Eating on a Budget-My Story

I  originally started the Eating on a Budget website back in 2006. At the time I didn’t have a direction in mind for the website, I simply added recipes and various articles about saving money.  However, I don’t think  I ever really gave my visitors what they really needed. However, with my own circumstances I decided it was time to turn that website into a blog complete with a plan of action for slashing my own food budget.

My Story
As a stay at home mom money is always tight. And although it always works out on paper, it seems that in reality making the money stretch until the end of the month is always hard.  We don’t spend a lot on extras. I always shop around the sales for kids clothes (I do great at Target, buying at the end of the season for next year), spend very little on entertainment and I can’t even remember the last time my husband or I bought anything for ourselves.  However, in spite of these good spending habits we also have some bad spending habits.

Changing Bad Spending Habits
I will admit that we have two bad spending habits and they both have to do with food! First, we spend way too much on groceries for a modest family of three and second, do to poor meal planning I find myself ordering off  the takeout menu at least twice a week.

I come from a large family of eight. And while my mother has always been very frugal by nature it just didn’t seem to rub off on most of her kids. However, I have one sibling who is an inspiration to me. He and his wife live on a very modest income, have two children, a home that is paid for and three vehicles, two which are paid for. Their home is nothing fancy but it is in a nice neighborhood and fixed up nice. They are happy with what they have and have no problem living within their means.

The plant that my brother worked at closed down a few years ago and after being on unemployment and then making a very modest income in retail he just found another factory job while his wife works  part time in retail. And although these circumstances might drive some families so far into debt that they can’t climb out, they seemed to get through it without a scratch.

I have decided that it is time to change my own bad spending habits when it comes to buying groceries, eating at restaurants and take out. One tip that his wife shared is meal planning, which will be a big part of my plan to save money.

Meal planning, shopping around the sales and using coupons are all strategies that work for my brother and his family. My next post will go over my own plan of action to slash our monthly food bill.