In the past year, a mother of four sons managed to reduce her weekly grocery expenses from $325 to $175. Kristina Reed from Florida is now sharing how she achieved this goal with other families.
A year ago, Reed found her pantry and fridge overflowing with groceries, yet by 6 p.m., her four sons would be asking what’s for dinner and she would be clueless.
Her cooking anxiety led to takeout or pizza for dinner on the third consecutive night. As a family of six, the Reeds were spending $425 to $450 weekly on groceries and takeout.
Realizing the excessive expenses and lack of quality family time, Reed understood that failing to plan is planning to fail.
Mrs. Reed and her husband run a furniture store together. She said, “I can’t successfully provide healthy meals within the budget if I wing it every night.”
Her solution? Meal planning.
After outlining a weekly menu, she would make a grocery list, take stock of what’s at home before hitting the stores. Surprisingly, she found some items on her list were already in her pantry.
To avoid impulse buys, she strictly adhered to the list while shopping for essentials and started opting for curbside pickup.
She remained flexible when purchasing ingredients, selecting alternatives when stores offered discounts. Not only did she maintain flexibility with her list, but also with her time schedule.
Reed revealed, “I usually shop on Tuesdays or Wednesdays, right when the store opens because it’s less crowded.”
Following weekly shopping, she spent an hour prepping food, washing and chopping vegetables, preparing ingredients for the next week. By dedicating this hour to meal prep, she only needed about 15 minutes to cook dinner each night.
For the Reeds, most weeks include a “Must-Go Monday” plan where leftovers are cleared out on Monday night, reducing food wastage.
By adopting these simple measures, the Reeds save close to $275 weekly.
Initially hesitant to involve her children aged 3 to 15 in kitchen chores, Mrs. Reed found that over time, her sons started helping with cooking. At least once a week, the children assist in choosing dishes and get excited about cooking, trying new foods and vegetables unexplored before.
Mrs. Reed shared that they now engage in meaningful conversations in the kitchen, hoping these skills will benefit their future endeavors like college education or forming their families.
The family also started having dinner together, fostering lively conversations, laughter, and delicious meals. Using creative prompts for discussions, their mealtime conversations have expanded beyond routine topics.
This experience made Mrs. Reed realize the significance of enjoying family meals. She stated, “The growing reports of children performing better in school and making better decisions due to family communication at the dinner table excites me. I believe we are becoming a stronger family.”
For young families seeking to cut back on daily expenses, Mrs. Reed recommends developing a meal plan. Once parents learn the habit of meal planning, they can start taking inventory at home and gradually transition to meal preparation.
She shared, “The more you get into the routine, the easier it is to stick to it. It’s just tough to get into at times because motivation might be lacking.”
In December 2023, Mrs. Reed began sharing her journey on social media. Hundreds benefitted from her numerical meal planning.
Mrs. Reed disclosed, “I’ve received a lot of positive feedback from online users who continued making their meal plans after following this system.”
Lastly, she suggests approaching meal planning gradually and not rushing to overhaul everything overnight.
Through her successful experience, Mrs. Reed hopes to inspire other families to embark on the journey of saving on food expenses.
Just last year, Mrs. Reed felt overwhelmed when cooking for her family and was disappointed in their wasteful spending on food. But now, she proudly states, “I’ve become a good chef, and meal planning has been a wise move for me.”