Controlling Grocery and Dining Budget

[Inthemood]

Our family consists of my husband and I. We live in NYC where food temptations are abound and we consistently overspend on our food budget, in fact that's probably one single category that eats a huge chunk of our income. Just to give you an idea, our monthly spending exceeds $1500 on restaurants and groceries. I love to cook and logically that should cut down on expenditures but it doesn't. Our annual income is about $70k which is not nearly enough to have such monthly indulgences. In fact it's absurd to spend that much on a family of two thin people.

The method of buying on sale doesn't work, we just can't shop that way. We hardly ever buy frozen foods, canned goods, pastries and boxed fried cereals. We buy produce, meat, fish, veggies, fruits, dairy products and some condiments. So I would think that we wouldn't be shelling out as much, but we do.

I thought of perhaps taking out cash when we go to the market, but since we buy fresh food often and thus can't do once a month major shopping, we do several trips and taking out cash accumulates to the same amount it seems. Using a designated credit card to monitor our spending Is also dangerous since we overspend anyway.

My recent idea was to open a separate checking account, something like ING (now capital one 360) and transfer a monthly spending amount only on food and use only that card for that category. That way we know we can't overspend and yet we can monitor our spending on food. It seems like a good idea since my hubby can go separately to the market and still spend from our budget.

So my question is regarding your strategies. Has anyone tried the method above, or any others that seem to work for you? Can you offer any other suggestions that are reliable? Thanks!

[bigdaddybus]

I think you and your husband need to document your priorities. Eating great food can be a priority, but you need to realize the opportunity cost of doing so.

My family of 6 spend $1000 a month on food (groceries, out to eat, school lunch). We set aside cash for food expense.
Before budgeting, we have had many months over 2K in food expenses. Its easy to do when you dont tell your money where to go. (as D Ramsey often says)

Also we plan meals (or try too). For instance we try to make sure we dont throw away breads. Week 1 might be buns and wraps, and week 2 is bread and cressant rolls. Before we just bought all 4 each week with quite a bit of waste.

[disneysteve]

The method of buying on sale doesn't work, we just can't shop that way.

Why not? Why can't you pay attention to what is on sale each week?

I thought of perhaps taking out cash when we go to the market, but since we buy fresh food often and thus can't do once a month major shopping, we do several trips and taking out cash accumulates to the same amount it seems.

So what you need is a budget, a pre-determined amount that you will spend on food each month. At the start of the month, take that much out in cash and stick it in an envelope. During the month, use that envelope and only that envelope to pay for all food purchases. When the money runs out, you're done for the month. If you're currently spending $1,500, start with a small step and fund it with $1,250 for the month. Then the next month drop to $1,000, then $800. Keep cutting down until you feel overly deprived. Obviously it will take a lot of adjusting to your routine. You can't be eating out all the time. Restaurants are horrendously expensive and lousy for you too.

My recent idea was to open a separate checking account, something like ING (now capital one 360) and transfer a monthly spending amount only on food and use only that card for that category. That way we know we can't overspend and yet we can monitor our spending on food. It seems like a good idea since my hubby can go separately to the market and still spend from our budget.

That could work but I promise cash will be better. When you're using a card, it's hard to keep track of how much is left in the account. With cash, you have what you have in your hand and no more. That will be a much more powerful incentive to not overspend. With the card, you could go out and blow the whole account in a few days. If you walk into the grocery store with $50 though, the most you can possibly spend is $50.

[fruitbowlk]

I also buy fresh fruits and veggies. you have to do a menu plan and stick to it Also make sure your pantry essentials are fully stock that will help along. The store I go to give me a 10% discount for buy fresh produce. You can even try an csa.

[disneysteve]

our monthly spending exceeds $1500 on restaurants and groceries.

Do you have a breakdown on this? How much is restaurants and how much is groceries? I'm betting that the bulk of it is restaurants. If that's the case, the answer is pretty obvious - stop eating out so much.

[scfr]

This approach has worked for me.

1. Decide what you are going to spend for the month (for example: $750*). Decide what will fall in this category (for example: food & drink from grocery store, any food or drink purchased away from home, alcohol, veggie gardening supplies) and what will be put into a separate category (for example: non-food grocery store purchases such as TP or cleaning supplies) You and your husband MUST agree on the amount, or this won't work!!! Decide where you are willing to cut back, and where you aren't. Start where it is least painful. For example, if you buy a coffee on your way to work every day out of habit, but some high-quality instant coffee packets (look for the best price which may mean buying on-line or at a warehouse store) to keep in your desk at work. You don't have to deprive yourself, just find a more economical alternative.

