Don’t get caught up in comparing your budget with others! Comparison is a great way to make yourself feel defeated or to needlessly puff yourself up with pride.

Second: Menu-Plan

Menu-planning is wildly popular these days. Blogs on the topic abound, recipes are easy to find, and plenty of menu-planning systems for purchase even exist. Deciding what you are going to eat each week certainly saves money as well as sanity! Having a menu-plan eliminates that right-before-dinner-panic of not having a clue what to fix. Knowing what is coming up for dinner also prevents you from ordering out on the fly because “there’s nothing to eat here.” (Just as a note: ordering out is not bad! But, it’s less stressful in the long run if you plan it).

There are tons of different ways to menu-plan. You can have certain meals on a rotation and pick from those for your dinners each week. You can plan menus weekly, bi-weekly, or monthly. Some women menu-plan breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks while others just plan dinner. If you are new to menu-planning try different methods until you find what fits for your family. Desiring Virtue has a free printable you can use or you can try out this helpful menu planning note pad from MomAgenda. 

Third: Pantry Inventory

Knowing what food you have on hand will be extremely helpful when menu-planning. Using the food in your pantry first will certainly save money. Chances are the first time you take a pantry inventory you will be surprised by just how much food you have! The first time you set out to take an inventory make sure you block out a good chunk of time to do so. (This is also a great time to throw out expired  items and clean your cabinets). If you have kids, make sure to enlist their help. My oldest daughter (9) loves to make our pantry list and keep it up to date.  We use this printable and cross out items as we use them up.

Implementing these three grocery tips can help you cut down on waste and save your family money!

From a young age Hollie’s mother impressed on her the mindset of a frugal woman. Her mother taught her an important phrase, “Never pay full price — everything goes on sale eventually!” Becoming a Christian in 2009 made Hollie more aware of the importance of being a good steward of what God had blessed her with and not spending it frivolously. Now as a newlywed, she has the chance to really put all the money-saving tips she’s learned over the years to work. Hollie and her family live in a small village in the Piedmont region of Virginia. She spends her days keeping home and home-schooling her children. In their spare time they enjoy reading, taking historical field trips, hiking and serving their local church. You can find more from Hollie at her blog Reformed Redhead.

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Introducing Hollie and Her Money Saving Tips & Tricks

Mar 22, 2012 by Hollie

There are many reasons to take up frugal living. Some common reasons cited are: it’s good for the environment, it can enable mom to stay home, it’s exciting/challenging, it keeps life simple, it reduces stress, etc. Living a frugal-life-style can often be misunderstood as living like a tight-wad or cheap-skate. It is true that some people do interpret it this way, but in my opinion this misses the point. A frugal life-style is simply being a good steward of what God has loaned us. God is truly the owner of everything in His created universe, and our finances are no exception. 

Being wise with your money and finances allows you to better live out the Christian life you are called to. When you make wise decisions with your money, and see it as God’s and not yours, you will be able to serve the Kingdom in ways you may have not been able to otherwise. Donations or financial gifts are not the only way to serve Christ’s church monetarily. In today’s world even the simplest forms of hospitality will cost you money somewhere along the way (meal ministries, opening your home to those in need, etc.). Flippantly spending your money may deprive you of such opportunities to serve the Lord through your finances. As Christ’s redeemed, we must seek out every way to bring our lives under his reign and our spending habits are no exception.

Over the next few months I want to share with you ways I have learned to stretch the dollars my husband brings home. I will be specifically focusing on ways to save on your grocery bill. My tips are certainly nothing new – most of them have been passed on to me by older women that have been using them for years. Regardless of where you are in life, I hope at least some of these tips will help you! I’ll be going over things like couponing, menu-planning and other tips to cut waste and spend less. Most of these tips have two things in common: they all take planning and discipline. I hope you will join us as I talk about these money-saving plans and join in the conversation with tips of your own!

Photo Credit

From a young age Hollie’s mother impressed on her the mindset of a frugal woman. Her mother taught her an important phrase, “Never pay full price — everything goes on sale eventually!” Becoming a Christian in 2009 made Hollie more aware of the importance of being a good steward of what God had blessed her with and not spending it frivolously. Now as a newlywed, she has the chance to really put all the money-saving tips she’s learned over the years to work. Hollie and her family live in a small village in the Piedmont region of Virginia. She spends her days keeping home and home-schooling her children. In their spare time they enjoy reading, taking historical field trips, hiking and serving their local church. You can find more from Hollie at her blog Reformed Redhead

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Make Bread, Save Some Dough!

Jun 16, 2011 by Julie

It all began when my parents gave us their bread machine a few months ago…

Me being the most experimental of their children when it comes to cooking, they knew I would make good use of it. I was delighted to be the recipient of such a fabulous small appliance and couldn’t wait to take on the new adventure of bread making! There’s just nothing quite like the taste of fresh baked bread!

I started out by making this Homemade Bread for Beginners recipe I found on MoneySavingMom.com.  It was so easy to make! The most challenging part for me was just learning how my machine operated, as the order of ingredients, or cycles, can vary between machines.   Like Crystal mentions in her post, I too prefer to use the dough cycle on the machine and then bake the loaf in the oven  (rather than inside the machine) as the end outcome is more favorable.   Figuring this out by my second or third attempt, I had perfected it!

Me being the carb-lover I am, and my husband being the sandwich fanatic he is, I tend to make at least a loaf a week for my husband and I to have as sandwich bread for lunches.  Although we’ve tried other wheat bread recipes, this one still remains our favorite.

One of the most tangible benefits of this process is the monetary savings that comes with making our bread at home each week. Beforehand, we were spending an average of $2.50 a loaf each week for wheat bread. By purchasing the ingredients in bulk, the cost for making a loaf at home is well under a dollar. That’s a savings of anywhere between $78 and $104 a year. Keep in mind that this calculated savings is for sandwich bread alone.  Having a bread machine on hand, the possibilities of what you can create for less are endless, but that’s an entirely different post

If you are looking into purchasing a bread machine for yourself, I’ve found the average retail price for a new one to be around $60.00 for a basic model. Of course there is always the potential of finding a better deal online, however, I would recommend first trying to find one “like new” at a yard sale, on Craigslist, or eBay as it would be an opportunity to save even more!

What household find has been the most beneficial to your budget?

Join in on the conversation by posting a comment!

A self-proclaimed foodie, Julie’s love of cooking and her travel experiences have sent her on a quest for creativity in the kitchen! Julie and her husband James live just outside of Dallas, Texas where they share a passion for serving others through their local church. As the Turner’s are newlyweds, Julie chronicles their journey together on their family blog www.theturnyeahs.tumblr.com

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