One of the biggest monthly expenses that people have is food. It may be a small cost at the time but when you add all your food costs together you’ll see it is a lot bigger cost than you think.

There are a number of ways to reduce your grocery bill or the money you spend on food. For example, you could use coupons or stop eating out. Both viable and reasonable options, depending on your preference and discipline.

But for me, I’m miser. A healthy miser at that. So, I have three guidelines that help me control my food and grocery bill.

1. Never eat out if possible. Sometimes this is unavoidable as you will have friends that want to go out and enjoy a lunch or dinner with. But I try to limit this as much as possible. Anything I spend on occasions like this comes out of my miscellaneous budget that I set aside. Always pack your lunch to eat at work and before going out to eat, eat something. This way your eyes do not become bigger than your stomach.
2. Create a diet. Below you’ll see my diet. I keep track of my macro nutrients (Calories, Proteins, Fats, and Carbs). Creating and adhering to a strict diet is one of the surest ways to cut down on your food costs. It also will keep you in good health.
3. Buy in bulk. Once you have your diet set, buy all you can in bulk to reduce how much you spend.

This is my approach. Now, lets get into the specifics. This is the diet I constructed for myself. The below plan comes to be 2150 Calories, 175 grams of Protein, 67 grams of Fat, and 242 grams of Carbs.

Some people shun carbs but I’m active pretty much everyday and need the energy. The point, however, is have your diet guide and help control your food costs. The highlighted colors represent different meals.

Green is my breakfast, yellow is my lunch, purple is a snack, blue is my after workout drink, and orange is kind of like my dinner.

Now, the cost breakdown. FYI…I buy my groceries at Walmart because its cheap and close to where I live. This is my grocery bill for the month. Bananas are thrown in below but I don’t count them in my diet.

Now, this does not include my Whey protein, which I really can’t live without. That adds about $50 per month or less. But with it added in it brings my food costs per month to about $132.25. 

I am still tinkering with this and trying find ways to cut my food bill down further. But it is pretty good so far and I am in a really good place with my health and body.