2. Post a chart on the refrigerator. It has to be where both of you can see it EASILY. The fridge is good because it's food-related. Today is only Oct 2 so NOW is the perfect time to start. Write down your amount and subtract anything you spent yesterday or today. Every day when you come home (both of you), record any new expenditures and your new balance. When the money is gone for the month, it's really gone, NO MORE PURCHASES! Eat only what you have on hand. As you go through the month, stay aware of how much of the month is left and how much food you have on hand. I promise that you are not going to starve. But you will become much more conscious of your spending.

3. I recommend that you hold off on any type of eating out until you get to the last few days of the month, when you will know if you have any money left to pay for it. If you've had a really good month as far as keeping the spending under control, and ample funds remain then feel free to treat yourself to a meal out or takeaway at the end of the month.

4. For individual trips to the grocery store, decide how much you are going to allow yourself to spend on that trip. Write the amount on the top of your grocery list. As you go through the store, keep a tally of what you are putting in your cart. If you go over your pre-determined amount, start putting things back on the shelves until you are back at budget. Yes, I'm serious about this. I've done it. It forces you to prioritize your food purchases.

5. For fresh produce, research CSAs. Yes, they ARE available in NYC. My sister who lives there has a farm share.

*Some people on these forums will say that $750 for two people is way too high, but if you are starting out at $1,500 that is a 50% reduction!! Even $1,000 would be better than what you are spending now. Over time, you will probably find that you can trim even more without feeling deprived.

[Inthemood]

I think you and your husband need to document your priorities. Eating great food can be a priority, but you need to realize the opportunity cost of doing so.

My family of 6 spend $1000 a month on food (groceries, out to eat, school lunch). We set aside cash for food expense.
Before budgeting, we have had many months over 2K in food expenses. Its easy to do when you dont tell your money where to go. (as D Ramsey often says)

Also we plan meals (or try too). For instance we try to make sure we dont throw away breads. Week 1 might be buns and wraps, and week 2 is bread and cressant rolls. Before we just bought all 4 each week with quite a bit of waste.

You're absolutely right, prioritizing is essential and that's unfortunately our weakness.

I wish that I could reach your budget bracket, that's amazing. I read about planning meals, but it's time consuming and rigid. Sometimes I find great looking veggies at our local grocery so I'll work around that. Or perhaps another day I feel like having fish instead of chicken, that needs to be purchased the same day (we don't like frozen fish). I'm not sure if that will work for us, but if you have kids I suppose that's super helpful. Kudos to you for organizing so well.

[Inthemood]

Why not? Why can't you pay attention to what is on sale each week?

Because I mostly shop at Trader Joes and try to buy organic. Those items are never on sale. On top of that sale items tend to be in bad shape or processed, or overly commercial.

So what you need is a budget, a pre-determined amount that you will spend on food each month. At the start of the month, take that much out in cash and stick it in an envelope. During the month, use that envelope and only that envelope to pay for all food purchases. When the money runs out, you're done for the month. If you're currently spending $1,500, start with a small step and fund it with $1,250 for the month. Then the next month drop to $1,000, then $800. Keep cutting down until you feel overly deprived. Obviously it will take a lot of adjusting to your routine. You can't be eating out all the time. Restaurants are horrendously expensive and lousy for you too.


That could work but I promise cash will be better. When you're using a card, it's hard to keep track of how much is left in the account. With cash, you have what you have in your hand and no more. That will be a much more powerful incentive to not overspend. With the card, you could go out and blow the whole account in a few days. If you walk into the grocery store with $50 though, the most you can possibly spend is $50.

I read about the cash in the envelope, and that seemed like a great strategy, exactly for the reasons you have pointed out. Having it on hand gives you an opportunity to track your spending much better. It's tangible, thus visual. The only problem with the envelope is that you have to carry with you at all times, in case you need to run to the store if something is needed, or if you are going out for dinner you have to remember to carry the envelope. And then there is a strong temptation to dip into it, if you run out of cash for other things. I know you shouldn't but there is that temptation.

[Inthemood]

I also buy fresh fruits and veggies. you have to do a menu plan and stick to it Also make sure your pantry essentials are fully stock that will help along. The store I go to give me a 10% discount for buy fresh produce. You can even try an csa.

