Health & Fitness
Learn how to feed a family of 9 for less than $500 a month!
When you have 7 children depending on you and you only have so much money you have to get really smart about your grocery budget!
It is not uncommon to see me early on a Saturday morning walking into the grocery store with my very stylish and manly coupon binder in one hand and re-usable bags in the other. My Saturday morning routine originated from necessity and is now just how we do it.
My wife and I decided about 8 years ago to become foster parents. As our family grew, we needed to make some adjustments to our budget. The one area that we could really impact the most was the amount of money we were spending on food. In 2009, I decided to track my monthly grocery spending for 2 months and I was shocked at how much I was spending. I thought I was doing good shopping at discount stores and warehouse clubs, but I was spending way more than I needed to.
It was time to get serious about saving money on groceries. We set a budget for food, toiletries and pet supplies of $700 at first, then $600 and then $500. This can be a challenge at times considering we go through 10 gallons of milk every week. If I am not careful I can spend over $100 a month just on milk, but believe it or not there are some months I spend less than $500.
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In the past, I would shop one week at a time but that meant buying stuff even if it was not on sale. Today, when I shop it is strictly to replenish the pantry/freezer. Therefore I can wait until the item goes on sale or until I have a coupon and I am not forced to pay regular prices. It’s actually a lot of fun.
One of the areas that I save the most in is bread. Find yourself a discount bakery outlet. Every week I purchase over $30 worth of bread for less than $7.00 from the Aunt Millie’s outlet in White Lake.
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If you’re serious about reducing your grocery budget, we can help. Through fun and educational workshops, Live Financially Smart teaches ordinary people how to spend smart so you can live well! For more information you can visit us on the web at www.livefinanciallysmart.com. You can also like us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/livefinanciallysmart.
