Cutting Your Grocery Budget in Eight Simple Steps

Rising grocery prices have many people trimming their grocery budget. If you don't have a grocery budget - you just throw whatever strikes your fancy into the cart- it's time to make one. Here are eight tips to help your grocery budget get in shape.

Look at your past few grocery receipts. On which type of products did you spend the most money? Impulse buys? Convenience mixes? Once you determine how much money is being spent on certain products, you can then start to trim your budget.

Impulse buys sabotage any budget! Avoid them like the plague. Before putting them into your cart, ask yourself a few questions. The obvious first question is, Do I need this item? Other questions may include Can I afford it? and Would I be willing to give up something else on my list in exchange for this product?

Many impulse buys can be easily avoided. Eat before you leave home to avoid costly drive- thru prices. Bring a cooler along with snacks and bottles of water. If you like an afternoon cup of coffee or tea, bring some in a thermos.

Are convenience foods busting your budget? Most convenience foods are overpriced and over packaged. Look online for "copycat" recipes. There are recipes for almost any brand of convenience food you like. There are also copycat recipes of many restaurant's signature dishes. Simply type in your favorite search engine 'copycat recipe for (fill in the blank).' If you would still rather buy the mixes, then consider clipping coupons. Most major newspapers have lots of coupons in the Sunday editions. Pair the coupons with sales and you could save up to 75% of the original price.

Prepare a menu. Making a menu for the week will help you know exactly what you need to purchase. Look through the pantry, freezer, and fridge. For which family favorite meals do you already have the main ingredients? These meals will be the basis of this weeks menu. Remember to leave a little extra room in the budget for items you find on sale that you use often.

Use sales ads when you prepare the menu. Are there any ingredients you need that are on sale? You've already started your menu by making meals from what you have on hand. Now browse through the sale flyers. Can you make any meals from the items on sale this week? Don't be afraid of substitution. If you always have Brussels sprouts with spaghetti, that's fine. But, if green beans are on sale this week, by all means, buy the green beans instead!

Comparison shop. Some major retail and grocery stores will honor the sales flyers of competing local stores. This saves both time and money. You can get several different sales honored in one store. Pair these savings with coupons, manager's specials and clearance items and your grocery budget will stretch considerably. Call the stores or go online to find out the store's exact policy on competitors' ads and double or triple coupons.

Plan to cook supper on shopping day. You're tired and really don't feel like cooking. Groceries still need to be put away. It's so tempting to grab a couple of pizzas on the way home. But don't! Instead, plan ahead. Use your crock pot to make supper. There are tons of free recipes on the internet for crock pot cookery. If you don't own a crock pot, then plan something easy. This would be a good time to fall back on convenience mixes, whether bought or homemade. Having leftovers on grocery shopping night is easy, too. It's basically a free meal.

The final step in following a grocery budget is the reward factor. Plan what you would like to do with your grocery savings. This keeps the money from being spent on unnecessary items. Maybe you want to pay extra on your mortgage. Put it in a savings account for a rainy day, vacation, or the children's school clothes. The list could go on and on. One good idea is to buy refillable grocery cards. Add to the balance every time you shop.

For example, if you have a grocery budget of $150 this week and you only spent $125 on groceries, you would buy a store card for $25. Next week, if you are $10 under budget, then you add $10 to the card's balance. In just a couple of months, there could be enough money on the card for a whole weeks worth of groceries!

Following these budget tips can save an average family of four thousands of dollars a year. Want proof? Think back to your last grocery shopping trip. Did you grab something from the drive- thru? A value meal costs about $5. At the store, did you buy a soda or a bottled water? Another $1. What about the trip home? A couple of pizzas for the family can cost $10 or more. Add this up. It equals $16. Sixteen dollars every week times 52 weeks a year is a whopping $832! $832 dollars a year on soda and drive- thru meals! And these estimates are pretty conservative.

Avoid impulse buys, prepare a menu and a grocery list. Eat before leaving home and take snacks and drinks with you. Comparison shop the sales flyers and use coupons. These are small changes to make that reap large rewards. Creating and sticking to a grocery budget pays off!!