The Grocery List - The Budget

The Grocery List – The Budget

 Everyone asks out of all the stingy things I do, what is the biggest money saver?  It’s my grocery list.  Anytime that I am needing to save an extra few bucks, I turn to my grocery list.  With a few simple tricks, I can turn a 200 dollar grocery bill into a 100 dollar grocery bill.  I am going to be honest here, the first time I went grocery shopping, I hated it when I left because it was so different than how I used to shop.  I was used to having 5 things on my grocery list and leaving with 200 bucks worth of groceries from just one store.  Now, I wouldn’t even think about shopping any other way.  This is going to be a lot of information so I am going to break my blogs down into just one section per blog.

The Budget

Why is a budget so important? To simply put it, impulse buying.  I am one of the biggest impulse buyers.  The minute I walk into Walmart.  I suddenly see 10 things I don’t think I can live without! Plus every week when I write out my bills, I know automatically that I am going to set aside 100 for groceries which makes budgeting my bills easier.  Setting a budget will make you more aware of what you are spending and help you save money. 

How do I determine my budget?  This is the next big question and is completely up to you.  I work off of a budget of 100 dollars per week for a family of 4.  That includes diapers, formula, shampoo, and food.  My family goes out to eat about once a week so that 100 dollars has to take care of us everyday with no going out to eat except for the one day we go out for a treat.  Remember, that is my budget though, not yours.  If you want a budget of 200 dollars then go for it! Just set an amount!

What should all be included in it?  I include everything, diapers, formula, socks, shampoo, conditioner, toothpaste, deodorant, dog food, and anything like that.  Basically if it’s a day to day item, I include it in my total budget.  You will need to determine what all is included. 

How do I handle sale items?  Easy, budget for some extra cash to allow yourself that.  I try to budget an extra 20 bucks when I go grocery shopping for any good deals.   

How often do I go grocery shopping?  I myself go shopping every 2 weeks and love it!  It gives me a break every other week from having to go into the store and fight the madness!  This does require a little bit more organization but is worth it in the end.  I have had questions about this so I will answer those below:

                How do I remember everything I need?  I have a dry erase board that my husband and I write down something the minute we run out so we won’t forget.   

                What if I run out of something I need?  You have 2 ways to handle this.  Deal without it until the next grocery shopping day or if your budget is 100 dollars per week then buy a 100 dollar gift card.  When the gift card runs out then you can’t buy anymore!  I always seem to run out of something I need before my grocery day so I keep a gift card and use that.  Then when I go to the store for my grocery shopping, I can only use what is left on the gift card. 

                How do I handle fresh fruit?  Fresh fruit won’t keep for weeks so I got crafty with that.  We make smoothies in our house and banana icecream.  These two options allow us to freeze fresh fruit and buy extras when it goes on sale. 

I know this can seem like a lot to take in and people will say that it doesn’t seem worth it.  As I said above, I wouldn’t dream of shopping any other way.  I can do my shopping twice as fast and save so much more money!  If you are looking to save money then just try this for a couple weeks.  See if it works for you.  You will be surprised by the amount of money that you are able to save just from setting a budget.  Will blog later about AdMatching and Couponing! 

Stingily Yours,

Michelle