Budgets And Eating - Can They Co-Exist?

Whatever your reason for having a tight budget, thetruth is that going to the grocery store without a planis a BIG budget breaker. And sadly all that cash endsup vanishing into our stomachs and then...well, youknow what comes next.

But if you only had $300 a month to spend on groceriesfor a family of four, could you do it? What sort of food would make the list and what would stay tauntinglyon the store's shelves?

Could you save $25 a month on groceries? How about $50or $100? Possibly you could cut your bill by almost 50%if you consider some of the following suggestions:

First you must divide the budget you have into threecategories; weekly, bi-weekly and monthly. Once youhave the totals fixed, try to find a way to make itwork. If you budgeted too tight, only then consider howmuch more you really need to spend.

Second, identify your WEEKLY needs; milk, bread,fruits. These will be your saving graces when thetroops are hungry. You can load up every week andalways have a healthy snack available. Think about$15/week.

Third, identify your BI-WEEKLY needs; eggs, cheese,vegetables, meat and cheese for sandwiches etc. Theseitems have a slightly longer shelf life but you willwatch how much you use when you know there's still fourdays until your next purchase. Try $20 every twoweeks.

Fourth, get the remainder of your groceries in oneplace. Use cash to pay (to avoid temptation of overspending) and work out your shopping list ahead oftime. You only need to do this once as many of theitems (Cereal, meat etc.) will need to be repurchasedeach time. Other items (sugar, flour etc.) may besubstituted every other month. In this example you have$200 left.

Fifth, have a schedule of meals that you can rotate.Cheap, healthy meals like stir fry can be inexpensiveas they use less meat than full pieces of chicken orbeef for dinner. Plan to have a meat meal offset by asimpler dish like pasta every other night. This wayyour family will not go through 'feast-and-famine' whenthey eat like kings the first week and are eatingcanned chili every night for the last week.

Always determine your meals based on what you reallyplan to cook. If you have easy weeknight staples, tryto find the cheapest method of preparing them, or makedo with less pre- packaged affair on other nights whenyou have more time. Using items like frozen vegetablescan make eating cheap also healthy and convenient.

Clearly the $300 suggestion will depend on your family,the age of your children and how much your budgetreally allows. Whatever your budget, taking the time todraw up a plan and think about your choices willguarantee that you keep more cash in your wallet forother important things.

Shirley Bullington, the operator of http://www.femeat.com has extensive nutritional knowledge and is an expert on advising families on their financial matters.

Please visit her site athttp://www.femeat.com for more information on meat andother nutritional subjects.