I don't really have a food budget.
Now, for a family that lives paycheck to paycheck, that might seem kind of shocking, but it's the truth. However, there is a good reason for it.
We never know what is going on clearance at the grocery store from one week to the next. Mostly what we buy on clearance is meat. Since we have a nice size chest freezer, and I'm kind of turning into a canning freak, buying up a lot of meat that is on clearance turns into something of a steal for us.
We also shop all the special sales. When the bags of frozen boneless, skinless chicken breasts go on sale buy 2, get 3 free, yeah, we go crazy. We will buy the max number we can, which is usually 10 bags. There are generally around 7-9 breasts in each bag. We use, AT MOST, three per meal. So generally, what I will wind up doing is opening the bags and re-packaging them with our FoodSaver machine. (I really recommend a FoodSaver machine. It is fantastic and is great for helping preserve food.) (This is NOT an affiliate link.) We do the same with the chicken leg quarter family packs.
Basically, we stretch the meat out as far as it will go. Casseroles and soups go a long way in our house. They might not be fancy, but they are filling, and that is what we are looking for.
All our other staples- flour, eggs, sugar, etc- we buy in bulk whenever we can at our local big box store. I love to cook and bake, so buying the basics in bulk makes my life a lot easier. I do the same with our spices and herbs.
It's my imperfectly perfect way of doing things.
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