I am in a constant battle with our grocery budget. Trying to find new ways that I can tweak this and tweak that to save money and stretch our food dollars. Ideally I budget an amount at the beginning of the month and then we also budget another amount to split over the next month for fruit, vegis, and dairy. We are pretty picky about certain food items, try to avoid HFCS, and really just try to eat as healthy as we can. I have found that this limits what we can use coupons for as many of the items with coupons we do not eat and have no desire to buy just because its cheap. It means that I buy more ingredients than prepared foods and am constantly trying to find those ingredients at a lower price. This is turning into a whole different topic so I will save this for another day. Back on track...
Today was shopping day and I went to do our monthly Costco shopping. (With only one child who had eyes only for the samples, and a coffee in hand, it was almost like I was by myself. lol) I knew it was going to be a big shopping month. Last month we did not need very many things as we had a ton of carry over. However, by the end of the month we were almost out of meat and ate a large amount of lentils, rice, and beans. Luckily we all like lentils, rice, and beans so there was minimal complaining. :) As I did the shopping I kept track in my head and was getting concerned that I was seriously going over what I wanted to spend. At the checkout I was worried as it was ringing up. Oh how I hate checking out. Joe and I both usually try to guess what it will be. Kind of makes a fun game out of it, though unfairly I usually win as I track it on my shopping list. This time I was there with only Michael, who guessed $150, oh how I wish. lol I'm not going to tell you how much it was just that it was over my desired amount by about $100. I was really irritated with myself for going that much over budget. As Joe and I unloaded the car we were talking about this. He asked me what we could have not bought. There were a few things we didn't need for sure but not $100 worth. I sat down with a calculator and did some math that really surprised me! This month we are spending $3.01 per person per day to eat. That is not a lot for 3 meals and snacks daily. Since we homeschool five of us are home for all meals and snacks. Joe is home for 2 meals a day and takes his lunch and snacks from home as well. I also know that some of this food will be around next month as we usually have frozen vegis, some meat, and some snacks carry over.
So what I took from today is this: don't be so hard on myself! I am lucky enough to be able to overspend by $100 and not overdraw our bank account. I am blessed that I know how to cook healthy, nutritious meals for my family. And I am blessed for having a husband who helps me think things through rather than freak out that I went $100 over budget. lol
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