Budgeting 101: Food Budget Trouble Zones

Want to read about the rest of the Budgeting 101 Series? Find it: HERE.

Budgeting 101: Class 9

Want to cut your grocery budget and save money?

Tips and Tricks for stretching your money.

Food Budgeting Trouble Zones:

It's important to know where your Trouble Zones are, because once you recognize them, you can find ways to avoid and improve them.

Most of the Main Trouble Areas in a food budget come from:

Not keeping track of spending & budget

-OR-

Lack of self discipline, whether small or large

So here are some of the common Trouble Areas:

NOT STICKING TO YOUR SHOPPING LIST
(Little by little it adds up. I wont lie...I don't always sick to my list, but that doesn't make it right.  AND I constantly am aware of the room in my budget, to keep from over spending.)

NOT PLANNING AHEAD
(This is a big one, and makes some of the biggest budget problems.  A little planning goes a long way.  Less impulse buying, less expensive convenience purchases, less waste of food going bad, less last minute runs to the store, etc. Meal planning really does save money!)

SHOPPING TOO OFTEN
(This seems minor, but the more you shop the more likely you are to buy "extra" things.  It seems small but all of those little things add up.  Plan ahead and try to shop once every two weeks.)

SHOPPING WHEN HUNGRY
(This is a killer.  Everything looks good and when you're hungry, your self discipline is weak.)

IRREGULAR PURCHASES FOR COMPANY/ENTERTAINING
(Anything from: the extra food needed, to more expensive cuts of meat...these quickly add to or break the budget. Entertaining, Holidays, etc. all are great...believe me, I love both, so planning ahead and budgeting appropriately can make this work without breaking the budget.)

TRYING NEW RECIPES
(New Recipes can push the budget, whether they need new ingredients you don't normally purchase or worse, they are a flop...wasting the ingredients and the money. This doesn't mean don't try new recipes, but definitely look into them, their cost and plan appropriately.)

STORE GIMMICKS
(Stores are there to make money. Understand store set up…and how they can fool you. Just because items are in the aisle or on the end caps with fancy signs, doesn't mean they are a great price. Stores place foods and treats by the checkout stands, and right as you enter the store.  They know what will sell and encourage impulsive purchases.)

Take a little time to plan and you can save lots of money on groceries each month, while still eating well!

Interested in more ways to save check out these other Budgeting Tips:

Coupons

How to Save Money

Price Matching

Our Full Budget System

Meal Planning Saves Money

Cooking For Less

Monthly Grocery Shopping

My Envelope System

Groceries and Household Items for $300 a Month

Budgeting 101: How We Save Money

Want to read about the rest of the Budgeting 101 Series? Find it: HERE.

How We Save Money
Budgeting 101: Class 8

Saving money isn't just on food.  Although Food and Household needs add up quickly, anywhere you can find to cut back or save a bit helps a lot in the long run.

Thankfully, my husband has a great job, and most of these little penny pinching strategies we don't actually need to do... but that doesn't mean we need to live up to our full paycheck.  And it also doesn't mean that saving money and living on a budget lower your quality of life.  In fact, we have gone through many different stages of spending and I am so much happier when we are on a budget.

So I compiled a list of all the little things I could think of that our family does to save money.

How We Save Money:

We Never buy on credit (other than a home)... if we don’t have the money we save for it.

We Don't pay for Cable or Dish Network. We have Basic Channels and Netflix.

We Don't have Spendy Cell Phone & Plans (We have data and text, but we share minutes and buy the phones you can get free with you plan.)

We buy Off Brand

Many food items, household & cleaning items, hygiene products, etc. we buy off brand. Very few things do I notice a difference between the brands... But I do have some things I will buy name brand like, Saran Wrap.

When we do buy name brands I look for sales, coupons, etc. Most everything we wear is a sale item or clearance item.  The more you save, the more you can buy.

We avoid Fast Food

This also includes drinks.  We avoid fast food and never buy soft drinks. Both of these aren’t healthy and the cost adds up quickly.  As we have cut back it also is now a reward to our kids instead of an expectation.  And Happy Meals are for a “kid date” or special occasion/reward.  

Utilities:

-We watch our “energy” to cut back on Utilities. Keep the thermostat a degree cooler in the winter and warmer in the summer.

-Open blinds to let the sun naturally warm up the house, then close them in the evening to keep the heat in.  Grab an extra blanket and wear slippers.

-Turn the water off as you brush your teeth, wash laundry only when you have a full load, etc.  All the little things add up.
-More Energy Saving Tips Found: Here

Entertainment:

Are there times we do big exciting entertainment?  Yes…but more often we have found cutting back is just as fun and then the big events are even more of a special occasion.