Yup it's that menu plan.... how do you guys do it? It's so time consuming and rigid. That's also probably the problem, sometimes I have cauliflower on hand, but I feel like having Yams instead with some arugula salad. So I go and buy those items, because that's what I'm craving for dinner.

CSA is a good deal. Never tried one, but we do have them in a different borough though.

[Inthemood]

Do you have a breakdown on this? How much is restaurants and how much is groceries? I'm betting that the bulk of it is restaurants. If that's the case, the answer is pretty obvious - stop eating out so much.

Restaurants are about 1K and groceries are $500. We've had months when groceries are about $900. I don't buy caviar, or truffles or expensive cheeses every time, but I'll buy good olive oil, organic produce, good cheese and organic dairy. Chicken is also organic and we eat fish, but the meat is rarely organic since we don't have it often and it's a bit harder to find organic beef, pork and lamb. I'm sure that a lot of people shop in a similar manner, but they spend so much less.

I'm definitely lacking discipline and organization. Sometimes I'll walk into an ethnic store and get excited about nuts, spices and other goodies and spend quite a bit of money. I like good italian sausages and freshly baked black bread. It's probably the kind of food I'm buying. My pantry has legumes, rice, buckwheat, oats, bulgur and some pasta, canned tomatoes, nuts, oils and vinegars, but I don't have many other canned goods. Most of the items are dried.

Perhaps that's the problem too? I like too much variety? Perhaps I should eat simpler.

[Inthemood]

This approach has worked for me.

1. Decide what you are going to spend for the month (for example: $750*). Decide what will fall in this category (for example: food & drink from grocery store, any food or drink purchased away from home, alcohol, veggie gardening supplies) and what will be put into a separate category (for example: non-food grocery store purchases such as TP or cleaning supplies) You and your husband MUST agree on the amount, or this won't work!!! Decide where you are willing to cut back, and where you aren't. Start where it is least painful. For example, if you buy a coffee on your way to work every day out of habit, but some high-quality instant coffee packets (look for the best price which may mean buying on-line or at a warehouse store) to keep in your desk at work. You don't have to deprive yourself, just find a more economical alternative.

2. Post a chart on the refrigerator. It has to be where both of you can see it EASILY. The fridge is good because it's food-related. Today is only Oct 2 so NOW is the perfect time to start. Write down your amount and subtract anything you spent yesterday or today. Every day when you come home (both of you), record any new expenditures and your new balance. When the money is gone for the month, it's really gone, NO MORE PURCHASES! Eat only what you have on hand. As you go through the month, stay aware of how much of the month is left and how much food you have on hand. I promise that you are not going to starve. But you will become much more conscious of your spending.

3. I recommend that you hold off on any type of eating out until you get to the last few days of the month, when you will know if you have any money left to pay for it. If you've had a really good month as far as keeping the spending under control, and ample funds remain then feel free to treat yourself to a meal out or takeaway at the end of the month.

4. For individual trips to the grocery store, decide how much you are going to allow yourself to spend on that trip. Write the amount on the top of your grocery list. As you go through the store, keep a tally of what you are putting in your cart. If you go over your pre-determined amount, start putting things back on the shelves until you are back at budget. Yes, I'm serious about this. I've done it. It forces you to prioritize your food purchases.

5. For fresh produce, research CSAs. Yes, they ARE available in NYC. My sister who lives there has a farm share.

*Some people on these forums will say that $750 for two people is way too high, but if you are starting out at $1,500 that is a 50% reduction!! Even $1,000 would be better than what you are spending now. Over time, you will probably find that you can trim even more without feeling deprived.

Good suggestions, again it's back to monitoring the budget on daily bases, organizing and planning. With food it's so hard, because you really want to just enjoy it rather than micro-analyzing and micromanaging. But that's the kind of thinking that eats a huge chunk of our money, and we really feel the dent. Not going out is a killer, especially because we both like to eat adventurously and NYC variety has always been fantastic and tempting at the same time.

BTW, $1500 is for both groceries and dining out, is $750 for both? That's pretty darn amazing.

We'll try the card designated for food method, that way we can't dip into our other budgets and checking it online will be a breeze. I guess no here tried it. From what I gather the common denominator is planning, organizing and disciplining, which all of you guys seem to possess. That's admirable.

Has anyone here overspent and managed to successfully scale back and stay that way? Probably the way you've all been suggesting by daily checkups and planning.

[disneysteve]

Restaurants are about 1K and groceries are $500.

