My October Reverse Meal Plan Makeover
What would you do with an extra $500 per month? An extra $1000?
For me, I would do a lot. I could save it for emergencies, or aggressively pay down debt…or heck, just go on a family vacation or not have to worry about a major car repair.
I took a hard and serious look at my budget, and one area where I was bleeding money but didn’t think I had any control over was my monthly grocery bill. Food is essential! We need to eat to survive! I’d tell myself as I’d fill my basket with assorted goods and end up paying $1200 – $1600 per month.
However, what if I could whittle this down by half? What if I can cut my grocery bill by $1000 and use that money for other things?
Inspired by my recent interview with blogger and mom, Melanie Anderson (Six On A Budget), I’m going to start my Reverse Meal Plan Makeover! October 1 – 31, I will shop at my local Kroger store (Ralphs), purchase meat, baked goods, canned goods, and produce based on Melanie’s Reverse Meal Plan principles. I will use coupons, discounts, and other tips she’s imparted as well, and see how far down I can cut my $1200 – $1600 per month grocery bill.
If you haven’t heard of Melanie or her blog yet, and you KNOW you need a grocery makeover so you can start saving money, make sure you visit her at Six On A Budget.
I’m cross-posting my guest post below:
MY OCTOBER REVERSE MEAL PLAN MAKEOVER
When Melanie explained to me that she went from spending $1500/month on groceries to $233/month, I thought it was insane. There had to be some catch. But, if you’ve been following her story (as well as her tips), then you know it’s the real deal.
Reverse Meal Planning is all about not starting with what you want, but with what you have. You go and shop in the meat, produce, canned and baked goods departments, however you do so when you can get the clearance items. Snatch up those yellow or red stickered products. Yes, also use coupons and snag extra deals and discounts when available. You take home what you’ve purchased, and then you form your meal plan from what you have.
This cut down Melanie’s monthly grocery bill by over $1,000. What could you do with an extra grand per month? What could I do?
As someone who spends around the same amount of money per month that she used to spend, I wanted to try this. I wanted to challenge myself with a Reverse Meal Plan Makeover, because I have goals: I want to be debt free, I want to have a financial cushion, and I don’t want to groan when an emergency or unexpected expense hits me and my husband.
So, October 1 – 31, I will be living the Reverse Meal Plan Life. I will put into practice everything Melanie did while grocery shopping for her family of six. Here’s the game plan for my Reverse Meal Plan Makeover:
- Do my weekly grocery shopping at my local Kroger store (in this case, Ralphs) and only allow 1-2 extra trips if I’ve forgotten something or have run out of something.
- Call said local store and inquire as to WHEN they put out their clearance items so that I don’t miss them.
- Stick to going in with no expectations and purchasing clearance and/or deeply discounted food and products. I’ve already signed up for my Ralphs Reward card and downloaded the Ralphs app so I can also keep up with coupons and discount alerts.
- Use what I’ve bought to create meals for my family of 8.
- No pizza delivery or drive-thru burgers. Sorry, kids!
- I will do an accountability check-in with Melanie and you all on October 13th and 27th, and will do a final results share on November 1.
Guys, my husband and I spend between $1200 and $1600 per month on food ALONE. Ouch! Can I cut this in half? Can I cut it down to a mere few hundred and save $1,000?
Seriously, if I had extra wiggle room of a grand per month, there are so many things I’d love to do with it: throw it into savings in case of an emergency, knock out my student loan, knock out my credit card, take a family vacation!
What do I have to lose?
I’m jumping into the October Reverse Meal Plan Makeover. Feel free to follow along (especially when I do my check-ins where I share my receipts, recipe pics, etc.), and if you feel sassy enough, join me! You can do this too.
See you on the other side!
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ABOUT LYNETTE PERRY
Lynette is an author, blogger, and passionate advocate for health and personal improvement. As a trained educator with a Master of Science in Education, she believes in empowering others with the tools to learn what they need so they can become the best version of themselves. Lynette currently blogs over at hungrygirlsketo.com, where she enjoys sharing her health and lifestyle journey. Her recently released book on the ketogenic diet, “The Hungry Girl’s Guide to Keto,” is currently available in ebook and paperback at Amazon.
