*This post contains affiliate links.

Food is one area that can make or break a budget.  Trust me!  I’m not telling you what I heard I’m telling you what I know. (as my grandmother used to say 😊) This category has generally been the demise of my budget, I would look up and say how in the world did I spend all of that on food?!?!?  There was a time that I was spending at least $125 a week eating out AND there were groceries at home NOT being eaten.  Thankfully, I got my act together.  Here’s what I did.

I decided that eating out and buying groceries was a losing battle when it came to staying within budget, so I decided to dedicate some money for eating out and the rest for buying groceries. I have a separate line item for each in my budget. (Check out my budget template here.)  Not giving every dollar of your money a specific job tends to cause it to fly away.  Ever had that experience??  In addition to assigning a specific amount of money I also decided that I would only eat out a couple of days a week vs the 5-7 I was doing before.  (A little back story into my reckless eating out spending before- I was buying breakfast, lunch, snacks and sometimes dinner everyday at work.  Talk about expensive, especially in downtown Chicago!) If I decide that I want to eat out all week, then I don’t buy groceries. 

When it comes to buying groceries, I plan my meals ahead of time.  This has been a huge help in the savings department.  Another tip, I plan my meals around what’s on sale.  Yep, I am that determined now to stop letting my money just fly away.  If chicken is on sale then guess what, meals that week will be some form of chicken.  (Now don’t get me wrong, we don’t eat the same thing every day. Although nothing is wrong with that. 😊) Here’s an example of a typical weekly menu, where the star of the show is mostly chicken:

• Sunday– Baked chicken, mashed potatoes, fried cabbage
• Monday– Eat out
• Tuesday– Chicken tacos
• Wednesday– Ground turkey burgers and fries
• Thursday– Leftovers
• Friday– Chicken fried rice
• Saturday– Eat out

I generally don’t cook big portions of the same meal so on leftover day everyone may be eating a different meal. Another way I save is to make a list and stock up on non-perishable staple items when they are on sale, so I don’t have to buy them at full price often.

Eating out should be a treat and within budget.  I check my favorite restaurants to see when they have specials or check Groupon for coupons and nowadays add their app so I can be notified of upcoming specials and earn points towards free items or meals.   

My final tip, the one that has really kept me within budget, is to use cash.  Every month I fill my cash envelopes (it’s really just a coupon organizer) with my problem budget categories- groceries, eating out, gas and personal spending.  When the cash runs out, that’s it.  Cash has been particularly helpful when grocery shopping because it stops me from throwing unnecessary, not on the list, items in my basket.

Taking the time to come up with a strategy and plan for my meals has been a game changer and I highly recommend it.   

What’s your menu strategy?