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After a very long season of keeping our grocery budget to $100 – $125 a week our family is now choosing to increase the budget to $175 – $200 a week. I have heard from many of you that you don’t know how I keep the budget so low, and I have to admit that it’s been a struggle, but recently I realized that I have to start spending more.
So why are we almost doubling the budget?
We’re Feeding More People
My 21 year old son has recently moved back in with us for the next few months, and he works a physically demanding job so he needs to eat. If you thought that teen boys eat a lot, try adding a grown man to the mix!
We need more food, people.
We’re Prioritizing Health
During my recent “near death” experience (read more here), I had an epiphany. While I say that my health is a top priority in my life and I even write health goals in my Joyful Life Planner, I have not been living in a way that protects and improves my health. Since that trip I have been working out more and eating mostly gluten free, and with three family members now eating gluten free we need more money in the budget. [By the way, to keep costs low for the gluten free items we shop sales, buy GF products from Aldi and order items from Vitacost (click here to grab a FREE $10 credit!).
It’s possible to eat healthy food on a budget but it’s a challenge to feed six adults healthy food all of the time with a $125 a week.
We’re Breaking The Poverty Mindset
Many years ago I read a book by a woman who fed her family of six for $50 a week. Her children were all under the age of six at the time so it was easier, but one of her main points in the book was that the grocery budget is one of the easiest places to cut the budget. While this is true, I have had a mindset that I always have to spend as little as possible on groceries and “get by” with less.
Temporarily, it’s not a bad strategy, but living this way long term has played into a poverty mindset that I have struggled with my entire life. I decided that part of being healthy is no longer setting unrealistic limits on myself and making my family suffer because of my hangups. (You can read more about a poverty mindset here. )
We’re Loving Our Kids Well
To be honest, food is my kids’ love language. As a mom I not only want to love my children well, but I also want to paint an accurate picture of God because like it or not, as parents we represent God to our children. By purchasing just enough food to get by I have been saying that God is stingy and unable to provide abundantly for our family.
That is a LIE.
God is MORE than able to provide abundantly for us and we have never been without what we need, or even much of what we want. Purchasing too little food not only teaches my children a lie, it creates anxiety in them about whether or not there will be enough food. By purchasing enough food to feed us plus some extra I am declaring that God is a GOOD Dad and we don’t have to live in fear.
We’re Trusting God With Our Finances
Speaking of fear, spending extra on food could put a strain on other areas of our budget which could lead to stress, fear and anxiety, but I am learning to walk by FAITH — to trust God to provide for our family and to give us wisdom about how to spend our money and how to make more money.
God’s economy doesn’t work like the world’s economy anyway. Somehow when we give what we don’t think we have to give, He gives us more. I know that I can trust Him if I am following His lead and taking good care of my family. Somehow He will make a way for everything else to be paid.
It’s a constant battle for me to trust rather than giving into fear (ask me about the time I stockpiled a basement full of food and even stored food in my bathroom!), but I will continue to choose to trust.
Let me be clear, I am not encouraging you to buy steak, shrimp and caviar so you can enjoy gourmet meals every night but fail to pay your mortgage. I also understand when you don’t have enough to make ends meet and you need to temporarily spend a lot less on food. Don’t feel discouraged by this post because I know where you are and I have lived there for years.
I am encouraging you to meet the needs of your family well within your means and to trust God to help you with all of the details.
So here is the grand total for this week …
Weekly Total: $190.06
July Monthly Total: $402.31
(Yep, I spent almost my entire previous monthly budget in two weeks.)
Weekly Menu
See what we’re eating this week!
*Items marked with an asterisk were purchased in previous weeks and are in the pantry, fridge or freezer. Click colored links to go to recipes!
BREAKFAST
Homemade Freezer Waffles with DIY Waffle Syrup
Organic Yogurt with Crockpot Granola and fresh blueberries
Oatmeal* with cinnamon and raisins
Scrambled eggs, toast (GF bread for GF people)
Cheese Toast, banana (GF bread for GF people)
Cereal with milk x2
LUNCH
Turkey Avocado Wrap (GF wrap), raw carrots and broccoli with ranch dressing*
Easy Cheese Quesadillas, bell pepper slices (corn tortillas for GF)
Turkey Sandwich, carrots and ranch dressing* x2
Banana Berry Smoothie, popcorn*
Leftovers from Dinner
DINNER
Steak and Peppers (made with carne picada) with Delicious Steak Marinade, rice*, steamed fresh green beans
Spicy Chicken Thighs* (sprinkle chicken skin with Lawry’s Seasoning Salt and bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour), steamed broccoli and cauliflower
Baked Potatoes with bacon (from Zaycon Foods)*, steamed broccoli and cheese, salad
BBQ Pepper Jack Bacon Burgers, Kettle Chips, Tomato Cucumber Salad
Cheeseburger Pasta (GF pasta), steamed green beans*
Frozen Pizza, salad (GF pizza crust for GF people)
Grilled Cheese Sandwiches, Tropical Fruit Salad (GF bread)
Read what we do about snacks here.
What are you eating this week? Leave a comment or link. 🙂
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OK…..NOW I can follow your menus!!! I usually only used your tips during emergency financial hiccups. Everything you have said is so spot on. You are doing such an amazing job of growing in your relationships with yourself, with God, and with your family. I am cheering you on as you continue to grow. Thank you so much for sharing your personal journey with us. You have been so gracious to allow us to witness your endeavors.
Thank you so much for your encouragement Ronee! I am definitely a work in progress but I appreciate you following and cheering me on. 🙂
Sweetie Kimberly, we will eat good and healthy and we eat at home and not at all with outside restaurants we both have IBS so we decided we need to just be happy and food is what is good for you and you need to eat. We don’t do allot of extras and we budget and we are doing just fine too, I had to retire to take care of my husband and starting health problems, you can do all things with God’s Grace! Children come and go when they are adults, I just treated them as adults and helped them to get independent again and I still help out finacially every once in awhile but that is because it is needed, we will forever be Moms and Micromangers and that is alright, we are born for that, that is why God created a Mom!
Thanks so much for your encouragement Judy. I really appreciate it!
We all have priorities in life. For a family of six, I think your new budget is reasonable. We have a family of four, daughter has her own place, and adult son still home. Our son has a special diet he must follow as well. We have also added higher quality of meats and grains. We offset some of those price increases with some meals made with lentils and beans. Our budget use to be 100.00 and now it’s 125.00. We eat eat well on that budget, but nothing if from a box.
Thanks for the confirmation that I am doing the right thing. It was tough to make that decision. Making meals with beans is an excellent way to save money. I have to be careful though because I burned my family out on them a couple of years ago because we ate them so often. Haha!
Thanks for following along and encouraging me Jane. 🙂
I think you’ve validated my wanting to increase our grocery budget eventually. Right now my husband is unemployed so I’ve had to cut back to $30 a week for my family of 3, down from $60. Once he gets a job, I’m gonna try increasing it to $75 a week. I work out 6 days a week and have really learned the importance of eating right, and I just can’t do that efficiently with my low budget. We also have no diet restrictions (besides a picky toddler) so I think $75 will be plenty! 🙂
Wow! $30 a week is crazy low Jaime, but I’m proud of you for making that adjustment and not resorting to credit cards to keep your previous standard of living. I pray that your husband will find a new job quickly!
Thanks for taking the time to comment. 🙂
Good for you!!!!!