$40 Grocery Budget

Yes, you read that right.  My grocery budget is $40 a week.

And yes, we do eat…and we eat healthy, delicious meals.

I don’t talk about this much, but whenever I do I sure do get a load of questions.  Because of that, I wanted to dedicate a little area designated for it.

The Beginning

We started our marriage very young and on a budget.  When my husband and I were married he was finishing up his Master’s degree and we were living on my salary and his small stipend from his assistantship at the University he attended.  We lived on a cash budget and learned the importance of a dollar really quickly.

Those times helped us build a foundation for the future.  We learned firsthand how to budget when there wasn’t room for error, and I am so thankful for those times and lessons learned.  Things changed pretty quickly for us, but we held tight to our cash budgeting.  We vowed to keep ourselves out of debt and try to always live below our means.

What Broke Me

Then a few years ago, I found myself spending way more than I wanted to at the grocery.

One day in particular, I found myself checking out and I couldn’t believe the total…$80!…and I only had a handful of bags!

I had begun to just throw things in the cart.  Snacks, produce, meat…there was no rhyme or reason to what I did.  No menu plans, no grocery lists, and no cash.

And I was tired of it.

Driving home I decided that that would never happen again.  I set out to find a way to reduce it.  I discovered couponing and immediately started reaping the benefits of my time.  My bill was shrinking and I was scoring great deals.

Setting the Budget

I decided that new year, after about 3 or 4 months of couponing,  that my new grocery budget would be $50 for the two of us per week.

There were some haters along the way, saying it would be impossible to eat well on $50 a week.

I set out to prove that it could be done.

Do or die.

The Result

Surprisingly, I found such a love of not only couponing but finding other ways to cut back in the kitchen.  After a month or so, I lowered it to $40, because I was saving so much.  I have been on a $40 a week budget for two and a half years now, and I typically don’t spend all of that.

Just last year I was able to save over $500  from my leftover grocery money…and my average per week was just over $30. 

I’m not telling you that your budget should be the same as mine.

We all have different family sizes and situations.  You have to what works for you.

I am telling you that it IS possible to save your hard earned money by implanting these strategies to savings.

3 Ways YOU can lower YOUR grocery budget?

1. Start planning your menu (Check out my weekly menu posts for inspiration)
2. Shop at Aldi or a discount grocery store
3. Fill your freezer (Check out my guide to everything freezer cooking to get started)