That's what I figured you'd say. Cut back on eating out. That's it. Plain and simple. No matter what you cook at home, it is going to be far cheaper than dining out. No ridiculous mark up on the food itself. No 20% tip when you're done. You can probably replace $1,000 of dining out with $300 of groceries. Plus you'll be eating far healthier that way too.

Has anyone here overspent and managed to successfully scale back and stay that way?

My wife left her job at the end of May. In anticipation of that happening, I sat down and reviewed our spending habits. I found that we were averaging $250-300/month eating out. Some of it was family meals out. Some of it was one of us grabbing stuff on the go. I brought it to my wife's attention and said we needed to really trim that back. It was costing too much and was unhealthy to boot. Since June 1, we've been averaging about $100/month eating out instead. We're cooking more at home. Our grocery bill has gone up a bit but by far less than our dining out bill has gone down.

[Inthemood]

That's what I figured you'd say. Cut back on eating out. That's it. Plain and simple. No matter what you cook at home, it is going to be far cheaper than dining out. No ridiculous mark up on the food itself. No 20% tip when you're done. You can probably replace $1,000 of dining out with $300 of groceries. Plus you'll be eating far healthier that way too.

My wife left her job at the end of May. In anticipation of that happening, I sat down and reviewed our spending habits. I found that we were averaging $250-300/month eating out. Some of it was family meals out. Some of it was one of us grabbing stuff on the go. I brought it to my wife's attention and said we needed to really trim that back. It was costing too much and was unhealthy to boot. Since June 1, we've been averaging about $100/month eating out instead. We're cooking more at home. Our grocery bill has gone up a bit but by far less than our dining out bill has gone down.

That's impressive, $100/month?! How do you even manage that? And you live in NJ, which also has a decent food scene, plus you're in close proximity to NYC. You are probably not foodies, and direct your finances towards something more substantial. We're trying to do that now, but it's so hard to be out at a music venue, or a museum and not hit up a nice restaurant before or after. Our intentions are good, and we'll say that we'll do something cheap and not get drinks, and then we'll see oysters on the menu and then our intentions turn to dust. We go for oysters and beer, and then perhaps some fish... and then it's over. Do you dine once a month or do you do a lot of BYOB places? We don't even do takeout anymore, and I don't eat lunch out, my husband does it maybe 3 times a week, and those are $3 sandwiches. We do buy wine often, which definitely contributes.

Is it the two of you or do you have kids? If you don't mind my asking, how much do you average out a month on groceries?

[ktmarvels]

Coming up with a meal plan doesn't have to be that difficult. Here are some suggestions:

1. Come up with a list of all of your favorite meals. At the beginning of the week pick 4-7 of them (depending on leftovers/plans that week) and purchase the items to make those meals. Then stay out of the grocery store...you have your food for the week! If you don't feel the fish keeps well, eat it towards the beginning of the week, foods that can last longer, eat towards the end. This way you still have some flexibility on what you make each night because the meal isn't "assigned" to a particular day of the week. You get a bonus if you incorporate meals that have similar ingredients! For example there is an egg casserole that I make for breakfasts, I was able to use the leftover sausage, mushroom, bell peppers from a pizza we made to go in the casserole. No wasted food.

2. Write down each meal you have for a month. Repeat that the next month. I have a feeling you'll like this less, since you seem to like variety.

3. Sign up for a program such as emeals which does the meal planning (and grocery list making!) for you.

4. Set up theme days, for example. Meatless Mondays, Italian food tuesday, Leftover Wednesday, Mexican/Taco Thursday, Dining out Friday, Soup Saturday, Leftover Sunday.

[JoeP]

It's really what you consider to be normal, and finding the motivation to diverge away from that. Some people find that exercise to be difficult: cable/satellite, eating out, happy hour, annual vacations, smart phones, morning coffee & bagel, etc.

FWIW, our eating-out budget is about $40/mo. We do it maybe once a month, and have 2 kids to boot. We just don't consider eating out to be normal; we consider eating at home to be!

Based upon what you've said so far, it sounds to me like it is a combination of effort to find what you like when you want it and cooking it at home, some impulsiveness when it comes to groceries, and the convenience of just going out.

You might want to consider making comfort food or easily frozen entrees for starters. These are generally inexpensive, simple, and healthy. Many can be frozen so you can take them for lunch during the week. I posted an amazing lentil recipe that can give you gallons of lentils to be used throughout the month. Another good one my wife makes is a soup called Friendship Soup, which is something that you can gift as dry ingredients in a mason jar. Recipes for foods like these are abundant on the internet and most are shockingly inexpensive.

Best of luck!