How to start a food budget
In summer of 2013, I did something that completely changed how we spent money and it has had a lasting impact still.
You see, our first child was born and I was a new stay at home mom. We had built up a little savings as a cushion but it wasn’t much. A couple months in and we kept dipping into that savings account for groceries.
I knew I needed to make a change or I wouldn’t be able to stay home for long.
I looked at how much we spent in one month and it was $600! All at the local grocery store and I had enough. We couldn’t live like that anymore.
I set a very tight budget to only $200 a month. I learned to make everything I could from scratch, I only bought food that was on sale and we did it. That was actually our budget until 2021. At that point we were a family of 6 and it was time. Even still we keep it at $400’month and we have a lot of wiggle room because of how much we raise ourselves.
That story to let you know that I know how you might be feeling right now. Inflation just flat out sucks. Every time you get groceries prices are up and you’ve probably had enough just like I did ten years ago.
It's easier than you think to get on track.
First look at your bank account and see how much you really spent last month. This is going to hurt, you might have an idea but it hurts when you see the real number.
Second, plan what you want it to be. Say your spending $600 and you want to cut back, plan on trying to go down to $550 next month. Making little cuts and small changes at a time will help you out the most.
Third, divide that target budget up by each paycheck you get in a month. Say your family gets 4 paychecks a month, that's $137 a paycheck you take out and put towards groceries. Just keep it in an envelope in a secret spot in the house and your ready. (keep round numbers though so you can use the atm and it just makes the math a lot easier)
Fourth, when you get groceries, know how much you are spending as you go. I like to round all the prices up to the next dollar. Whether it's $2.25 or $2.99 I count it as $3 and go. Then I can keep track easier, account for taxes and I am usually just a little under my projected amount. This keeps you on track through the whole store and helps you to decide if it's worth getting or not.
Lastly, stretch your shopping trips as long as you can. $550 a month is equal to $18.33 a day, and $6.11 each meal. If you can come up with just another day of meals from your last trip you're saving almost $20 each day you're stretching it.
See not that hard, but you just have to get started. This gives you a goal to hit, and you always have a little bit in your grocery envelope each week.
I hope this helps out some of the young families struggling right now. It has helped our family so much over the past ten years.
After a couple months it's a lot easier, now I don’t have to make a list, or count prices, it's become a habit and it saves me a lot of time and energy each time I go to the store.
Just a basic envelope and a plan is all it takes to start