There’s still a whole week until payday and you just blew the rest of your food budget on last night’s take-out, which has only left you feeling bloated and groggy in return (thanks, lo mein 🙄). All those vegetables you ambitiously bought at the beginning of the week are still sitting in your fridge, mocking you as they slowly wilt. And those gorgeous recipes you found on Pinterest? They ended up having too many weird ingredients, and you just couldn’t muster the energy after a ten hour work day. You’ve got Instagram taste and a peanut butter budget. I feel ya and I’ve been there. Adulting is hard.
I believe good food doesn’t have to be complicated or expensive.
I believe you can create meals that you’re proud of, meals that make you feel full and healthy, meals that make you want to brag on social media, meals that will make you want your leftovers (no, really). I believe you can have all of this without spending your whole paycheck, buying a bunch of fancy kitchenware, or spending all day in the kitchen. I believe you can spend less and enjoy more.
The Proof is in the Pudding…
Let’s Do This.
What if you didn’t have to figure it all out yourself. What if someone else already searched, tested, and found recipes that are easy, delicious, AND inexpensive. What if someone took you by the hand and showed you each step of the process, so you could feel confident as you learned. What if cooking at home stopped feeling like a chore and started being something you did for fun?
When you join the Budget Bytes community, you’ll stop being a slave to take-out and become a total boss in the kitchen, all while spending less and eating better than ever.
I’ve Been There.
In 2009 I found myself with a college degree and a mountain-sized student loan debt to go with it. I could barely afford necessities like toilet paper, let alone good food. But food was my passion and having just earned a degree in Nutritional Science, I was not okay with eating ramen noodles for dinner every night. Finding food that would satisfy both my stomach and my wallet became my pet project. I tested hundreds of recipes, I experimented, I failed, I learned, and I simplified my process. It wasn’t long before I was eating better than ever, spending a fraction on my weekly groceries, and making my coworkers jealous with all my drool-worthy (and cheap!) homemade lunches. And now I want to show you how to do it, too.
Now it’s Your Turn…
Budget Bytes has everything you need to finally take control of your food budget. With over 1000 delicious and affordable recipes to choose from, there’s a little something for everyone. Get started HERE.
And if the website just isn’t enough, make sure to check out my book, Budget Bytes: Over 100 Easy, Delicious Recipes to Slash Your Grocery Bill in Half.
Stay in Touch!
I love hearing and seeing your successes, and I’m always here to help when things don’t go as planned. Stay up to date with the latest Budget Bytes recipes, tag me in photos of your creations, or drop me a question or comment. You can find me on Instagram (my fav!), Facebook, Pinterest, and Twitter. Or, shoot us an email at support@budgetbytes.com and someone on our team will be happy to help. We can do this together!
I LOVE YOUR BLOG!
OMG, I wish i could edit things!! Beth pls change that number from 324$ spent for the month to 224$!!! Please oh please!
I guess i was just three happy lol. (I only shopped twice this whole month!)
Ok, day 28 or 4 weeks, or however you like to say ‘month’ lol has come gone and I am still a little awed at how it all happened.
For starters, I now have what i jokingly refer to as ‘Beth’s Bounty’ printed off and put in a nice folder for keeping all the recipes I have made from the site happily together. I will be making up one to give to my mom too!
Also, I have not made exactly 28 meals, as in a meal per night. I say this because so many recipes made a small feast that I and my husband got tasty leftovers, sometimes for a few days if he was out of town and I forgot to halve a recipe lol.
(the marinara and meatballs..yeaaaaah I ate that for like four days. I really don’t ever get sick of it)
Oh and a sidenote of epic proportions. The split-pea with ham soup, got the biggest compliment I had heard in years and I quote ‘You always make really good soups hun, but THIS one, is the best soup you have made for me, ever.’ I will not forget that comment anytime soon <3
Ok, now for the nitty gritty. Usually spent in 28 days;
175$/week x4 weeks = 700, But a number that needs to be factored in is what we spent on average eating out!!!
That one is even more alarming;
80-125$/week x4 weeks = 320-500$ OH-EM-GEE!
Now making up a shopping list using recipes we wanted to make for the next week, and If you have read above its outlined. made life so much easier! If you aren’t doing it, you need to be! We wandered into a walmart bored the one day and had half filled a cart with random food stuffs that we didnt even need, from habit. We still had a ton of food at home and I still shake my head, glad that we both came out of our zombie state and put all the stuff back. We looked in the cart, realized what we were doing didn’t make any sense budget wise or just ANY SENSE lol. Plus the cart was just full of bad things or randomness that no meal could have been made from…/sighs at habits. I felt like we got a ‘get out of jail free card’ when we walked out of there empty handed.
