How to Build a Grocery Budget and Stick With It to Save Money
Often, the most challenging part of any personal or family budget is the portion allotted for groceries. While other monthly expenses are set amounts or somewhat predictable, grocery expenses are dependent on shopping habits, food preferences and thoughtful planning. To create a grocery budget, set a realistic weekly or monthly shopping goal based on national averages and your spending history. Take time to create and maintain your grocery budget for the best results.
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Instructions
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Determine how much you want to spend on groceries weekly or monthly. Use the United States Center for Nutrition Policy and Promotion food plan website as a guideline (see References). To see current budget suggestions, click on the most recent month available. Then, you will see an estimated weekly and monthly cost for family members based on their age. The values are divided into four categories, including: the thrifty plan, low-cost plan, moderate-cost plan and the liberal plan, which is nearly twice as much as the thrifty plan.
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Review your checkbook register or bank statements for the past two or three months to determine exactly how much you have been spending on groceries each month. If you have been spending a liberal amount on groceries, avoid choosing a thrifty budget right away, because you may soon be discouraged at your inability to reduce your grocery budget suddenly and dramatically. Instead, try to spend a moderate amount for one month, and gradually reduce your spending as you get used to using a grocery budget.
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Plan menus for at least a week in advance. Use weekly store ads to guide your weekly menu plans so that you can take advantage of sale prices.
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Limit your trips to the grocery store. Extra trips to the grocery store will likely result in unnecessary purchases. Try to complete all your groceries during just one visit to the grocery store each week.
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Shop with a list. To create a shopping list, refer to your menu. Also, check your kitchen to see what products you already have on hand. Refrain from buying items that are not on your list unless they are products you forgot to add to your list and that you genuinely need.
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Shop alone and during slow business times, such as first thing in the morning. Shopping with other family members, especially children, will likely increase your spending. Also, shopping during busy store hours will increase the amount of time you are in the store, which may in turn increase your spending. Consider shopping for fruits and vegetables at local farmer's markets, and consider substituting beans instead of meat for one or more meals each week to reduce grocery costs.
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Use coupons found in the Sunday newspaper and online to save money on products you normally buy. Choose products with lowest unit price as indicated on the item's price label on the grocery shelf. Also, purchase store brand or generic items when available.
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Review your budget monthly to determine if you are meeting your spending goals. If you surpass your budgeted amount, tweak your menus and shopping lists to reduce costs. If you easily stay within your budgeted amount, consider reducing your grocery budget amount in an effort to further reduce spending.
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Tips & Warnings
Cook extra and plan leftovers from dinner for the following day's lunches to save money.
Eat recommended portion sizes in order to control grocery expenses.
If you must make a special trip to the store for a gallon of milk or loaf of bread, refrain from buying anything else. A shopping trip intended just for the purchase of a single item can easily result in spending $50 if you start picking up other items.
References
Resources
- Photo Credit Jupiterimages/Comstock/Getty Images
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Useful Grocery Shopping Plan.
