#1 Budget Buster

Yesterday we covered the beginnings of a budget. Today we are going to discuss the #1 budget buster…FOOD aka Grocery Shopping. I personally detest grocery shopping. It takes me a couple of days to get ready to go grocery shopping and then the actual day of shopping is an all day thing for me. This area will either make or break your budget. Let me give you my “Top Ten Rules” for grocery shopping…

1. NEVER EVER shop on an empty stomach. I promise you if you will eat a peanut butter sandwich before you go shopping you will spend less. Why? Well you won’t be tempted to put every thing that looks yummy in your grocery cart.

2. Make out menus and plan your meals. Not only will this help you to shop but it will take a lot of stress off of you at 5:30 when you walk in the door from work. Or if you are a stay at home mom you won’t be opening the refrigerator/freezer at 4:00 and think to yourself what am I going to cook. Don’t forget to plan your snacks also. A lot of snacks can be made cheaper than buying prepackaged snacks.

3. Check out the weekly sales. A lot of your big stores have their weekly sales on line just visit their website.

4. Buy in bulk. If you plan to use ground beef in more than one of your meals then buy the large family pack instead of the small one pound packages. It is usually 10-20 cents cheaper per pound that way.

5. Don’t be afraid to buy reduced meat. Take it home and freeze it.

6. Don’t be afraid to buy store brand or off brand items. I promise you that if you use a brand of cream of chicken soup that is different from the name brand advertised on TV your dish will still turn out just as good. Better yet learn to make your own homemade cream of soups. If you must buy name brand items use coupons and if at all possible hit those double and triple coupon days. There are several website that you can download coupons from. Be sure and watch your expiration dates.

7. If at all possible shop alone. Take this from personal experience. I am the mother of three boys (four if you count their dad) and I always spend $25-$50 less if I do not take them with me. Now that the boys are older my husband goes with me he is a big help. He is my walking calculator…me I need paper and pencil…he just works it out in his head.

8. Check your inventory sheets of your pantry and freezer. This way you will know what you have and what you need.

9. If you shop several different stores keep a note book of items that you regularly buy and the price of that item from each store. That way if it is on sale at one store you can check your note book to see if it is a real sale or not.

10. Don’t be afraid to ask the manager if they match local competitor prices, if they don’t thank them and put the item back (that is if you don’t need it for the meal that night). You may come out cheaper by going to the competitor and getting the item. This is a hot button item. I start at one side of town and work my way across town. I know which stores will match and which stores will not match. Again this goes along with keeping the notebook of prices. Don’t run all over town picking up just one item you will spend more in gas that way. So devise a plan of action. Although, with today’s economy more and more stores are matching competitor prices you just have to ask. If they see you putting the item back most managers will match the sale just to keep your business.

Now on with the plan….”How to Plan Your Menus” – Do an inventory of your pantry and freezer. Date everything with today’s date. Then as you add stuff to your pantry/freezer just write that day’s date on it. This helps to avoid waste as you get your pantry and freezer better stocked and remember first in first out.

Sit down with your family and ask them what their favorite dish is or what would they like to eat in the next week or two. Be sure and plan special meals like birthday dinners or holiday meals when you are doing your menu.

Next draw a calendar and list your meals. I started out using a big desk top calendar but have progressed to a spreadsheet. I have a friend that has her meals planned out on index cards and each month she just lays them out and rearranges them then stacks them in the order that she plans to use them. As she uses them she moves the index card to the back. Try different ways find out what works for you.

Now that you have your menu planned make a list of everything you will need to prepare each dish. Don’t forget to include every little item like salt, pepper and other seasonings. OK, remember your inventory sheet? You will check that against your list of needed items to prepare your menus. Mark off the items that you have on hand. Congratulations! You now have your shopping list.

Wait, there is one more step, check your shopping list against the weekly sales ads to see where your better deals are. Again this is where your notebook comes in handy.

See what I mean grocery shopping is a big deal and it will either make or break your budget.

Let me say something about the inventory list. This is an on going project, as you use an item remove it from the inventory list or reduce the number that you have. That way you will know what you have on hands at all times.