Oops, back to the figures. So at a minimum of over a 1000$ a month, to sometimes upwards of 1100-1200$
(drumroll please)
Final grocery tally was,
324$
/pause for effect
Well, it goes without saying that our account looks as good as the recipes lol. With a savings of over 700$ how could it not
Now, we are not done, I am still going through recipes to make and also, I am NOT out of groceries yet. I wont need to shop for another week at least! So its probably even more of a savings but for now, I think that number is impressive enough no?
Beth, if you lived near us, I would have you over for dinner :-)
Thanks again, and please, keep up the excellent work, this is already trickling down to other family and friends, since I am a bit of a talker when something is as exciting as this.
For anyone who read this far and is hopefully going to head over to look at some recipes, I invite you to try this intelligent and savvy woman’s methods.
You have nothing to lose and oh, so much to gain.
Sincerely.
Excellent Blog Thanks!
I just had to comment here.
For starters, I love what you are doing. I sincerely did not know what to expect when my friend linked me your site.
Little did I know it would mean saving more that 60% of my grocery budget so far this month (245$ saved). We didn’t even realize how expensive the chain store near our house was, its just where everyone went so we did too. Our average month for grocery bills was at least 700$…yes, you read that right, for just myself and my husband and NO we are not 300 pounds each! We were just sheep wandering down aisles all willy nilly, bah!
I didn’t know that not one single serving of leftovers would be wasted. My usual ‘cleaning out the fridge’ before grocery shopping was depressing to say the least and expensive to boot.
I wasn’t prepared for dinner excitement. Instead of ‘bah, lets just order Chinese or go out for wings’ coming from either of our lips, it was ‘I can whip this all together in like 20 minutes, lets just do that k’ with no grumbles from the husband since each night the variety of what we have been eating keeps it all very fresh and fun. Even having to adjust things to make them gluten free, hasn’t stressed the recipes at all and has translated exceptionally well.
I had no idea that any of these things were even possible.
I probably sound like a crazy person, but honestly I am just basking in the glow of a bank account not drained for food we were just throwing away, in the excitement of not making needless trips to the store, since everything was here and ready to go with very little planning required.
This may sound outdated, but feeding my husband and keeping him interested in our meals together is really cool and surprisingly satisfying. In six years of marriage, these last 10 days of cooking together and getting constant compliments have been freakin sweet! Don’t get me wrong, I am not a kitchen failure by any means, and I am a baker by trade BUT sometimes you just aren’t inspired and it shows in what you serve.
I have passed this on to a few friends and my sister and mother. I can’t wait to hear how they are doing with your help Beth.
ok, this is officially too long, lol.
Thank you again, as long as you are posting I will be reading and cooking up a storm :-)
I just found your blog! I love it!! Keep it up!!
Can’t wait to make your Chipotle Peach Salsa! It made my mouth water just looking at the picture! I’ll be sharing it with members in my club:
http://www.salsapreneurship.weebly.com
-Luke
I love your blog!
Great blog! So glad I found it. I am always looking for more ideas on how to save!
My dad just introduced me to your sight. Very impressive. Can’t wait to start cooking with your recipes!
I’m really glad that I found your blog through tastespotting! After I graduate college and get my own house, I’ll follow your blog so that I can cook at a low price! Yayyy~
I am so happy to have found your blog (through tastespotting.com). I can’t wait to try some of your recipes. I am a newly wed, and we are in serious budget mode. I think your website is really going to help!
Glad I found your blog, I love it.
AMAZING blog (found it on consumerist.com)! I love your honesty; I too am broke and love to eat. I also love to cook! keep up the great blogging and I’ll keep checking back.
Hey Beth! I can’t seem to find a way to contact you other than by posting a comment on here. My original Health & Beauty website has evolved into something much bigger and can be found at http://FL-HealthClub.com
I wanted to share this with you because I am featuring your posts in the recipe section. Everything should be pinging back to you. If you have any issues, please let me know. I really enjoy what you are doing and love your blog! Hope to hear from you soon!
Sincerely,
Tommy Grobmyer
tom@fitnesslifestylehealthclub.com