Last month I looked at my Doordash history and felt sick. A Chinese dinner that cost $70.56. Middle Eastern food at $54.78. A pizza night that hit $95.61. Even a quick Little Caesars order for the family reached $35.50. Every time I added a $5 or $10 tip plus service fees, the total ballooned.
That was just a few weeks of meals for a family of three in Illinois. The convenience was easy, but the receipts told a different story. Delivery was eating away at my budget without me noticing.
Then I opened a spreadsheet. One simple meal plan turned those sky high food bills into grocery runs that felt manageable. With a little planning, I found a way to feed my family better and spend far less. The surprising part is how little effort it actually took.
The Real Cost of Delivery
When I added up the receipts, the numbers were hard to ignore:
- Chinese: $70.56
- Middle Eastern: $54.78
- Pizza for a party: $95.61
- Little Caesars: $35.50
That is more than $250 in delivery meals in less than a month. And it does not even include the service fees or the extra tips.
Instead of reaching for my phone, I started planning meals ahead of time. I wrote down dinners for the week in a meal planning spreadsheet, listed the ingredients, and tracked the estimated costs. With that plan in hand, I shopped at Jewel Osco and used their app for digital coupons and weekly discounts.
Here are the receipts over the same time period:
- Jewel: $40.62 (prepared chicken, tortilla chips, pork loin rib chops, Beyond Meat, broccoli, guacamole)
- Jewel: $29.67 (fresh produce, eggs, cottage cheese, even a pumpkin pie)
- Jewel: $95.05 (frozen pizzas, chicken sausage, chicken breasts, brats, beans, tortillas, fruit, and vegetables)
For less than the cost of one Doordash pizza order, I filled the fridge for more than two weeks. That included fresh produce, fruit, and even frozen meals. The best part might be seeing the coupon discounts on the Jewel receipts.
Why the Spreadsheet Worked
The spreadsheet did three things:
- Prevented last minute decisions. I already knew what was for dinner.
- Kept the budget visible. Watching totals add up helped me stay accountable.
- Made grocery shopping easier. I only bought what I needed for the meals I planned.
Meal planning does not have to be complicated. A basic spreadsheet can be enough to cut delivery costs in half. For a family of three, the savings from skipping Doordash and relying on grocery store discounts can be hundreds of dollars a month.
What surprised me most was how much better we all felt eating this way. Delivery food often left us sluggish, and a few hours later we were hungry again. By planning meals in advance, I made sure we had enough protein at every meal. Chicken, pork chops, cottage cheese, and even plant-based options like Beyond Meat gave us the balance we needed. Instead of snacking or ordering again, we stayed full and satisfied.
It turned out that meal planning changed the rhythm of family dinners at home. Cooking together, sitting down with fresh food, and actually knowing what went into each meal made the evenings feel calmer.
And the money we saved has a bigger purpose. We stopped giving so much money to service fees and tips and redirected it into our daughterโs 529 college savings plan.
Every grocery trip that comes in under budget feels like another step toward her future. It is a small change in daily habits that adds up to something meaningful over time. That’s compound interest, and it’s nice to have it on our side.
If you are looking for a simple way to ease the pressure of food prices, start with a meal plan. You could do the same with a weight loss spreadsheet or even a calorie counter app for your phone. The money you save could be sitting in your grocery cart instead of disappearing into delivery fees.
