I am writing this particular post because I have had several nice emails asking how much I budget for food spending in view of the esoteric weekly menus that I write. I also had a rather shrill one from a complete stranger basically suggesting that, since I mention in several posts that I am presently unemployed, L. and I should not be eating as well as we do. (Hunh.)
My immediate family will confirm that I was a very late bloomer when it came to managing my finances. I certainly had grasshopper rather than ant tendencies for a very long time. That being said, one of the great joys of my divorce was to be able to make all of my own financial decisions - 401K, investments, savings, spending, priorities, etc. Would that I had had this wherewithal earlier...I would probably feel a lot less panicky about retirement and stop cringing every time I hear of the possible elimination of social security benefits. But I digress.
When I was laid off I, of course, looked for areas wherein I could save. First, my greatest luxury and joy after L. went bye-bye - no more weekly housekeeper. Then I slashed my entertainment and going out budget. My household bills are actually pretty minimal, so nothing doing there. Unfortunately I have a lease so there is not much I can do there at present except cringe on the 31st of each month and bite the bullet. Then, I took a closer look at my food budget thinking that, since L. and I do indeed eat pretty well, there was probably massive room for improvement and cost cutting there. Much to my surprise, there wasn't.
The short version answer:
A C-note a week.
The long version:
I spend roughly $100 a week on groceries for 2, (occasionally even 3 or 4 if I have family or friends over for family dinner). "Major" dinner parties will, obviously, not be covered under my weekly food budget. The hundred dollars covers not only food for L. and myself for breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks but also cleaning products, household items like toilet paper and bottled water, toiletries like shampoo, soap and toothpaste and the odd bottle of wine to keep me sane. I personally don't think that is too bad.
How do I make that work? Two very simple rules. Both which should make most of you say "doh" upon reading them as they are fairly self-evident, I would think.
1) A weekly menu plan and a weekly shop will save you money. Lots.
I do not impulse grocery shop or fill my cart with random items that happen to look good that day. Shopping once a week will keep you from this and from over purchasing and therefore wasting food.
First, I plan my menu based on what I have been thinking about cooking and what I feel like eating. Writing it down also allows me to see where I can multi-purpose produce to avoid waste or how I can re-purpose one meal's leftovers into another meal. This takes under 10 minutes a week to do and really helps to cut costs long term.
I then shop online for what I need, keeping an open mind for changes that will save me money. I may feel like monk fish but if black sea bass is on sale for 3 dollars cheaper a pound that week, I will adapt. I always check the seasonal and the on sale options and then tweek my menu to incorporate those money savers before finalizing it. Before checking out, I look at the contents of my online cart one last time and ruthlessly remove any item that I do not really need that week.
Weeks when my budget falls below my budgeted hundred dollars, I add items that are on sale or truly good deals and freeze them for future use, ultimately saving me money in weeks when I need to realign my budget back down to one hundred. Some people play Candy Crush for fun; I do this. I enjoy it. I have been told it is odd that I do.
It is true that I have a lot of esoteric ingredients in my pantry that make an appearance on a regular basis but I buy these as a one off here and there. I also tend to buy them in international markets where they are usually quite cheap so they don't actually make that big a dent in my budget. A $4.99 bag of Vadouvan for example, is not going to break the bank but makes a big difference in the flavor stakes when it does makes an appearance.
I am not a morning person, which at least works for my occasional visits to my local Farmer's market. Items are often cheaper in the late afternoon right before suppliers get ready to go home so I tend to score bargains there. Also, a key life hack (that I learned much too late in life), is that all that can happen if you ask for a discount is that you are told no. Up to you to then decide if you really need the item in question at full price.
2) Your freezer is your best friend.
My freezer is full to the gills. In my house it is not the place where leftovers and forgotten packages of frozen fruit for smoothies go to die, it is prime real estate. Unfortunately, in an apartment, all I have is the freezer above my fridge which is carefully packed so as to cram everything that I can in it. Back in my house living days, I had an additional large freezer in the garage as well. Oh, happiness...
If I go to the trouble of making dough, I usually double or triple the recipe and freeze it. Ditto for soup and stews which get frozen in individual containers. Pull one out for lunch or 6 for a dinner party first course. Easy. Roast chicken gets turned into stock that is frozen for future soup making. I buy seasonal vegetables cheap throughout the spring and summer, blanch them, portion them and then use them unseasonably in the winter. Family value packs of meat are bought on sale and broken down into individual portions before being frozen, which saves me money long term.
I keep a list of everything that goes into the freezer on my refrigerator door and cross off anything that comes out. On the first of every month, I rewrite the list on a crisp new sheet of paper so that I always know what I have to hand. Nothing gets lost or forgotten. Items that have made an appearance on the list a few too many months in a row get incorporated into my weekly menu.
As well as savings, this also means that I always have dinner one step away should I not feel like cooking or should a dinner party materialize unexpectedly.
Hope this answered the question.