Monday, October 12, 2009

The Incredible Shrinking Grocery Budget

Well, well, well..... here I am. Again, taking forever to get around to posting something. And not even a recipe post at that. We are tightening our belts lately due to lots of unexpected and, to be perfectly honest a couple of unnecessary (but fun), expenses. This month we have a goal of keeping our weekly grocery bill under $50 to help offset some of this spending. We both take our breakfast and lunch on workdays, so that makes it a bit more of a challenge. However, the freezer is well stocked so I don't have to buy meat, and it's not quite time yet for holiday baking, making it a perfect time to cut back on the grocery budget. With that in mind I made the following menu for the week:

-Baked Potatoes & Salad
-Spinach Quesadillas w/ Black Beans & Salad
-Rosemary Meatballs w/ Pasta & Salad
-Steamed Veggies w/ Brown Rice & Salad
-Grilled Cheese & Chicken Noodle Soup
-Hamburgers & Chili-Roasted Sweet Potato Wedges

I already had the meatballs, ground beef, pasta, rice, sourdough bread, and cheese so none of those things had to be purchased. Working with what we had helped a lot- we spent $40 and some change this week. How much do you typically spend on your groceries? Have you come up with any new ways for keeping your food bill down?

5 comments:

The Probert Family said...

Way to go! I'm impressed. We try to keep our weekly groceries around $70 but there are times I feel like that is more than enough. Maybe we'll have to try to cut our bill a bit, too....for an experiment.

How do you make your Spinach Quesadillas? These meals sound so yummy and simple and balanced. I'm inspired...thanks.

Jessica said...

Candra-

Here is one version of Spinach Quesadillas I've made before. This week I might use some onion and corn, but will skip the beans since I'll be serving them on the side.

To help keep our budget in check I make a grocery list of just what we'll need for the week and stick to it. Every now and then if there's a good sale I'll pick up extra things, but sticking to the list most of the time offsets those occasional increases in the bill. Glad I could give you some ideas!

Digant C Kasundra said...

I'm looking for a wife or girlfriend who can cook for me to help me save money so I don't have to eat out all the time. Any leads are appreciated. :)

Jennifer M. said...

Our grocery budget is just a hair smaller than yours and I'm always cutting it close! I'm going to make whatever you're making and see if I can come in under 70 bones!! Don't steer me wrong, Hoover. I'm depending on your grocery shopping and recipe know-how!

Jennifer M. said...

Oh!
What kind of bread do you use for your grilled cheese? And do you buy canned chicken noodle soup (if so, what kind are you getting on your budget?) or do you make homemade?
Thanks!!

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