 Restaurants- We don’t have to live it up big, to have a great time.  Olive Garden, PF Chang’s, Cheesecake Factory our the “high end” restaurants we now go to.  And we are still having just as much fun as we did before we cut back. We also enjoy grabing In-N-Out for part of our date night…it is less of where we eat, but more of liking the food and enjoying the company.

 Movies- We don’t go to the Movies as often, and if we do, we try to buy theater tickets on discounted sales like Groupon, or go to Dollar Movies, the Drive Ins…or wait for it to come on Redbox and Netflix.

Other- Use coupons, Groupon, etc to find deals on entertainment.

Entertain at home.  Invite friends over…instead of always going out, make it a fun night in.

Trade babysitting with neighbors…and plan some dates “at home” after the kids go to bed.

Home:

Although I LOVE decorating,  I have learned to work on a tight budget.  I garage sale, shop Craig’s List, KSL, Second Hand, and Clearance.  We haven’t bought new furniture for our home, with exception to my living room couches and still only because we found a better close out deal on them then I could second hand.  And our furniture still looks great and is in style.

Kids:

Over all my philosophy with kid and baby stuff is: less is more.  And even though I try to be a minimalist, somehow we always have toys over flowing, and more clothes than we need.

Baby items- after the baby showers….garage sales are my next stop and 2^nd hand consignment stores or craigslist.  Lots of people sell things that are in great condition.
I also buy store brand diapers from Walmart and Target, or on great deals through Amazon.

Toys- from holidays, gifts, and “rewards” they have more than plenty and my kids really don’t need more, but garage sales are AMAZING for toys!  So I find we end up getting more than I ever planned on and I spend very little money. And these garage sale finds can still be used for rewards and gifts.

Clothing: We have been blessed with cute hand-me-downs, but I also buy a ton on clearance.  The Children’s Place has great sales, Target, and so many more stores.  Personally I find clearance items to be a better buy than second hand stores.  But that could be where I live, with tons of kids around things seem very picked over.

I take the extra effort to clean, patch holes, and hand down cloths between my kids. I still end up buying some new clothes, but only a few and it saves a lot of money.

Kid's Rewards and Responsibilities- I also, don't buy my kids toys and treats at the store.  Well, I do, but they don't get them just because I found them...they have to earn them. This has helped us cut back, because our kids no longer "ask" for everything they see at the store.  I tell them how much the item costs, or how many reward "tickets" they need to earn to be able to purchase it. I didn't intend this to be a way to help our budget/spending, but it totally has.  Also, rewards and treats can be from the dollar store and inexpensive items.

Auto:
Oil Changes: My husband changes the oil in the cars
Washing: We wash our own cars, or find a great deal
Maintenance: My husband has "self taught" himself how to fix and repair our cars needs.  Yes, there are times he can't do it all...and then he looks around for the best deal

A few other random things:

Hair Cuts- I cut ALL of our hair. (It really does save up)

We love free places: Local Libraries, Parks, Splash Pads, etc.

Landscaping: We do our own yard work, purchase clearance plants, and buy yard equipment off craigslist and KSL.

Home Repairs: We do our own repairs.

I refill my own Foaming Soap (way cheaper than buying) Find it: HERE

We buy our Electronics Refurbished/Used: TV, Computers, etc

And yes there are times we SPLURGE.

You still can splurge...but check your budget, plan for it and Save.

I am always looking for more ways to save and cut back.  So share any tips you have!

Budgeting 101: Coupons

Want to read about the rest of the Budgeting 101 Series? Find it: HERE.

Couponing

Budgeting 101: Class 7

Coupons:

As I mentioned at first,  I am not a fancy couponer.  I tried serious couponing in the past and it has some good advantages.  But personally for my life style it wasn’t as successful.  I didn’t want to commit enough time to make it more profitable.  But for those of you that do, then keep it up!

The Couponing Process I do use is rather simple.

I check through the circulars I get in the mail, like Red Plum, and I keep any coupons for things I already plan on buying or  … I keep ones for cleaning supplies, Beauty Supplies, etc. 

When I have my shopping list I check this website:

For any coupons that will match the things I am purchasing.  Usually they have a milk coupon (any brand) and cheese coupon (any brand),  cereal, and a few others I might need.

I then use Price Matching and add my coupons to the price matched items and items on my shopping list at Walmart. I also use coupons at Winco. Neither Walmart or Winco double coupons, but with the better price matching and sale prices it saves a lot.

