#171 How much should you be spending on food?

Are you tired of overspending on groceries and want to regain control of your family's food budget? Join me as we dive deep into strategies to cut costs, maximize savings, and make informed choices without sacrificing nutrition or flavor. From practical meal planning tips to understanding the USDA food cost guidelines, we've got your back on this journey towards financial freedom. Hosting Today: Hey, I’m Ashley Patrick, a personal finance expert and founder of Budgets Made Easy. I help busy moms create systems to save money and pay off debt so they can reach their big dreams faster and easier. I was able to pay off $45,000 in just 17 months including $25,000 in student loans in just 10 months. I’m a Master Financial Coach and have a bachelor's degree in psychology and will help you get to the root of your money problems. Since my journey started I have been featured on Fox Business, Yahoo! Finance, Food Network, USA TODAY, MSN, CNBC, NerdWallet, and many others. “And that's the key here, right? Is making it realistic for your family. It's not gonna be the same for everybody. And like I said, it's not gonna be like, oh my gosh, you overspent, your budget should be $300 a month. You should not be spending $800 a month. Well, it depends, right? It depends on your family, depends on where you live a lot of times. But what the point is, is to be intentional and mindful about what you're spending. And if you are just way overspending and that's not what you wanna put your money towards, then you can start making those changes, right? But if you like to cook, you like to spend money on food, that's fine too, right? It's all about priorities.” - Ashley Patrick Timestamps: 00:00 - Introduction to the podcast episode 04:16 - Determining your ideal food budget 05:37 - Saving money with pre-packaged meals 08:11 - Making the most of deep freezers 10:42 - USDA food plan and food costs 14:20 - Setting realistic spending goals for individuals, couples, and families of various sizes 18:56 - Final thoughts 20:22 - How to sign up for the Money Success Club Do you need time, space, and accountability to take action on the things you KNOW you should be doing, such as budgeting so you can actually pay off debt, save money, make a meal plan, and all the other things that keep falling off your to-do list? Would you thrive in a supportive community of other busy moms who understand what you're going through and are working to achieve similar financial goals? If that’s a YES, I invite you to sign up for the Money Success Club at www.budgetsmadeeasy.com/msc And if you enjoyed the podcast today and got some great takeaways, I’d really appreciate it if you followed the Money Mindset Podcast so you don’t miss out on future episodes Resources and Links Mentioned: * Money Success Club: www.budgetsmadeeasy.com/msc Connect with Ashley: * Instagram: www.instagram.com/budgetsmadeeasy