I think it is safe to say that all of us military spouses (and everyone else, for that matter) are feeling the effects of inflation more and more with each passing month. For our family, this is the highest income we have ever received; yet, at the same time, we are on the tightest budget we’ve ever been on. If you’re like me, you know how easy it is to go over budget in a variety of categories throughout the month — especially food. In a desperate attempt to cut back on our food spending, I find myself continually reshaping my meal planning and grocery shopping habits every month. I want to share a few things that have really worked for us in keeping things simple while simultaneously meeting the needs of our family of five as well as the needs of our budget.
- Plan meals monthly vs. weekly. I keep a template on my computer for monthly meal planning. I not only plan dinners for every night of the week, but I also plan breakfast, lunch and even snacks. This allows me to plan for variety but also make sure to efficiently buy ingredients that can be used for multiple purposes throughout the month. I am quick to get burnt out on meal planning when I’m doing it every single week. I’d rather just sit down for an hour once a month and not have to think about it again for several weeks. It can be daunting to do but is always worth the effort.
- Take inventory of what you have at the beginning of the month. Instead of thinking of a month’s worth of meals all off the top of my head, I will first take a trip to my pantry and refrigerator. I will get out a notebook and make a list of the meats and dry goods I already have on hand and come up with as many meals as I can with those things. For instance, maybe I have a frozen lasagna I never cooked last month, or a pound of ground beef left, some dry pasta and canned goods. I can usually come up with at least a weeks’ worth of meals from my inventory at the beginning of each month, and the ingredients we already have can be helpful prompts throughout the meal planning process.
- Make weekly themes. This is one of my best strategies for simple meal planning. Pick a theme for each day of the week: Pasta Monday, Taco Tuesday, Crock Pot Wednesday, Leftovers Thursday, Pizza Friday, Sheet Pan Saturday, Soup Sunday. These are some of our favorites. By doing this, you only have to come up with 4-5 meals per category to plan out your entire month.
- Limit the number of stores you go to. This is a huge money saver. It is true that the more stores you go to, the more money you will spend. Personally, I like to buy as much as we can in bulk at a warehouse store and get the remaining items we need from a grocery store that delivers. Even though you may have to pay a small delivery fee or tip, I find that ordering groceries online saves us money because then I’m not tempted to buy things that weren’t on my list.
- Never go to the store without a list. While I’m impressed by people who do this (go to the store without a list), I also know it’s not the most efficient way to stock up on the things you need. If you don’t bring a list, you will most likely forget things, and therefore have to go back again, which will most likely result in you buying more things that you wouldn’t have bought in the first place.
- Keep a running list of staple dinners or recipes you want to try. I keep a list on my phone of our favorite easy weeknight dinners to keep on the monthly rotation. A lot of these rotating meals change with the seasons. For instance, I do a lot more crockpot and soup recipes during the colder months and a lot more grilling in the summer. I am often inspired by friends or social media to try new recipes, and I keep a list of these as well, for quick ideas I can refer to when it’s time to plan meals again. Having this list on hand makes the monthly meal planning process quick and effortless.
These are just some simple strategies that work for our family, and I hope some of these ideas will come in handy for your family as well! Consistency and creativity are both key in sticking to a grocery budget, and I promise that with a little practice, you can do it too!
