Both of those numbers make me cringe, but $652.90 for a family of 4 is considered ‘Thrifty’ by the USDA. That’s a lot of money for something that’s going to disappear by the end of the month! I don’t know about you, but I want to make those dollars stretch…and maybe even beat the average. Thankfully, it’s not as hard to do as you might think.
If you’re new to budgeting, pick just 1 of these tips to implement this month to start whittling away at that total:
- Buy what’s in season. You’ve heard it before and it’s great advice. In-season produce tastes better, is packed with nutrients, it’s easy to find and it’s cheaper. Not sure what’s in season? Check to see what the produce section is packed with and what’s on sale…stores want to move that fresh stuff before it’s over-ripe.
- Pay attention to the price of some of your most-frequently-bought items. Even if you’ve priced checked them before, prices and packaging change periodically. For us, I keep an eye on meat, cheese, fresh produce and nuts. We eat a lot of them and they can be expensive. For example, different brands of walnuts at Walmart run from .69/oz to .39/oz. For 16oz of nuts, that’s a difference of $4.80 for the exact same product. Save $5 on 5 products per trip and that’s going to start adding up!
- Feed your family foods that will fill them up. Have you ever noticed that your family can put away countless bowls of cereal and still be hungry an hour later? That’s because it’s almost all carbs, and processed ones at that so it’s missing a lot of nutrients. However, feed them eggs and fruit and they’re full until lunch because they had protein, fat and unprocessed carbs (with lots of fiber) so their bodies had something to digest. And chances are, the eggs and fruit were a lot cheaper than the cereal. The same rule applies for lunches and dinners…stick to protein, some fats, fruits and veggies and your family eats less and gets full. For less money.
- Make your own food. Eating out is fun, but we’re paying for the convenience. $10 worth of apples and nuts will make snacks for a week…or pay for 1-2 trips through the drive through. Cutting out just 1-2 meals/snacks from restaurants, drive-thrus and gas stations per week will likely improve your nutrition as it gives some wiggle room to your budget.
Are you curious to see where your family falls in the national average for grocery budgets? Here you go….https://www.cnpp.usda.gov/sites/default/files/CostofFoodFeb2015.pdf
Does the thought of implementing some healthier choices for you and your family seem overwhelming? It doesn’t have to be. Despite all the health info we’re bombarded with all the time, healthy choices have always been pretty simple…stick to whole foods (foods that still look like something that was grown or picked), eat enough but not too much and slow down so we can tell the difference. Bite-sized lessons and consistent encouragement can help a LOT! If you’re interested in learning more, I’d love to chat with you. You can message me on Facebook or catch me on email at kim@thrivenutrition.life.
