Over a recent lunch break a co-worker shared she had had a revelation with her spouse over the previous weekend. She does not enjoy grocery shopping and has made a conscious effort over the last several months to limit her grocery shopping trips to once a week. As they were working together on their monthly budget they looked more closely at the food category. Since she began planning her menus a week at a time and only did grocery shopping weekly, their grocery bill was lowered by nearly $200 a month. That is substantial! It is saving her money AND time!
Setting aside a chunk of time to plan for the week will pay big dividends throughout the month. There is far less last minute eating out, less impulse buying and in general much more healthy choices made. If you are interested in pursuing a more budget friendly household, Iowa State University Extension and Outreach offers some great programs that can help you with not only eating healthy on a budget but on budgeting in general. Check out
Spend Smart, Eat Smart, and Money Talks. We at Answerline have also blogged about easy steps to planning menus.
If one of your New Years Resolutions was to find ways to save more money this would be a great place to start!
