Stop clipping coupons and shopping at multiple stores. These practical tips will slash your grocery bill THIS WEEK… and save you a bunch of time and stress too!
“In this world, nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes”… and the need to buy more groceries!
(My own addition to Benjamin Franklin’s famous quote.)
No matter what craziness is going on in the world around us, no matter how many restrictions we have, or how many places are shut down, I’ll eventually end up back at the grocery store.
Can you relate?
Since grocery shopping is one of modern life’s necessities, my mission has always been to make it as painless as possible.
One way I do this is by finding quick, easy, and practical ways to lower our grocery bill.
I look at it as one way I can make a pretty big impact on our family’s finances… without working more hours. 😉
SIDE NOTE: The kids and I were looking through old photo books from before they were born and we came across this gem — taken in the spring of 2011, when I was pregnant with Nora.
My super-shopping abilities (and a boatload of coupons) saved me almost 3 times as much as I spent on that shopping trip!
Those were the days… sort of.
Fast-forward a decade, 4 children, and some major increases in grocery store prices… my current grocery bill isn’t quite as impressive.
That said, I still manage to keep our weekly grocery bill fairly low for a family of 6 (especially considering we eat almost every meal at home).
I no longer clip coupons, send in rebates, or shop at multiple stores… but I do still have a few tricks up my sleeve when it comes to saving money on groceries!
Below are 10 money-saving ideas that have made the biggest impact for our family.
I think they’ll help you slash your grocery bill too!
1. Plan Ahead
Almost every Saturday or Sunday afternoon, I take about 15 minutes to plan our food for the following week based on what we have in the house.
I quickly scan the digital ads to see if there are any great deals I can stock up on or work into my meal plan — I add those items to my list (see #2 below).
You don’t need to go crazy clipping hundreds of coupons and creating a monthly meal plan… but I do highly encourage you to put some time, thought, and effort into your shopping trip BEFORE you leave for the stores.
I can almost guarantee you’ll save money (and time, energy, and stress too!)
RELATED READING: How I Meal Plan
2. Shop With a List
Once I make my meal plan and check the sales, I create my grocery list.
I usually keep some sort of grocery list going all week long and simply add to it as we run out of food or as I think of something we need.
I continue building this list until the day I play to go shopping… THEN, I re-write the list based on the layout of the store.
I know this might sound like a needless extra step that only a perfectionist would do… but I promise, I’m not a perfectionist… and you’ll save SO much time and energy at the store.
You won’t forget important ingredients at the grocery store, you won’t get sucked into impulse purchases as easily, and you won’t waste time walking back and forth throughout the store since your list is written in order.
RELATED READING: Get My Free Grocery List Printable
3. Shop Less Often
I can (almost) guarantee you’ll save more if you shop less. It’s a simple fact of life… you can’t spend money if you don’t shop!
Plus, you’ll obviously save a whole bunch of time!
Yes, it takes a little extra planning to space out your grocery shopping trips… but if you don’t enjoy grocery shopping, you’ll love the freedom of shopping less!
RELATED READING: 5 Tips to Stretch Your Groceries for 2 to 3 Weeks
4. Nix Your Brand Loyalties
I buy very few brand names (unless of course, they are cheaper than the off-brand).
However, my biggest money-saving has come from shopping at Aldi — which sells almost exclusively “off brand” items.
Yes, I know… I was previously VERY anti-Aldi for years — mainly because our local Aldi was horrible. But then, 3 years ago, we got a BRAND NEW, gorgeous Aldi in a nearby town and I forced myself to shop exclusively at that Aldi store for a full month.
Even though Aldi prices have gone up over the last year, they are still significantly less expensive than any other grocery store… and since I’m not brand loyal, I can buy the vast majority of what I need from Aldi each month.
NOTE: another benefit of Aldi is that it’s SO much faster than traditional grocery stores. I can get 2+ weeks’ worth of groceries in less than 1 hour (round trip from leaving my house to coming back again!)
RELATED READING: My Month-Long Aldi Shopping Experiment
5. Shop the Outside of the Store
Many years ago, I read an article about saving money by avoiding the middle isles of the store (where the more pricy processed and specialty foods typically sit).
Well, believe it or not, it works!
Of course, you could argue that I now spend more time in the kitchen cooking with fresh ingredients instead of serving pre-packaged foods, but since I enjoy cooking (most of the time) and I don’t enjoy grocery shopping, this is a solid trade-off for me!
