Manage My Budget

Watching the nightly news isn’t the only place you can learn about the economic down-turn. I just look at the balance in our checking account. When day-to-day life revolves around counting pennies, you have to look at every single function of your household to figure out where to cut costs. The grocery store is probably the easiest and fastest way to trim your budget. Ordinarily, I plan a week’s menu, draw up my list, and hit the grocery store. But, “ordinary” wouldn’t describe our financial situation now. So, now I have taken another tactic. What would happen if I shopped the sales and forced myself to cook only what I could buy at a reduced price?

When you walk into the grocery store, you’ll notice a remarkable thing. You can’t turn down any aisle without walking into a “Buy-One-Get-One-Free” sign, a “Price Cut” sign, or a “Reduced Items” sign. I started to think, what if I only chose items on sale? Could I make dinner with just those ingredients?

This creative cooking may take some getting used to, especially if you are a person who normally sticks to recipes. But, you know what sorts of foods your family will eat, and what they won’t, so you already have a guideline. When you decide to give this a try, be sure to plan on shopping at the grocery store on a weekend. It may be busier, but there’s a reason for that. The biggest sales occur on the weekends. You’ll find that the same item you looked at on Wednesday or Thursday may be half the price on Saturday.

You will need a little strategy when you walk into the grocery store. Plan to shop the exterior aisles of the store first as that’s where most stores display the “main ingredients”; vegetables, meat, fish, poultry, cheese, and dairy. Fill your cart first with these items, only the ones you find on sale, and you will see your meals start to develop. Don’t worry… you’ll find plenty of specials in all these sections of any grocery store.

Time to take a spin through the other aisles, the ones in the middle. Don’t ponder too much about what exactly to pick out; just let those little “prices cut” signs guide you. If your family likes black beans, and they’re on sale, grab some, and move on. As you fill your cart, you will notice that, with very little thought, your menu is being formed. With the pantry items at home, you will certainly be able to plan dinner.

We need to discuss coupons. Are you a coupon clipper? That’s a great way to take advantage of every sale possible. One warning though; only use coupons on things that you are actually going to use. If you buy a food item and leave it sitting in your cupboard gathering dust, it really isn’t saving you money. Paper and cleaning products, however, are another story. If you are agreeable to trying new products, then by all means, clip and buy. In other words, if your family is not “married” to a certain bath soap, why not save a few cents on the brand that offers a coupon?

This is an opportunity to get your kids involved sorting your groceries using the food pyramid. You’ve got some protein, vegetables, fruit, dairy, and grains spread out in front of you. Once you sort all your grocery items into groups, you can start pulling food from each group and creating meals right then and there! Select some pantry items like pasta and rice and you are well on your way to a full menu plan. Wasn’t that smart of you?

Shopping several times a month using a “sales items only” strategy will begin to pay off very quickly. Watch your grocery bill shrink while you create unique menus that have your family asking why you never thought of this meal before. You may even find out that you can really cook! I challenge you to give this strategy a chance and see if you can’t trim your grocery budget and cook creatively in the process.

If you’re ready to get started, here are some great tips on saving on food and some grocery budget guidelines for your family. By implementing a few of these tips, you can start saving money this week.

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