How To Feed Your Family on a Budget

All over North America, grocery prices are going up. The increase in cost of simple staples like bread, cheese, and milk from five years ago can seem overwhelming. But before you let the anxiety of feeding your family lead to the loss of your hair, take a few moments to consider what you already have in your cupboards, and what your family likes to eat. You might find you have more meal options than you thought.

1. Gather together all the your receipts from the last couple of months and determine exactly how much you spend on food over the course of a month. Be realistic and decide on a dollar amount. It's important to try and not compare your spending habits to those of your friends and family. Remember prices can vary considerably from one city or province to another, and tastes can also vary a lot from one family to the next, and there is no point cooking meals no one will eat. Once you have a firm number, the easiest way to keep on budget is by withdrawing half this amount twice a month, or a quarter each week, before you go shopping. I have found this extremely difficult to do. But as hard as it is to leave the credit and debit cards at home, using cash is the most effective way to make sure your hard earned money is spent on real food and not on tempting impulse or instant items at the grocery store, or on restaurant meals. 
2. Consider what your family eats and find recipes. The quickest way to shave dollars from your food budget is to do more food prep yourself. Dust off your cook books, explore the web, and improve your culinary skills. Cooking dinners at home also allows you to add more nutritional value to each meal. If you are short on time, consider doubling or tripling recipes and freezing the extras. 
3. Armed with cash and a list of staple ingredients, go shopping! I recommend exploring your local discount or warehouse chain, as well as visiting farmers markets in the summer. Years ago one could save a lot of money by driving from store to store buying up door stoppers and sale items, but with the increase in gas prices spending extra time chasing down the cheapest price does not always work out to be the cheapest option. Don't let the large packages intimidated you, most items can be divided into meal size portions as you put them away at home. Another option is to prepare and freeze items, creating homemade heat and serve meals; a nice option on nights when you have no time or desire to cook. 

   Here is a list of inexpensive staples I keep on hand:

   • Bulk bread (I prefer pre-sliced)
   • Bulk bagel or flat breads
   • Carrots
   • Celery
   • Saltines
   • Another variety of bulk cracker
   • Peanut butter
   • Yogurt
   • Eggs (two flats -- one raw, one hard-boiled for snacking)
   • Raisins
   • Rice
   • Oatmeal and powdered milk
   • Bags of frozen vegetables
   • Potatoes
   • Onion
   • Canned tomatoes
4. Be creative. As the end of the month approaches, dimes to dollars you are going to start running out of things and assembling meals is going to be more of a challenge. I find the items that are the easiest to use -- bread, milk and snack foods -- go first. Fortunately they can often be substituted with crackers, yogurt, or fruit and veg. Not only do many substitute items store better than their first run counterparts they are also often the healthier of the two options. You might be surprised how creative your family will become if you're not prepared to run to the store every time you hear someone bellow, “MOM! We're out of [insert favorite item here].” And you might also be surprised at the unique and nutritious choices being made.

Here's to a healthier, wealthier family.