RELATED READING: 30 Meals You Can Make in 30 Minutes
6. Eat In-Season
Due to the magic of world-wide freight, we’ve been spoiled with the ability to have almost any type of produce year-round.
This is wonderful and I would never complain about that luxury… however, if you want to cut your grocery costs, you’ll do best to stick with in-season produce the majority of the time.
Bonus points if you can find it on the reduced rack!
RELATED READING: How to salvage produce that’s past its prime.
7. Check Your Receipt
If you take nothing else away from this post — remember THIS tip (lucky #7!)
Whenever you shop anywhere (even online) CHECK YOUR RECEIPT before leaving the store (or the website).
I can not tell you how many times I’ve had as much as $10 to $15 worth of extra charges because the cashier accidentally rang something up twice, or a sale price didn’t ring up, or a digital coupon didn’t take.
The people at the service desk are usually happy to refund me the money.
AND as an added bonus, our state has a law that if an item is marked one price but rings up at a higher price, we get the difference PLUS $5 — so checking my receipt really does add up!
RELATED READING: How I Organize and Track my Digital Receipts
8. Eat From The Freezer + Pantry
Twice a year, I challenge myself to cook ONLY with the foods I already have in the pantry or freezer.
The “rules” are different each time, depending on my mood! But the basic idea is to stay away from grocery stores for 2 or 3 weeks (or longer).
I usually ask Dave to stop and pick up milk, bananas, etc. because I know he won’t cheat and buy a bunch of other items while he’s there.
Other than that, I get creative and try to use up the random bits and pieces we have in the back of the pantry and freezer during these weeks.
It’s amazing how much we can save by staying out of the grocery store for 2 or 3 weeks… and I love knowing that we aren’t letting any of our food go to waste.
Plus, it’s actually really fun to experiment with different food combinations!
RELATED READING: Our Eat From the Pantry / Freeze Challenge
9. Make Your Own Cleaning Products
One of the questions I get fairly regularly is if my grocery budget includes toiletries and cleaning products… it does.
HOWEVER, I make a large number of my own cleaning products… even my own face wash, my own hair wash and rinse, and we use washable rags and napkins most of the time.
It doesn’t take much extra time at all (especially once you get a routine down) and I’m almost certain you’ll notice a big savings on your grocery bill.
RELATED READING: The Ultimate List of DIY Cleaning Products
10. Be Willing to Do Without
I recently shared part of our meal plan… and I happened to mention that our family stretched one pound of bacon over 2 breakfasts. Personally, I didn’t think it was a big deal, but I got SO many questions about how I could possibly keep my family from devouring the entire pound in one sitting.
Honestly, it’s easy… I just serve half for one meal and half for the next. Everyone takes a modest portion and they eat other things like eggs, pancakes, or fruit to fill up.
They might want more bacon… but they don’t need more bacon.
Similarly, we often do without out-of-season produce when it’s super expensive (see #6 above). Sure, we’d love strawberries in the middle of winter (and sometimes I do buy them) but we don’t NEED them. We can enjoy oranges instead.
Being willing to “do without” some of our favorites in lieu of less-expensive alternatives is a huge money-saver at the grocery store (and a good discipline for many other areas of life too!)
RELATED READING: Enjoyment or Entitlement
All things in moderation…
These are just a few ways I save on groceries for our growing family of 6… please do not interpret them as legalistic in any way. I don’t follow every one of these “rules” 100% and I don’t expect you to either.
They are just IDEAS to spur your imagination and maybe get you thinking outside the box.
For example, I love splurging on special treats for my family every now and then.
And I personally make a point NOT to obsess over every single penny as that’s not a healthy way to handle our finances.
However, since our grocery bill is currently our largest monthly expense (outside of Christian School tuition) it’s something I like to keep an eye on and do my best to steward our resources accordingly.
I look at it as one fairly simple way I can make a big difference in our family’s finances… without all that much time or effort!
What are your best tips to slash grocery costs?
Liane says
Hi Andrea,
We have slashed our food bill tremendously by eliminating almost every processed food item we can. Naturally we still buy jarred olives and artichoke hearts but nothing else from a grocery store makes it into the cart if there is a way I can make it myself. I quit buying salad dressings, bagged lettuce and all baked goods. We don’t eat gluten grains and shun seed oils so if we want something baked we make it at home. I made flax burger buns yesterday. I think we are saving about $50 a week but we do spend more on quality meat and fish. For pantry staples we love Thrive.
