How do you keep your grocery bill down to the same amount that it was two years ago despite the fact that food has gone up? It isn’t easy, but I am determined. Since our income hasn’t gone up, neither can our spending. We’ve already cut corners in other areas, such as with entertainment and activities. Now it is time to wrestle that grocery bill back down to the ground.
Keeping Track
I’m now back to keeping a running total of our grocery expenses week to week. Having this running total gives us a number to challenge. Can we spend a little less each time? One unexpected perk of keeping track, we’ve been avoiding some impulse purchases, such as that $12 apple pie that looks so good in the store.
Using Some Coupons
The bulk of our groceries aren’t things that usually have coupons, such as fresh produce or meat. This has led me to not bothering with coupons, since it seemed a lot of work for just a few items, and the Sunday newspaper has increased in price.
While I am still not letting coupons drive my purchases (no free or low-cost processed foods because they aren’t normally in our diet), I am making an effort to save and use coupons where I can.
Making Compromises
We are making more compromised with food. Whereas there were certain items that I would only buy organic, I will now purchase them once in a while. The nutritional benefits of such foods outweigh the pesticides, and we can no longer afford to be so rigid. I still try to seek out farmers markets where good practices are used, even though they aren’t guaranteed to be organic.
Cooking More
I’m cooking even more at home, including baking more homemade bread, serving hot lunches instead of lunch-meat sandwiches, and trying to keep a steady supply of breakfast that doesn’t include cereal.
When there is always dinner cooking, no one in the family can suggest eating out, a more expensive prospect unless we have free food coupons.