Hi. I’m the mom with the really high, make you pass out, grocery bill. There are about zero things I can do about it, what with all my teenage boys in the house, so we’re continually thankful that God keeps providing.
(Actually, speaking of things I can do about it, I’m planning to document our grocery spending very specifically during the month of February to show you all the ins and outs of what I buy. I’m also going to challenge myself to see if, in fact, there are any other ways I can cut grocery costs. Stay tuned.)
Ways our family saves money so we can afford our high grocery bill
Today I decided to make a list of non-food ways we cut spending so we can make our monthly grocery budget bigger. I’d love to hear about some of the ways you save too! I’d also love to hear what some of your splurges are. (Every family has different events and items they consider priority or treats, right?)
Here are a few ways our family cuts back so we can buy the amount of food it takes to keep our family full and healthy.
1. We make coffee at home.
Sound silly? What I mean is – we very rarely buy coffee and specialty drinks at a coffee shop. If I want to enjoy coffee with a friend, typically I invite her to my home to drink coffee at my table. (I can make a pretty mean cup of coffee, if I do say so myself.) At $3-$5 per cup for specialty coffees, and with 6 people in our household, going to a coffee shop for a treat is exactly that – a treat. It’s very rare and it’s a splurge. (If the boys want to meet friends at the coffee shop, they use their own money.)
2. We pack food when we travel.
We do eat out occasionally when we’re on the road, but even “cheap” fast food costs $40-$60 for our family. If it’s possible, we load up a cooler instead. When we do eat out, it’s with a purpose. (For instance, if several of the families on our basketball team are eating together after a game, we join them if we can. Relationships with these families = priceless.)
3. We have high deductible, low monthly premium healthcare coverage.
I can’t say enough good about this. Can you believe we pay only $135/month for healthcare coverage for our family of six?! It’s perfect for us since we typically go to natural doctors not covered by insurance. Saving hundreds every month on our monthly healthcare premium helps us afford groceries to keep us healthy. I am so thankful for this for so many reasons.
4. My husband’s truck is rusty.
What I mean is, we don’t have the nicest vehicles on the block. They run great, they do the job, and they are paid for. Our sons drive “grandpa cars” that they bought themselves after years of hard work and saving.
5. When we want a treat at home, we buy it at the store.
Say we want to enjoy a special family movie night or game night – something fun for the family and a break from cooking. Instead of going out to eat or getting take out, we’ll get something fun from the store. This is rare because even the $30 it costs to buy enough take-and-bake pizzas to fill us is a splurge, but at least it’s cheaper than the $60+ it costs to eat out. If we want ice cream, we’ll buy a container at the store for $3.50, which feeds us all, instead of paying that much per person at the ice cream shop.
6. Redbox all the way.
It’s got to be a really exciting, really great movie if we’re actually going to pay to see it in the theater. Sometimes the boys pay their own way if they want to see a movie with their friends. But usually, we all wait until a few weeks after a movie comes out, save at least $50 by getting the movie from Redbox for $1.50.
7. We don’t have cable.
Sometimes, we really, really wish we did (like when it’s time for the Olympics or the World Cup). But every time we check into the options and do the math, we just can’t justify the added expense every month. It’s worth a mention that we’re thankful for friends who are happy to have us join them in their living room for big games. ;)
8. Our kids don’t get a cell phone until they get their drivers license.
We’ve decided that our kids don’t really need a phone until they are driving. (They have had hand-me-down ipods before they’re 16 so they can text and keep up with their friends as long as there is wifi available.) That we’ve avoided adding our kids to our phone plan until they are 16 has saved a lot of money through the years. Though we do have a small heart attack each time we add a new driver to the household – adding him to our car insurance and cell phone bill. Yowza.
Ways we don’t hold back on spending money
As much as we spend frugally for most everything, there are a few ways we have found it’s not worth it to hold back.
1. Quality food
But we’ve been through all of this already.
2. Quality shoes
Nobody needs the $200 pairs. But neither have we found it worth it to compromise on good foot/ankle/back support when it comes to shoes, as our athletes will be running and jumping and cutting and sliding across the field or court. When the kids were younger, buying shoes at Walmart or Payless was just fine. But as the boys have gotten older, their athletic shoes have needed to be better. Cha-ching. I don’t really like to talk about it.
3. Giving
That comes off the top of our monthly budget, without compromise. I’d rather cut back on food spending and eat beans all day than give less than we feel God calling us to give. This is saying something because well, just think what it would be like at our house if we ate beans all day.
4. Good coffee
Look at me – beginning and ending my post by talking about coffee. While we rarely buy coffee at a shop, I really do love good quality coffee at home. Folgers just doesn’t cut it, bless its heart. I like buying coffee beans from a gal in Haiti to help support her work with boys on the street. Or I buy this one – so yum.
Coming up next week: Specific food compromises I make so I can stay within budget (plus ways I will never compromise).
I’d love to hear ways you save and ways you splurge. Share your ideas and what works for your family!
Original article and pictures take heavenlyhomemakers.com site
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