Years ago I ran into a cute little blog call Don’t Waste the Crumbs. In her grocery budget series she was very clear about how stores jack up prices on what I call inedible items. If you can’t eat it, it’s probably available at Walmart or Target. Amazon is okay but you need to be careful. One product I love they are selling a $3.99 bottle for $20. Still, it’s a good way to buy in bulk like paper towels and trash bags that take up a lot of trunk space and which are free shipping with Prime.
Eating local in season is very easy here in California but I imagine it can be hard in areas that lack farms or have inclement weather. I try to take advantage of the farm stands in summer and buy enough to freeze. Frozen apricots may not be appealing on their own but dice them in some home made vanilla ice cream and they are heavenly. Like your multipurpose applesauce, my stone fruits get used all year. We also planted a peach tree and have lemons and limes as well.
I’d say we’ve saved a huge amount eating at home. We STILL cannot eat in a restaurant unless it’s outside in 40° weather. No thanks! California is the most progressive state politically but in the dark ages when it comes to letting people live their lives freely. We still have mandatory mask wearing even walking a dog! The advantage to all this is not eating in expensive eateries.
Andrea says
wow — I thought Michigan was bad with our mask policies (I’d never be willing to wear one outside — that’s craziness!)
Glad you’re hanging in there and enjoying lots of yummy homemade food in the comfort of you home!
wanda says
I look and ask around for sources for quality meat (and buy organically raised even if it’s not certified) and then buy directly from the farmer. It means that I have to save up from my grocery budget for these purchases but I spend about half as much of meat this way. Then it’s in the freezer and I can just grab it, defrost and cook.
Katie says
I remember when you posted that 2011 the first time! I’ve been reading from the beginning. 🙂
Andrea says
aww… I wondered if anyone would remember this post 🙂
I updated almost every single word (and most of the pictures) but the general idea is the same… and still so relevant!
Thanks so much for your loooong time readership, Katie!
Katie says
oops, I meant 2011 photo! I left out an important word! lol I didn’t recognize it as a repeat post- but yes, always relevant. I like your once per week posts…it usually takes me about 3 days to comb through it all! So thorough with all the links! Thanks for all the helpful info you share!
Chris says
I love saving money on groceries. I can splurge on something like shrimp sometimes because we eat eggs from our hens or pinto beans (which are so cheap they are almost free) sometimes. The men in my family are big fishermen and my son is a big hunter so we have lots of free meat. Of course, they spend a lot of money on fishing lures, etc., but as far as the grocery budget, it is free. 🙂 I also do intermittent fasting so several times a week sometimes I am skipping multiple meals, which also helps on the grocery budget.
Andrea says
I also enjoy saving in some areas so we can splurge (guilt-free) in other areas!
And… we have friends who do intermittent fasting and while I’ve read about it, but never considered it to be a money-saving concept. You’ve officially piqued my interest! 🙂
Kelly S says
I’ve started meal planning with a dollar amount in mind. (These may appear high – we are in California, family of 6, special dietary needs).
$30 breakfast
$30 lunch
$30 snacks
$30 pantry stockup
$15/dinner (x7)
So we spend up to $225 a week on groceries (used to sometimes hit 300-400 on special treats and easy foods!!)
Having that specific number helps so much to make decisions back at home on what I want to spend money on, or not.
(If I don’t have that time to plan ahead, I used to assign an amount per area of the store, so like $15 for meat, $50 for produce, $50 for shelves, etc).
Andrea says
This is a very interesting way of meal planning — I’ve honestly never considered planning my meals this way, so I’m thrilled you detailed how it works for you. I have no doubt it will be helpful for someone reading the comments. Thanks Kelly!
Jessica says
I also write my grocery list in the layout of the store! Helps me not forget anything. Great tips!
I think some people are confused about the receipt picture – this is not a current picture/receipt. It is 2011!
Andrea says
This is probably the BIGGEST time-saver for me when grocery shopping. I need an organized list 🙂
And yes… the picture is from 2011!
