I noticed that many of you have interest in how to afford paleo eating, especially as a family. We have done a few things to help with that. One major one is cutting back on eating out. We used to have a line in the budget for eating out and now it's gone. We have a "slush" line in the budget now instead that we have to decide, do we want something pretty.. something fun... or should we splurge on a chance to eat out.
Groceries we have budgeted ourselves in at $500 per pay, that's every 2 weeks. Some would say that's a lot others are on par with us. We eat a lot and we have four children and two adults under our roof. We also try to have friends over for supper at least once a week for a meal.
To keep the budget down lower I try to keep the extras out. We call them treats in our house.
Lastly I make a meal plan. Planning can actually make your grocery bill go up if you aren't careful. A few tips I've learned to use are....
1) Plan with your favorite grocery store flyer(s) in front of you. Plan your meals according to what is on sale.
2) Buy your meat bulk. You have to save up in the months leading up to getting the animal in the freezer but it makes the months to come easier to breath.
3) Plan for leftover meals/snacks. If you don't do this part you'll end up with waste. Let's face it, no one wants yucky spinach "melting" in your fridge. Gross.
4) Be willing to shop at many stores AND farmers markets. It's worth it, trust me! Also, on the farmer's market note. When you shop local you not only are doing your "neighbor" a favor by supporting their business, and your body by getting nutrient dense food, but they will likely get to know your name and throw an extra tomato in your basket or something along those lines. This is not something to expect from them mind you, but it is nice when it happens.
I'm interested to know what kind of questions some may have about this. Comment on this post if you have further questions.
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