Budgeting can be hard for any circumstance, but with transition in the real world comes the budget for groceries! As of now, we live on a campus that provides lunch and dinner for us as well as surrounding restaurants that cater to all our cravings! This soon shall pass and creating a budget for grocery shopping will come in handy to prevent you from starving!
Before you even enter a store, you should plan ahead. This includes creating a budget and list of the foods you need and want to buy. You might want to go as far as planning out your meals to avoid any impulse buys. Budgeting should also account for your needs and wants as far as food. Meat and produce should account for this biggest part of your budget with other food groups following behind. Also NEVER and I mean NEVER go to the store hungry! This has happened to me plenty of times and I've ended up buying way more than I needed and the food has sometimes gone to waste!
Before shopping, you also want to check sales ads and circulars for coupons and stores that may have better deals than others. While shopping, be aware of the items that can take money from your budget where you can save. Like brand name vs generic brand. In some cases brand name items are better than the store brand but now stores are becoming better at making products that heavily compete with brand names. Brand names should apply to items such as toiletries, alcohol products, medicines and other items that may not compare to the store brand. But even when buying these, be sure to check for sales at stores and coupons that can help you save. Store brands can account for simple items like pasta sauce and noodles, spices, meats, and other snack items. These are things that are usually the same as brand name items.
Last piece of advice: try to avoid impulse buys. We always go to the store and end up buying more than we need. It's easier to do this when mom and dad are taking the bill. These "small" purchases end up taking well saved money from our budget and half the time are things that go unused. Also, use reusable bags! Its good for the environment and it saves the hassle of finding a place for those stupid plastic bags!
First of all, I love your blog! Your posts about jobs and moving out were so helpful to read! Being a senior and graduating in a few shorts months and trying to find a job is scary and reading your posts regarding things like that - I loved! You never realize how expensive grocery shopping is until you have to pay for it yourself. It's amazing how quickly things add up and you really don't realize. Being that not too far from now, I am going to be paying for everything with my own money instead of my parents - it makes you pay more attention to buying things that are on sale and being more cautious about what you buy.
ReplyDeleteThis is another amazing post! I always am the worst about grocery shopping, especially when I don't have an idea of the exact items that I need. I guess as a kid I never realized how so many little things can really add up! Next time I go shopping for groceries, I'll definitely keep your article in mind!
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