Calliope says
I learned it from you and I still do it with so many produce I like: I freeze them in huge amounts while they are in season, cheap and tastier! I freeze strawberries, blueberries, any berry really, bell peppers right from my garden either whole or chopped, lemon and lime juice and zest from my trees, herbs like mint, dill and basil, Tomato sauce, tomato juice, orange juice and huge amounts of pumpkin.
I use them in smoothies, desserts, soups, jams…any dish really.
It saves me a ton of money as I also prefer to cook from scratch.
Andrea says
yes, yes, the freezer is your friend — even more so when you want to eat quality produce and cook from scratch! I’m thrilled this tip has helped you over the years 🙂
Amanda says
Our biggest savings have come from hunting and fishing. We use venison in place of beef and it works out really well. We try to get at least 3 deer per year. We have it processed (around $45 per deer) into ground meat, ground sausage, tenderloin and cubed steak. This is organic meat, so the savings are huge. We get at least 40-50 pounds of meat per deer, depending on size. We also take a lake trip every year and catch as many catfish as we can. We fillet these and freeze. So our freezer stays pretty full.
I am excited to try the idea of buying extra in-season produce and freezing for later. I make a lot if smoothies, so this would be a big money saver for us.
Andrea says
frozen produce is a HUGE money-saver for us! I’d love all the venison but we are not hunters 🙂
Calliope says
Hi Amanda! How does venison taste?? Do you cook it as you would the beef?
JJ says
I appreciate that you’re very balanced with this(as with other areas, too!). Grocery bills skyrocketed for us with 3 kids(who also have milk allergies). We have been doing Aldi Pickup the last couple of months. It’s 1.99 fee that is well worth it. I cannot stand shopping in Aldi stores. Haha! So this has been a great way to “shop” there without the stress, and they make it super easy. They text you the when the order is ready with a link. You click the link to let them know you’re there(and waiting in a designated curbside spot). They have little icons and a timeline showing where they are at in the process(collecting your bags, heading to your car, etc.). After years of doing a huge chain’s grocery pickup(often waiting for long periods with 3 kiddos), I was eager to try something else. The longest I’ve waited was 5 minutes. I still go to other stores for our dairy-free products, but the fresh produce at Aldi has been really good!
Your suggestion to cook extra meat and make extra meals has been helping a lot! The other day we had errands in town, but I had a meal in my fridge ready for the oven when we got back. Your ideas continually challenge me to be more efficient and frugal. Thank you!!!
Andrea says
haha — I can SO relate to hating Aldi. I’m positive I wouldn’t be shopping there now if it weren’t for the really nice, new store just about 10 minutes away. I’m very thankful for the new store as I easily save 30% on my groceries just thanks to Aldi’s prices. I’m glad you don’t need to shop in the store though — $1.99 for pick up is TOTAL worth it. I don’t think our stores have this option, maybe I should check to make sure though!
Kristen @ Joyfully Thriving says
Great tips, Andrea! Like you, my grocery budget isn’t as low as it once was (due to family size and less deals) but I totally agree that there are many ways to save! I think my biggest savings comes from only buying meat on sale – and filling my freezer then, so we have the meat we need without ever paying full price. Yes, it means some prep time when I’m buying 20-30 pounds of hamburger at once, but it saves me money and time later too. I’m also working at shopping less too even when the deals at Kroger tempt me! Ha.
Andrea says
That’s a lot of ground beef! Do you cook it all? or just pre-portion it?
We also get MANY pounds of ground beef every year (from our quarter cow) but it’s all packaged up into 1 pound packages.
And yes, buying meat in bulk is a great way to save!
Kristen @ Joyfully Thriving says
Unfortunately, it is not packaged in small packages so I do it myself. I brown a lot of it and repack it in 1lb sandwich bags – for quick tacos, casseroles, sloppy joes, etc. Some of it, I make into hamburger patties right away and freeze those stacks too. And sometimes, when I’m extra motivated, I make a couple batches of meatballs for the freezer. Because yes, it is much easier when everything is in 1lb packages!
Olga says
Wow! I can’t even imagine spending so little on groceries!
