In a world where rising inflation demands smarter spending, it’s crucial to navigate the grocery store’s clever traps and emerge victorious. This week, I was NOT victorious. I had an episode of splurging and lived to regret it. Join me on a journey of turning an impulse spend of $65 at the grocery store into a week’s worth of satisfying meals for a family of four. It was a real challenge to figure out how I was going to feed my family.
The Frittering Accident
On Sunday, after church, my husband and I stopped at the supermarket to get some lunch. We had not done a grocery shop for a week, and needed to have food for dinner that night. I intended to do “the big shop” later that week, so only anticipated spending $20 or so.
Despite taking advantage of specials, we walked out of the store spending a whopping $64.97. Friends, this is what happens when you go into a supermarket, unguarded and hungry. We fell victim to the grocery store’s strategic design aimed at encouraging impulse purchases.
Let this be your first lesson, friends: never walk into the supermarket jungle undernourished and without a plan.
The Grocery Store Made Me Do It
Supermarkets invest heavily in research and design to entice shoppers into buying more than planned. From the layout to shelving placement and enticing specials, every element is meticulously crafted to reel customers in. Little did I know, my recent trip would expose just how effective these strategies can be.
Upon returning home, the reality of overspending hit me hard. With our Christmas holiday to save for, the guilt of frittering away a substantial sum on a single meal weighed heavily on my mind. It was a wake-up call to reassess my spending habits and avoid unnecessary financial pitfalls.
A $65 Grocery Haul:
Determined to save for Christmas and curb frivolous spending, I committed to making this unplanned haul last an entire week. Breaking down the $65 haul, it became evident that a well-thought-out strategy was needed to stretch these resources. Specials lured me into buying more than intended, but with a plan, this shopping spree could be transformed into a week’s worth of meals.
Let’s have a look at what $65 from the grocery store got us:
- 2x bags of coleslaw
- 2x Chicken breasts
- 1 kumara
- 2x blocks of chocolate (is was a deal, ok?)
- Hot Chocolate powder (more specials)
- Eggs (special price)
- Mushrooms (special price)
- Coconut cream x4 (special price)
4 Tips for stretching a $65 Budget:
If you want to get the most out of your food, having a game plan is the way to go. Good homemakers are always thinking ahead, you know? If you just go with the flow without a plan, you might end up using too much food one day and then find yourself short for a meal you were counting on making later. Here’s my 4 top tips for stretching a $65 food budget:
1. Meal Plan
Ration out ingredients by planning every meal, snack, and dessert. You need to make a plan for each of your ingredient, otherwise you will fritter them away and waste that which could have done another meal.
2. Embrace carbohydrates:
Utilize affordable and filling carbohydrates like rice, Weetbix, flour, lentils, and oats to create substantial meals. With these carbohydrates already on hand, I have breakfasts (Weetbix and oats) sorted. I have lunches sorted, as I will use the flour to make bread. And I even have dinner sorted, with the lentils and rice. These carbohydrates could feed us almost completely, without the need for any other ingredient!
3. Flavourful Sauces:
Enhance meals with tasty sauces made from ingredients on hand, such as tinned tomatoes, garlic, onions, spices, and herbs.
A little bit of intensely tasty sauce will season a massive quantity of rice or pasta, making these ingredients stretch for miles, and ensuring that the filling ingredient, the rice, gets consumed. Plus, making meals yummy means you do not feel deprived, even if it is mainly rice or lentils or pasta.
I was lucky enough to already have the basic ingredients for a tasty sauce on hand.
4. Flesh it Out With Vegetables:
Incorporate frozen vegetables to make meals more nourishing, larger, and interesting, reducing the need for snacks. I buy frozen vegetables, because they the cheapest way I can get my veges in, but I was lucky enough to ave frozen beans, mixed veges and lettuce already in the fridge/freezer.
$65 Weekly Menu Breakdown:
This is what you’ve been waiting for! What did our family of four eat for a whole week with only $65 worth of food?
- Breakfasts (x6): Oats with cinnamon, honey, and a splash of yogurt for protein.
- Lunches: Daily toast with margarine, honey, and cinnamon, boosting nutritional profiles.
- Dinners:
- Monday and Tuesday: Pasta with fried mushrooms and onions.
- Wednesday: Chicken and coleslaw on curry-flavored ciabatta buns.
- Thursday and Friday: Healthy tomato lentil soup and baked eggs in tomato lentil sauce.
- Saturday: Sourdough pizzas.
Things learned from the $65 Food Challenge:
There was a lot to take away from this $65 food challenge, and I learnt a lot about how to feed my family on next to nothing.
- Having large meals is the key to surviving on a $65 budget. By filling yourself up at meals, you are less inclined to snack, and snack foods are what makes the grocery bill add up.
- It is important to not feel deprived. If you feel deprived, then you will not be able to hold out the whole week from going to the grocery store.
- I was thankful to have a good supply of basic ingredients in the pantry. I will never forget to buy some kind of pantry staple, be it flour, lentils or rice, so that I never get caught out.
- Supermarkets strategically design their spaces to encourage additional purchases, capitalizing on consumer behavior and impulse buying. I need to be strong when darkening those doors!
- Having to live on an even stricter budget, with more limited food sources, helped me to appreciate the art of mindful spending at a deeper level. My frittering days are gone, for the time being!
Conclusion:
Surviving on a $65 budget requires creativity and planning. By embracing strategic purchases, maximizing carbohydrates, enhancing flavors, and incorporating vegetables, it’s possible to make every dollar count and keep your family satisfied until the next shopping trip. How do you feed your family with limited resources? Share your thoughts and tips in the comments below!
How do you “Make Do” till the next shop and feed your family?
