So we did really awesome this month.
BF chopped our bills down from $1000 to $500~ dollars. Here’s the quick breakdown:
Rent: $350 (thanks to the one month deal we got)
Food: $200
Other: $5 (our little trip to Toronto)
TOTAL: $555 for the entire month of June as living expenses
All in all, we didn’t pay for utilities (included in the rent), and the food was really mercilessly slashed by BF.
LAL asked me privately what triggered our fervour to chop our grocery bill down.. and to be honest, I have no idea. We just felt like it.
Er.. correction. BF felt like it, and I went along skeptically.
He started analyzing what we bought, why we bought it, when we bought it, checking prices, and visiting about 4 or 5 grocery stores.
Our grocery bill is down to $200 per person or $400 in total, but I felt the pinch a little this month.. so I think a reasonable $225/person or $450/month for groceries is a good balance for us to be at, considering we eat organic, etc.
And to think, at one point, we spent $1000/month on groceries!!!
In the end, what made the biggest difference was finding this gem of a grocery store that has REASONABLE prices and allowed us to chop back our budget by another whopping $100, while buying the SAME food, fruits and even snacks like cookies and ice cream.
We also shop on Wednesdays when the prices are the lowest in that grocery store.
As for what else made a big difference.. it was the gas and transportation. We didn’t drive more than 3 times this month, because we walked every single day (sometimes twice a day) to go grocery shopping downtown at this cheap store we found, and to get wifi, etc.
Moving into our new apartment for July, I expect our expenses to go up by another $50~ or so, due to having to pay for utilities ($12/month), gas ($20/month), and food ($25/month extra).
Net worth stayed about the same because my investments went up. Still around the $78,000 mark…
- How we chopped our grocery bill down by 57%
- Cook at home or Eat out?
- January 2010 Budget Roundup
- How we screw ourselves over
- The Idiot Strikes Thrice