I spend about $20 at the farmer’s market every week, that’s only for fruit and vegetables, not including dairy, meat or dry goods. That’s how much I spent for just my husband and I, not we have my brother staying with us and my sister visiting, so it’s somewhat more. I make all our food from scratch, do freezer cooking, some canning too and try to plan my meals based on what’s on sale, but I can’t even fathom how it would be possible to cut the grocery bill that much. Good for you!
grace genta says
Ms. Andrea, I’ve just found your site, and start to love it… I wish I could participate in some promos… LOL…
Angie Potts says
Just found your site and love it! I am really confused though, how to get things for free or so cheap at the store. Have always used coupons and am baffled. I am in Michigan too and found most stores don’t let you use more than one type of coupon per product. Could you please explain a bit if you get the chance how this can be done. I would love to save even more as groceries take up a huge chunk of the budget. Thanks! Love your home and Nora is adorable!
Angie
Kristen says
I am just thinking of getting into couponing, but don’t have a lot of time to commit to it. I am honestly a bit overwhelmed by the process.
Are there one or two tips, resources or websites that would be the best use of my time to help me?
Also, would Meijer really be cheaper than Aldi with or without coupons?
I appreciate any input as a coupon “newbie” 🙂
Heather says
Time saver – you don’t need to spend your time doing the store-sale-coupon-matchups. There are lots of websites that do this for you and won’t cost you anything. My local store is Publix and my favorite site is iheartpublix.com. The sale list with matchups is posted every Monday for the sale that starts on the following Thursday. The site also lists non-insert coupons and the applicable competitor coupons that matchup to each sale item. Check the web for a site like this for your favorite stores! Huge time saver which is a must if you have little ones AND a full-time job.
Andrea says
Found your blog via pinterest, but sad that I can’t pin other blog posts you’ve written. You have lots of ideas I’d like to remember, but they’ll be lost to me without pinterest. Bummed.
Andrea says
Hmmm… why wouldn’t you be able to pin anything else on my site? All of my posts are “pinned” quite often, and I’ve even made it easy by putting a “pin” button at the bottom of every post. Does that button not work for you?
Sheri says
I agree with your tip of canning. I tried canning for the first time last year and fell in love. I started, on purpose, with jam and salsa as that tends to be the items that are more expensive (vs. fruit and pickles). This year I am going to try the fruit and pickles along with the salsa and jam. I am also flirting with canning pie filling.
Love the tips. It gets me thinking again about how I spend my food allowance. Not sure if I will get to $40, but I get better with each tip.
Katie says
I love your simple, cheap recipes! Please post more!
Kristen @ Joyfullythriving says
I’m a grocery-geek, too, in that it is fun for me to cut coupons, plan meals, and go shopping – to save money! My biggest type is to know which stores double and triple coupons, and how to best stack coupons. Also, while I don’t necessarily like doing separate transactions, I will do so on the occasion that there are great promotions ongoing. Great tips, Andrea, as always!
Mary B says
Love this list 🙂 We are 5 of us with ages from 10-16 plus 2 adults. I plan 2 weeks of meals and shop every other week. On the off week its just to get milk, bread, produce etc. and maybe a meat that is on sale that I’ll use for the next meal plan. Currently we spend about 150.00 a week on groceries, paper products etc. We don’t eat out (seriously that is at least 50.00 for the 5 of us) and all lunches are packed.
Jessica @ Budget For Health says
Making a grocery list definitely keeps me from spontaneous purchases. I spend a few extra minutes figuring out which product and size is the cheapest per ounce; it can really add up! I should start checking my receipt- I’ve caught the cashier a few times when they ring up the wrong type of produce that was $1 per lb instead of $0.80 for the kind on sale.
Jenny says
When you buy meat in bulk, what’s the best way to freeze it to preserve it from freezer burn-I have had problems in the past so avoid freezing meat but would love suggestions.
Lisa Richardson says
I have a vacuum sealer and I almost never have had a “bad seal” to where all the air didn’t get vacuumed out. I shop monthly for everything.
jerilyn says
can’t really add anything to the list as lately I’m doing anything but saving money! Currently it’s take all 3 little children to the store and try to get out alive. *sigh*
Alyssa says
My biggest lesson to learn is to only buy what is on my list. Not always the easiest thing to do. And I only use cash, carry a calculator and always have pen! I am excited to try your cleaners and hair products!!!
Jo says
The coupon thing we just don’t have to the extent you do in the US (I’m in the UK). You might find a coupon with ten pence off a product that’s over a £1 to buy, but it would be really hard to find enough to save even as much as £5 off a weekly shop. Like you, I cook from scratch, I freeze a lot of stuff, so if meat is on offer, I buy and freeze it, and I don’t over buy fruit and veg – I only buy what I know we will eat.
