Save Money through Grocery Exile: Using All the Food in Your Home

If you participate in grocery stockpiling, your pantry and freezer shelves are likely overflowing with food. Creating a stockpile not only saves you money in the long run, but it can get you out of a jam as well. If your budget is tight this month due to a unpaid sick day or unexpected bill, then this is the perfect time to use up that stockpile by going on a grocery exile.

Just what is a grocery exile? A grocery exile is when you commit yourself to using up the food in your home, limiting the amount of money you spend on groceries for a period of time. Any money spent is usually for staples such as milk and bread. The amount you will allow yourself to spend in a week, biweekly, or monthly depends on your own personal goals. A well stocked kitchen should let you get away with under $20/week for grocery money.

In order to judge how long you can stay on a grocery exile you will need to take inventory of what you have on hand. Go through your pantry, fridge, and freezer and write down EVERYTHING you have on hand, including spices. Once you have your list you can move on to the next step, creating menus. Websites such as Allrecipes.com allows visitors to search for recipes based on ingredients on hand which will make planning a menu much easier.

If you are planning your menu and find that you are without one or two key ingredients then you can add those ingredients to your weekly shopping list keeping in mind how much your ingredients will cost you. You will have to plan wisely if you want to keep your grocery spending beneath the $20/week mark. Some items in recipes aren't necessary and could be substituted with other items you have on hand. For example when you are making a vegetable soup you don't need to use a predetermined group of vegetables. No buttermilk, use a mixture of milk and vinegar or lemon juice to create a "sour milk" to use in the recipe instead.

If you decide that you could not survive going on a complete grocery exile consider going on just a meat, frozen food, non-perishables grocery exile. Going a week without buying any meat is a huge money saver. Vegetarians may be able to skip out on buying frozen produce or non-perishable items they normally buy. Committing yourself to not buying one particular category of items can result in a hefty weekly/monthly savings for your food budget.

When going on a grocery exile you should keep in mind the things that may trigger a trip to the grocery store. Some people visit the grocery store out of boredom. If this is the case then you should look at other activities that would better fill your time. One idea would be to head to your local library and browse the selection of cookbooks. You may find one that lists a recipe you could make with what you have on hand at home that you could try. Or you could always check out a favorite book or magazine if reading cookbooks will only trigger a trip to the store during your grocery exile. Another reason to visit the store is to buy a gallon of milk or loaf of bread. Problem is that many people will leave with other things besides the milk or the bread. When you go to the store for one of these things during your grocery exile you should go in without picking up a cart or basket. If it helps you can set the timer on your watch and try to get out of the store before it goes off. A spouse who doesn't enjoy grocery shopping may also be of help.

A great time to go on a grocery exile, besides when you are broke, is when you need to clean the freezer, go on vacation, are moving, or are experiencing a change of season. A grocery exile at the end of winter will help you to finish off any soup left in the freezer. When moving to another city or state you will want to empty your pantry and freezer so that nothing spoils or goes to waste. Canned goods and other products which do not expire can be donated to a local food pantry or brought along to your new place. When going on vacation for a long time you will want to make sure you eat anything that will spoil in the fridge.

By going on a grocery exile you can save money to be used for emergency expenses or an upcoming vacation. Or you could tuck the money away in your grocery budget envelope in order to replenish your stockpile after a grocery exile.