Saving money
I am a big believer in saving money and using a budget wisely. One way I could save money is in the grocery store. I am really bad about going in to pick up a few things. I also work in a store, so it's really tempting to grab one or two things on my way out the door.
I did a detailed budget last week and decided to see if our little family of three could spend $200 on groceries for the month. Here's my plan to make it work.
1. I'm going to actually write down what I have on hand, in the pantry and freezer. Usually before I shop I skim the cupboards to give myself an idea. This time I'm taking notes. (I love notes.)
2. Instead of making a meal plan specific for each day, I'm going to write out a list of meals we like and plan to have the ingredients for 14 meals at a time. (Lunches are usually leftovers for Jeff and soup for me.) Breakfast is oatmeal for the both of us. And I am going to use the list in the previous step to use up what we already have.
3. I'm going to cash. I'm going to take the grocery money out of the bank and envelope it. The debit card stays home. I'll take a calculator and paper to make sure I'm not overbudget.
4. I will shop alone and use my coupons! (I love coupons.) Only use coupons if the price per ounce is cheaper than the store version.
5. From now on, the debit card stays home when I work. If I have some spending cash I can use that, but that's it.
6. I'm going to save every receipt in an envelope and see how we do at the end of the month.
How do you save money at the grocery store?
I did a detailed budget last week and decided to see if our little family of three could spend $200 on groceries for the month. Here's my plan to make it work.
1. I'm going to actually write down what I have on hand, in the pantry and freezer. Usually before I shop I skim the cupboards to give myself an idea. This time I'm taking notes. (I love notes.)
2. Instead of making a meal plan specific for each day, I'm going to write out a list of meals we like and plan to have the ingredients for 14 meals at a time. (Lunches are usually leftovers for Jeff and soup for me.) Breakfast is oatmeal for the both of us. And I am going to use the list in the previous step to use up what we already have.
3. I'm going to cash. I'm going to take the grocery money out of the bank and envelope it. The debit card stays home. I'll take a calculator and paper to make sure I'm not overbudget.
4. I will shop alone and use my coupons! (I love coupons.) Only use coupons if the price per ounce is cheaper than the store version.
5. From now on, the debit card stays home when I work. If I have some spending cash I can use that, but that's it.
6. I'm going to save every receipt in an envelope and see how we do at the end of the month.
How do you save money at the grocery store?
Those all sound like realy good ideas.
I make a list before I go grocery shopping and try to buy only what's on the list.
Impulse buys are what bust my budget. I also quit grocery shopping at WalMart because there are too many other things to tempt me. I only go grocery shopping at the grocery store.
I don't know if you have Krogers where you live but that is where I do my shopping. They usually have a lot of specials and their meat is very good.
I also try to use coupons if it works out to be a better deal than the store brand.
The price of groceries has gone through the roof over the last year. I read somewhere that once the price goes up they don't come back down.