Helpful Sites:

These sites compile lists of sale items in local grocery stores. They have a rating for how good the sale is and they connect the information/link for  any coupons that work for these deals.  It is very convenient!

It also can be referred to when you want to know how good a deal/sale is.

SmartSource.com
Coupons.com
CouponDivas.com
TheGroceryGame.com
SavvyShopperdeals.com
MyGroceryDeals.com 

When Shopping:

But when I am shopping, I still double check that the store brand isn’t cheaper than the name brand item with a coupon. USUALLY, I find the store brand is cheaper than a name brand item with a coupon.  Unless, the name brand is on sale and the coupon savings can be added to the sale price.

*BUT, don't misunderstand, "Real Couponers" can find the sales, double/triple coupons, etc to make the deals even better...Which is amazing. But the process didn't work for my life style, so I settle for these simple ways of saving money.

Things I find profitable to coupon:

-Health and Beauty Products

-Cleaning Supplies

-Cereal

-Milk & Cheese (when it is for any brand)

-Items you ONLY buy the name brand of

-Lunch Meat (Land-O-Frost)

-Detergent

Budgeting 101: Price Matching

Want to read about the rest of the Budgeting 101 Series? 
Find it: HERE.

Price Matching
Budgeting 101: Class 5

Price Matching:

I don’t like running to multiple stores.

So I price match.

I price match at Walmart.

Because they encourage it and make it
easy and stress free.
And you can add your coupons ON TOP 
of the sale price you are "price matching."

Price Matching Can Sound Nerve Racking.
But…It’s actually rather simple.

I first was rather nervous, but after a trip I realized it is easy to do.

So here are the Basic Steps:

 

1. First Find the Deals: 
Look in the Weekly Ads (both newspaper and via internet) as well as  great sites such as:
GrocerySmarts.Com  Pinching Your Pennies  My Grocery Deals  Savvy Shopper Deals
(These sites, show all the stores in your area and the sale prices with a ranking of how good the sale is. Easy to compile and compare)

*NOTE: You wont save money if you decide to buy things, just because it’s on sale.

Look for the deals on items you need and list them. 

2. To Price Match You Need to Know:

-Item's brand (You can match store brand from one store to Walmart's Store brand, Great Value)
-Size/Amount (pounds, ounces, etc)
-Variety
-Price
-The Store the item is on sale at.

*The Stores Policy: You can find this on their Store Website or ask at the customer service desk.
Walmart let's you price match if the items above match the item they sell. They do not match Buy One Get One ____, deals.  This is because the original price of the "buy one" is different at the varying Stores. 

Example: Brand: Kellogg's Cereal, Size: 15-17oz, Varieties: Corn Flakes, Pops & Fruit Loops, Price: $1.99, Store on Sale: Smith's Grocery

3. SHOPPING LIST: 

List, includes all the information mentioned above. I use a few simple abbreviations to make my list easier.

Mine looks like this:
    Pops: K. Cereal/ 15-17 ($1.99 @S)

4. Shop

A little organization when shopping, makes the trip stress free and run smoothly. When I go to the store I keep all the items to price match in the front of my cart, separate from regular priced items.  Be sure to check each item is the right match (brand, size, variety, etc) as you put it in the cart.

5. At Check Out: 
When checking out, I put all of the price match items on first.  Keeping the same items together, it makes it faster and much less confusing. I immediately tell the cashier that I have a some items to price match. (Often they ask me before they begin.) And then I read from my list of sale prices.  

For example: Roma Tomatoes are $0.69 per pound….Libby’s Green Beans $0.50 a can, I have ten cans…”
Then I after they have rung up ALL of my items I had them any coupons I have. 
(Both on price matched items and regular items)

*It is always a great practice to watch as they ring up, making sure they don't make any mistakes. But I rarely find mistakes.

NOTE: If you are price matching an item in multiple varieties, it helps the cashier if you group the same variety types together.  For Example: matching Pillsbury Cake Mix, put them in groups of Vanilla, Chocolate, Funfetti, etc.  Then tell the cashier how many of each variety you have. This makes the process faster, the cashier happier, and you less confusion.

Other Tips: 
I prefer the Young Male cashiers.  That probably sounds funny, but it is actually because they are the fastest.  Obviously this isn’t 100%, but I find it is most of the time.

Walmart no longer requires you to bring the adds, but I always have them in my purse just in case there is any confusion.  I have only used them once in 6 years, but I figure I prefer to be prepared. It also can come in handy when shopping if I need to double check what the variety or sale is.