Many of you who know me know that Scott (my husband) and I live with a very tight budget. There is not much of any wiggle room and the little bit extra we do have we throw at debt. We are committed to paying off our debt quickly. In order for us to do so we have to make sacrifices. A few examples of the sacrifices we make are:
- living in a cheap/some-what falling apart apartment with crappy landlords
- one car for the both of us
- we don't eat out often and when we do it's cheap
- we buy second hand
- we don't eat luxurious foods and do buy store brand
- we don't go on vacations
- we don't run our AC (and living in New Orleans it's VERY hot during the summer)
Obviously, our living circumstances are not ideal, but we should have our credit card debt paid off in less than 2 years and our car paid off in about 3 years. Student loan debt is a completely different story. Living paycheck-to-paycheck has forced us to be creative. Thankfully God has created the both of us with creative personalities.
To make extra money we both sell our art! That's right, we're artists! Scott is a cinematographer by day and a photographer by night. He sells his photography on Etsy. I sell paper art and fiber art on Etsy!
Another way we save money is to make sure we stay on budget when it comes to groceries. According to the government the average person eats $100/month in food. That means our monthly grocery bill should be only $200 people. So many people think we're crazy and do not understand HOW we do it! Honestly, it's not hard at all. Here are a few tips:
- Meat:
You don't need to eat meat at every meal. You really don't need to eat expensive cuts of meat...ever! Lean meats like chicken breast are just fine! Also, you don't need to eat a TON of meat. Americans eat way more meat than necessary. When I was still eating meat, we only needed 1-2 pounds of chicken a week.
- Dairy:
Dairy can be expensive. Especially in the south. Seriously, milk is expensive. I no longer drink milk. I barely consume any dairy - just cheese. I'm kind of addicted to cheese and can't give it up. However, by simply not drinking milk anymore we have been able to save money! We use it for Scott's cereal...that's it.
- Beans:
Beans are a good source of protein and for a couple dollars a bag you can eat for a long time!
- Do not buy anything extra - ever! (okay, you can once in awhile, but try not to). We skip all the packaged food aisles except for Scott's cereal.
By eating fresh, lean foods we not only save ourselves money in our grocery bill but also in our healthcare. When you look at food as medicine (it either benefits your or hurts you) you may drastically change how you eat. There are many things that we pay extra for to ensure better quality. I look at our food as an investment. We both want to live long, healthy lives. Eating well will only help us!
Our grocery bill for the week: (8.5 - 8.11)
3 lbs bananas - $1.78
romaine lettuce - $1.67
stalk of celery - $1.48
1 box whole grain wheat things - $2.50
2 bags dark chocolate chips - $5
XL box mini wheat thins cereal - $4.58
2 boxes of multi colored tortellini - $5
1 package of whole wheat tortilla - $2.08
1 package of cherry tomatoes - $3.78
1.82 lb peaches - $1.77
2 packs of blueberries - $3.96
3 kiwi - $0.99
2 salad packages - $5.94
provolone cheese slices - $3.48
2 concentrated OJ - $3.06
real fruit popcisles - $3.27
preservative free turkey lunch meat - $2.98
TOTAL: $53.32
+ $3.32 over budget.*
*we splurged this week and bought popsicles because it has been insanely hot. Also, we are providing salad for our small group dinner this week. We already have chicken in the freezer and have milk for Scott's cereal.
(These groceries were purchased at Wal-Mart in Harahan, LA a New Orleans suburb.)
What's your family's grocery budget like? Do you have any cost saving tips to share?
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