One of the hardest items to maintain in your finances is your grocery budget for a number of reasons. Unlike your mortgage loan and car loans which are definite amounts each month that needs to be paid out on a specific date, your grocery needs can change from day to day. Your insurance and taxes are computed annually but your food can change in an instant.
Your household budget would play a crucial role in this endeavour as it serves as your master file for all your expenses as well as the funds that are coming in to your household. It needs to be able to account for all the sources of income starting from your main sources all the way to the extra curricular side jobs you pursue.
It also needs to account for all expenses that you are making starting with the scheduled ones to the most random of expenses. There are fixed expenses such as mortgage payments which, according to USNews.com usually has the biggest portion in a budget. There are also random expenses like a quick trip to the mall for something new you need at home.
Then there are fixed needs with varying expense amounts like your grocery budget. You can approximate it the best way you can but there are too many factors to consider to always get an exact amount that you need. It can be what the family wants to eat to what you still have in the cupboard to the prices of the items in the store.
Grocery budget killers
As you try to manage your budget for grocery needs, it might help to know some of the sure fire ways you can ruin that budget. As you get the idea on what these things are, you can better prepare yourself and be on the defensive to prevent experiencing these things.
- You only want to shop in nice stores. There is nothing wrong with wanting to shop in the nicest stores and have the best experience in life. But you need to understand that these nice stores are able to charge a higher premium for the items they carry inside because they are able to provide something extra. Now if you are able to save on these “extras” and give up some comfort in exchange for lower-priced items then you are on the right track. But be wary of bordering on being too cheap either. Find the one in the middle and the one that you are most comfortable with.
- You pick up trendy items. You might find yourself in the store and you suddenly pick up that food item that you just saw on tv for no reason other than a celebrity was seen eating it. These trends will be one quick way to put a big hole in your budget because it can push you to make unnecessary and unplanned purchases outside what you need. If you really need that particular item then save up for it. This way, you also get to appreciate its value because you waited and saved money for it.
- Meal planning is non-existent. CDC.gov explains the importance of meal planning because it prevents food from being served through the window of your car. Regardless whether it is just yourself, you and your partner or even your whole family – meal planning can greatly benefit your grocery budget. Without it, you just plan everything as they go along or worse, when you are already in the grocery buying food. There is also the tendency that you miscalculate what you need and you find yourself heading on back down to do some grocery shopping at the latter part of the week. This eats up not only on your finances but other resources as well like your time.
- You do not like to cook. You do not need to love cooking or have chef training to be able to cook at home. There are just things that you do not like but you need to do them anyway. This is also one of the ways stay-at-home parents prepare financially because cooking allows them to budget their time and food wisely. For those that really seems to hate the idea of cooking, you might be able to discuss this with your partner, roommate or flatmate and swap chores. They might take up the cooking chore and you can pick up the dishes to be cleaned after.
- Leftovers go to the trash. This is usually the end result of a grocery budget that does not have any forward planning incorporated in the process. When you just buy things as you go along and cook whatever you feel like cooking for that particular instance – there is a big possibility for leftovers. What compounds the problem is when leftovers head straight on out to the trash for disposal. You might be able to serve it again for the next meal as is by just heating it up. It might also be a good time to channel into your inner Rachael Ray and give new life to your leftovers.
- You haven’t heard of batch cooking. You cook only when you need to because that is the simples way to do it. If you are a stay at home mom or dad, you cook for breakfast, lunch and dinner and any other meals in between. But batch cooking can dramatically decrease the time you spend in front of your stove and you get more time with your family. Try setting aside a day where you can cook a meal for the whole week. You just have to reheat the food as you progress through the week. This does not only save you time in cooking but imagine the savings in gas or electricity.
- You let coupons pass. You might have this notion that coupons are only for those that are really hard pressed in life but the truth to this is that brands put these out as part also of their marketing push. You can use them and you should not feel ashamed when you find them. Clip or cut them and bring them with you when you go out to buy your groceries. You might be surprised with the savings you get to keep because of the coupons.
- You prefer buying food for lunch than a brown bag. Part of your meal planning should include food when you get to the office and not just the ones at home. Plan your meals that you can bring over to work so you do not have to keep on buying food for lunch. Bloomberg.com recently came out with an article sharing that consumers are slowly spending more on dining out compared to their grocery budget. It could be convenience or other factors but when you think about your budget, you will realize that you are spending a lot more for food when you can save at home.
You need to make sure that you have your grocery budget intact to be able to get your finances in order. You might be amazed with how much you can save when you get to plug up all the holes in your groceries and allocate the funds to help you better prepare for the future.