Groceries: Week Two of the Meal Plan
So it is week 2 of the meal plan for my spouse. Last week I spent about $60 more than my pre-meal plan budgeted grocery amount, so the next few weeks will show if the spending will average out over a month to close to what we used to spend, or if we will have to seriously reevaluate our grocery budget for March.
So, this week I spent $49.50 at Aldi and $30.50 at Walmart for a total of $80.00 exactly. Which is $5 over my pre-meal plan budget. That’s not too bad, although it makes my two week average about $108, which is not all that great when my budget is $75. I am willing to raise the grocery budget for our family to eat healthier foods (I have been incorporating some of the same things my spouse is eating into my kids and my diet as well where appropriate) but I was hoping it would be more like a $5 to $10 increase per week. There is the fact that right now, I am following a specific meal plan and therefore cannot really take advantage of sales and plan the meals around those, so when the 12 week class is done, I’ll start having more flexibility which will help me save money. My spouse is taking a 12 week class through his workplace and is committed to following the exact prescribed meal plan as well as he can for that period, but when that is over he is happy to start varying the order of the meals and reincorporating other things he used to eat (healthy things, of course, and in the correct portion sizes).
We’ll see what happens - I’m encouraged that the total went down, but I was hoping it would go down a little more than it did. On to next week!
If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!
Related entries for your reading pleasure:
February 10th, 2008 at 11:18 pm
It’s frustrating how much more expensive it is to buy food that you know to be healthy. For example, at our local market, a pound of butter that is labeled “no growth hormone rBST” is $3.49, while one without such labeling is $2.99 (neither is organic - that will cost at least $5.99). Buying for people with special food needs pushes the cost up even more. Both my wife and son are wheat and dairy intolerant and with careful buying we have gotten our weekly grocery bill down to $150 for the three of us. I’m jealous of most people’s grocery budget.
February 11th, 2008 at 7:26 am
When you’re on a set meal plan you don’t have the luxury of taking advantage of sales or seasonal specials. But hopefully the benefits of said meal plan become apparent quickly and you’ll be able to vary it up keeping your costs down.
Good luck with the class - meal plans have always scared me which is probably why I eat and shop the way I do. Keep it up.
February 11th, 2008 at 12:25 pm
Here’s hoping next week’s bill is lower still!
One thing I hope the plan gives you is the tools to let you buy things that are both on sale AND are healthy, once you are off the specific diet.