budget friendly

since most of the free trial participants wanted menus that were budget friendly, i thought i would post some of my tips and tricks for staying within budget. i spend an average of $75/week on groceries. that includes 5 to 7 dinners at home and every one of me and hendrix's breakfasts and lunches. mike has made me so cheap and resourceful. god bless that man.

1. drink your coffee at home. i love iced coffee drinks, but spend way too much on them at the coffee shop. i started making my own iced coffee. . .i just make a big batch every 2 - 3 days. delicious and no weird syrup flavoring. just a bit of cream and raw sugar. money saved? $35/wk.

2. eat breakfast and dinner at home. bring your lunch to work. this is a no brainer, but a difficult habit to get into. dinner's leftovers can be tomorrow's lunch. or in my case breakfast. and it's often way healthier than that fast food salad you're thinking about getting. money saved? at least $75/wk.

3. shop smart. buy whole chickens and cut them up. . .they are often $1 less per pound. make your own pizza dough. . .easy and 1/2 the price. buy seasonal produce. . .tastes better and costs way less. some produce at the farmer's markets are the same, if not less, in price than supermarket produce since it is seasonal and local. buy dry beans & bulk grains. . .takes a little time, but worth the effort in the moola you'll save.

4. keep your pantry stocked. if you're only beginning to cook at home and don't have a stocked pantry, just add a few pantry items to your weekly grocery list for a few weeks. you'll build a pantry in no time. you can make a lot of great meals with just items in the pantry.*

5. be a price comparer. i shop at aldi, fareway, & supersaver. when i lived in midtown/downtown omaha it was aldi & bag n' save on 18th & vinton. you can't get everything you need at aldi, but you can get most everything. it is seriously cheap. i save almost $20/wk. by going there. go to www.aldi.com for a store near you.**

side note: did you the guy who owns aldi is the brother to the guy who owns trader joes? trader joes is coming! and they have awesome prices, too.

6. make homemade ingredients. . . like your pizza dough, pie crust, creme fraiche, snacks, ice tea, cocktails, cream of whatever soup, etc. it's cheaper and you'll know what's in it. my friend bryce just told me how to make my own creme fraiche and it was a revelation. one container is like 5 bucks. now i can make a bunch more for like $3.

7. grow a garden or at least some herbs on your windowsill. invest like 10 bucks for seed and soil. . .get some oregano, basil, thyme, rosemary, & mint. money saved? at least $15

8. build your menus to use all the fresh/highly perishable items in a week. that way you won't waste food and money. i.e. use the lettuce you bought for cobb salad, to make blt's or to garnish pork tacos.***

9. have dinner parties instead of eating out. look at www.designspongeonline.com for entertaining ideas. money saved? at least $60.

10. be flexible and buy what's on sale. so you planned to make pork chops with apples, but chicken is really cheap? roast the chicken up with some apples stuffed in it. yummy. and smarter.

* when you subscribe to our provision subscription you automatically receive our pantry list.

**this is not a paid advertisement for any of these stores. i just really love them all. and they are the cheapest & best.

***we automatically do this with our clients menus.

***email me @ clementinespandp@gmail.com if you want any of these recipes. i will gladly share!

. . .happy monday & money saving!