The Food Budget

It's incredibly easy to blow your budget out of the water with food. I suspect when most people actually track every dollar they spend on food for a week, they are shocked at how much it adds up to. In fact if you've never done this, I highly encourage you to track every dollar you spend on food for the next 7 to 10 days. Go old school with a pen and paper or use your phone, but make sure you record every dollar spent. Once you've done this and set your food allowance, if you feel you're overspending and are unsure of how to make the cuts, I have some suggestions that have reduced my food bills.

1. Try not to eat out. Eating out can really blow through the food allowance in a hurry. 
2. In order to achieve #1, you'll need to keep some food on hand that you can quickly prepare for those days when everything goes wrong and you'll arrive home late and tired. While the prepacked foods are less expensive than eating out, they are still quite high in many cases.
3. This brings me to my secret weapon: Leftovers. While there are a few things that I only enjoy eating freshly cooked, most foods still taste great reheated. I generally make enough of whatever I am creating for at least 2-3 meals when I cook. This reduces the effort needed for cooking, reduces the amount of dishes and cleanup, generally is much healthier than prepackaged foods or dining out, and prevents me from getting overburdened and ending up at a fast food window.

So that's it, that's my big secret. Cook big, pack it away, and make sure it doesn't get wasted. I believe this alone, if implemented consistently, will go a long way toward keeping you away from dining out and reducing the cost of food (and probably saving your health, too).