Our First Food Budget Check In – January’s Results

When I first started blogging back in 2011, we were spending over $1,000 on food each month JUST for the two of us.

That sentence is something I will always be ashamed of.

Our food spending has always been out of control, but it is a habit we have been trying to change for several years. While we are not spending over $1,000 a month on food anymore, we are still not proud of the large amount of money we are wasting each month.

Food spending is an area we are trying to improve on because it can be a huge budget buster.

While I love food WAY more than the average person, I know I can eat healthier, have delicious meals, and save money if I just take control of the situation we are in by eating at home more often.

Below is our January food spending check in.

How much money did we spent on food in January?

January was a very good month for us. We did go out to eat a little too many times, but that was mainly because we took a 15 hour drive to Colorado to find a rental, and we ate at different stops along the way.

Below is exactly what we spent on food and household supplies (including toilet paper, dog food, etc.) during the month of January:

• $286 at grocery stores
• $169 at restaurants

That brings us to a total food spending of $455, or an average of around $14.68 per day for the both of us combined.

This is amazing!

As I stated a little over one month ago, our goal for our food budget was to spend less than $500 each month. This means our very first month was a success!

We’ve noticed other benefits as well since we took control of this situation. We’ve both noticed that we’ve been feeling more healthy, that we have lost a little weight, and that we are actually saving time by eating at home and not constantly going to a restaurant (the drive and wait for food can add up quickly). We also have noticed that we are eating tastier meals each day!

I don’t think February will be better than this though. Since we are moving in February, we plan on going out with friends a decent amount before we leave and going to some of our favorite restaurants. I am fine with that though!

What’s working when it comes to our food situation?

Obviously, things are working for us. We came in under budget for the first time in forever.

One action that is working for us is that we are meal planning like crazy. I am subscribed to $5 Meal plans and it has seriously been a lifesaver. We loved every single meal last month from this meal planning subscription service and always look forward to whatever our dinner is each night. I highly recommend this subscription service!

Also, keeping track of the exact amount of money we are spending on food also helped. Since I knew I had to report back to myself and all of you with how we were doing, I had more motivation to do better.

What’s not working?

Even though January was one of our best months when it comes to food spending, we still have some improvements to make.

For one, we can definitely still cut back on eating out. We spent $169 at restaurants in January, and only one of those meals was something I thoroughly enjoyed. The rest, I mainly just ate because I thought it would be convenient at the time (when in reality it hardly ever was).

Also, meal prepping ahead of time didn’t really work out too well for us in January. Usually meal prepping works well for us, but last month it did not. A lot of our prepped meals spoiled before we could eat it, however, I believe that was just because January was a hectic month for us.

What is your average food budget each month? Are you trying to spend less? What works for you and what doesn’t?