First things first. Surprisingly, the first step is not "set yourself a budget." How can you set a budget if you don't know how much you're spending now? The first step is to track your grocery spending for at least 1 month (or 2 months to account for higher priced items like toilet paper, laundry soap, etc that you don't buy every month). Keep your receipts and write down how much you are actually spending. This should help give you a baseline so you can set a reasonable budget.
The second step is also not "set yourself a budget." Don't worry, we'll get there. The second step is very closely related to the first step. When you make your grocery lists, write down how much each of the things on your list is going to cost you (or a close estimate). How do you do this, you ask? Well, there are several things you can do: look over old grocery receipts for items you frequently buy or, when you're at the grocery store, when you cross things off your list, write down their price. Do this over the course of several shopping trips and keep the lists with the price of the items. Chances are, you are buying many of the same items all the time, so you will begin to be able to "guesstimate" how much your grocery lists are going to be.
The third step is "set yourself a budget." Now that you know how much you're spending during your trips to the store, you can set something reasonable. Make it realistic: don't give yourself a $100 a week budget if you know you're going to end up spending $200; you will just set yourself up for failure. If you are constantly finding that you're going over budget, either up your budget or change your grocery habits.
The fourth step is meal plan. This may seem like a hassle, but not only does it help save money, it helps relieve the stress of "what's for dinner?" I plan about 6 dinners a week plus I take in to account what my husband and I are going to eat for lunches during the week. I try to make at least 3 meals that will give me leftovers either for lunches or for a full meal the next week. I write down all my meals, then I write my grocery list based on those meals. Then I add in incedentals like snacks, and things we have run out of. When my list is done, I always do a guesstimate at how much it's going to cost (as per step 2 above) to make sure I'm going to come in on budget. It takes about an hour, but it's worth it in the end. This way, you can do a big shopping trip once a week (or less, if you're a really good planner) and get most of what you need. There are always going to be things that you forget or that you need to use within a day or two of buying (certain vegetables like bean sprouts only last a few days while things like carrots and potatoes last much longer) so make sure you include a small amount in your budget for those times you have to make a quick trip to the store.
Here are a few more tips to help you stay on track:
- Keep a running list of items you run out of. We have a white board in the kitchen where we write down items we have either run out of or are low on. It helps you keep track as you run out of things rather than doing a mad dash around the house trying to figure out what you need, or not picking up something becuase you didn't realize you needed it.
- Do not be afraid of buying store brand products. Store brands have come a long way in the last couple of years in terms of quality and they are almost always cheaper than brand name. I shop at Superstore and am a big supporter of PC brand (one of Supersotre's generic brands) but I also have no problem buying many things No Name brand. There are some thngs I refuse to buy No Name though - I generally won't buy no name meat or dairy products, though I will buy PC brand.
- Beware the coupon trap. Don't get me wrong, I love a good coupon and you can get great deals. However, most coupons are for brand name products (which are almost always more expensive), or require you to purchase more than you might normally buy therefore costing you money rather than saving you money. Be sure that the coupon is for something you need or would normally buy and that you don't have to spend money to "save" money. Having to buy 3 cases of pop to save $0.50 on paper towels does not seem like a good deal to me.
- Shop the perimeter of the store. In most grocery stores, the perimeter is where are the fresh items are (fruit and vegetables, meat, dairy products and bread products). The inner aisles are generally where the pacakged products are. Shopping the perimeter will ensure that you are buying wholsome, fresh products; filling up your cart with fresh leaves less room for packaged "convenience" foods that are generally low in nutritional value and high in sodium, sugar, fat and often cost more. There are always going to be things you need from the inner aisles (tomato sauce, cereal, pasta, etc) but try to fill your cart with mostly fresh items.
I hope you have the same success I did!
