I don’t know about you, but lately I’ve been keeping a close eye on my finances and trying to make myself feel as secure as possible. One big hole in my wallet is our grocery bill, which easily spins out of control faster than you can say, “Bagelfuls, 2 for $4.” Here are a few habits I’ve picked up over the last couple weeks. See if any help you out and leave your own suggestions in the comments:
1) Bring your calculator to the grocery store. Instead of keeping a running “estimate” in my head, and inevitably going over budget, I decided to keep a tight reign on my spending. I made a list before I went, noting specific quantities that I needed. (As in, three oranges, two bell peppers, etc.) Then, as I picked up those items, I marked down the price on the list and kept a running tally on the calculator. When I got too close to my budget (I budgeted $50 for the week), I could look at my list and see what I didn’t really need and what would put me over. Yes, it seems a bit much, but if you regularly go over what you intended to spend by about $10-15, you can save a ton over the year.
2) Take longer than 10 minutes to make your list! This is crucial. If you hurriedly write down the things you think you need, you will inevitably miss some items, go over your budget, and it will be that much harder to put down the ice cream you hadn’t intended to buy because, “Hey, I’m already over. What’s an extra $4 gonna hurt?” Spend the extra time going through the refrigerator to see what you’re actually out of and almost out of.
3) Clean out your refrigerator and cabinets often. I have a lot of food in there that’s either a) ready to be tossed, b) dusty “˜cause no one eats it, or c) both. As a result, I think we have more food than we actually do. So when I go shopping, I don’t buy the right things and have to go back to the store later in the week. The more trips to the store means the more money you spend. Period. Try heading into the store for just one item. I double-dog dare you. Bet you come out with at least two bags, looking dazed like, “What just happened?”
4) Write down your grocery list on last week’s receipt. I could kiss the person who first told me to do this. It works in all kind of ways. One, you can see how much something cost the week before and how many of it you bought. You can easily see if a price has gone up and if you can wait for the price to go down before you purchase any more.
Saving money is really just about being conscious of the money you spend. Pay attention to your grocery bill and you’ll learn how to save by cutting out things that waste money.
Tara Pringle Jefferson is a freelance writer from Ohio, where she lives with her husband and two kids. Visit her blog, TheYoungMommyLife.com, for daily musings about the issues young moms face.