Dianne@Baking4Six says
What credit card company sends out 20% off coupons??.. that would definitely be a $$ saver for our family of 6 🙂 thx
Shelley says
Dianne, I believe the card she is referring to is a Meijer credit card. Once you spend a certain amount, a coupon is sent with your bill.
Dianne@Baking4Six says
Thank you Shelley… probably another reason people seem to like shopping at Meijer. – We don’t have Meijer stores in Ca, or at least not in Northern California.
Teresa says
I believe it is a Meijer Credit Card–My Mom in Law does the same thing 🙂
Lyn says
Something that I’m guilty of is letting things like produce, etc. go bad before I get to them. Sometimes it can’t be helped if I’m not feeling well with my health issues. I’m working on this, especially with my husband being unemployed since the last few weeks. It’s really important that we don’t waste.
So my tip would be to use up what you have – and don’t go shopping just for the sake of it. More times than not, you’ll walk out of the store with more things than you wanted to buy. Also, if your significant other or someone else in the household is really good at shopping and not straying, send them with a list. Saves money…I do this sometimes with my husband because I know he’ll get just what’s on the list (whereas I’m sometimes tempted by good deals). And I’ve taught him the basics of using coupons and looking for the lowest priced brands/items.
I know you are not a coupon blog, but I would like to say that I really appreciate you sharing your tips. They are helpful! Do you have any ideas for low-cost meals? I’m trying to make sure I stretch everything, including meats (we hardly ever eat whole pieces of meat at a meal). I was always frugal before and I’ll be even more frugal now. 🙂
Ann says
Soup stretches meat and veggies pretty far!
Lisa @EarlyLitMama says
The biggest tip I have is to find the grocery store with the best prices in the area–across the board, so if you have to get something that isn’t on sale and you don’t have a coupon for, you’re still getting the best price. For me that’s my local Meijer as well. I also stalk the grocery store (or you can ask your store manager) for when manager’s specials are marked. I shop those days and stock up-particularly on meat (which seems to be astronomically priced these days) that I freeze. And sometimes fruit and veggies as well. A lot of people think that shopping the markdown racks is gross, the food is expired, etc. BUT the store couldn’t sell it if it was bad, so you might as well save yourself some money!
ivy miller says
I try and buy a meat bundle once a month and just shop for veg and milk weekly. i will also stock up on frozen veggies when they are on sale.
Does anyone have tips for keeping fresh produce fresh longer… I hate when something goes bad.
Lisa @EarlyLitMama says
I’ve got two tricks for produce. I wash everything I buy with Eat Cleaner spray. (I know there’s conflicting evidence about food washes, but it works for me) and then refrigerate if possible.
I also suggest going to your local farmer’s market-fruit and veg is freshest there, and only buy what you are going to use within the week.
I’ve also heard mixed reviews on Debbie Meyer’s greenbags and there’s some sort of plasticware that works on the same premise (I’ve seen it on QVC)
I hope this helps with your produce problems! 🙂
Mara @ Super Savings says
Hi Ivy,
I tried “produce bags” and they really seemed to help! I put half of my bananas in a bag, and left the other half on the counter…..the ones in the bag started turning brown about a week after the counter ones did.
Mine were free from Menards (after rebate – and often are), but I’ve also seen them at Dollar Tree for $1. Hope that helps! =)
~ Mara
Kira says
chop veggies up like peppers and onions and lay them out on cookie sheet and freeze them for about 30 minutes to an hour then remove them from cookie sheet and put in freezer bag. Best thing I ever did with all my veggies from my garden. Taste fresh and yummy and so much easier to make meals because food is already prepped!!
Andrea says
YES!! I do this too — but usually with discounted produce from the store as we don’t have a big veggie garden right now 🙂
Thrifty Mom in Boise says
I agree with a lot of your tips. I shop the perimeter and only go down a select few aisles for canned goods and baking products. I stay out of the cookie aisle and bakery altogether. Limiting my visits, shopping with a list, having a plan are key.
I also track my spending on a spreadsheet so I know where I’m at and how much $ is left to work with. This really helps me so I don’t go over. We spend $125 per month or less for a family of three for food. $25 per month or less (usually less) on non-food items.