Budget madness

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M

MissCris

Guest
#1
Budgets. Most of us gotta have ‘em, but sticking to them can be frustrating.

I have a moderate grocery budget; I plan two weeks of meals at a time, including snacks and drinks for four people...and four cats...and nine chickens (their food is part of our food budget). Once I have the meals sorted out, I make my list- and write out for each item the estimated cost, before adding it all up and often having to start over.

The coffee we buy recently went up two dollars, and it threw my whole system out of whack.

Anyway! I was wondering, how do you all stick to your budgets? What are some creative ways you save money?
 
S

SpoonJuly

Guest
#2
Budgets. Most of us gotta have ‘em, but sticking to them can be frustrating.

I have a moderate grocery budget; I plan two weeks of meals at a time, including snacks and drinks for four people...and four cats...and nine chickens (their food is part of our food budget). Once I have the meals sorted out, I make my list- and write out for each item the estimated cost, before adding it all up and often having to start over.

The coffee we buy recently went up two dollars, and it threw my whole system out of whack.

Anyway! I was wondering, how do you all stick to your budgets? What are some creative ways you save money?
Buy first, than plan your meals around what you can afford to buy.
Buy non perishable foods in large amounts when on sale.
Stay away from quick fix meals.
Check another grocery store and shop around for the best price.
Thy store brands, especially coffee, it is often as good as name brands.
If have to compromise on coffee, do so.
 
T

Tinuviel

Guest
#3
Budgeting I am frankly quite horrible at :D. Saving money, not so much. That, I can do.

If I'm not planning on buying something at a store (if I'm shopping with my sisters or whatever), the purse stays in the car! That way, you'd have to be pretty desperate for something if you trotted out to the car to get your purse. This works extra specially well in winter :p

If I have money I'm putting aside, put it aside for a purpose...even if that's not the purpose it ends up fulfilling (eg I'll put money away much better if I tell myself it is for a new car than if I just save for the sake of saving...even if the "new car" money eventually goes into long-term savings).

Before going clothing shopping, I make a list of exactly what I need and stick to it. For some reason, I don't have a problem with this in grocery shopping, but clothing shopping is a riot--maybe because I want to get done faster? Anyway, the number of shirts, exactly what kind of shoes, skirts, etc. Otherwise, I come home upset because I forgot something, or I come home upset because I don't have room for the 365 shirts that I somehow ended up with--and NO socks! lol Grocery shopping, a vague entry like "fruit" on the list is usually enough. I don't have to say exactly how many oranges I need.
 
M

Miri

Guest
#4
I do my grocery shopping on line and get it delivered.

Its quick easy, you can see the prices as you go along and the total.
You can search out the buy one get one frees and special offers at a click,
rather than trailing around the entire supermarket.

You can instantly compare the price of, say all apples if you want apples.

The supermarkets often give freebies and vouchers to use on line that I would
not get in store.

Some weeks might be a small shop and therefore cheaper. Other weeks it might be a
larger shop so it all balances out.

The supermarket I use refunds you the money back if you don’t like something!


Plus its less tempting to buy what you don’t need and you don’t pick up stuff cos you
can’t remember whether you need it or not, just a quick check in the kitchen then carry
on clicking away. :)
 
D

Depleted

Guest
#5
Budgets. Most of us gotta have ‘em, but sticking to them can be frustrating.

I have a moderate grocery budget; I plan two weeks of meals at a time, including snacks and drinks for four people...and four cats...and nine chickens (their food is part of our food budget). Once I have the meals sorted out, I make my list- and write out for each item the estimated cost, before adding it all up and often having to start over.

The coffee we buy recently went up two dollars, and it threw my whole system out of whack.

Anyway! I was wondering, how do you all stick to your budgets? What are some creative ways you save money?
We're on the no-choice budget. No credit cards, own a house, so stuff falls apart, and no landlord to fix it for us, no chance of more income floating our way, and each year our money stays the same while inflation rises.

Either we spend as little as possible, or we run out of money before we run out of month.

(Can you guess which month is my favorite month? The shortest one. lol)
 
D

Depleted

Guest
#6
Buy first, than plan your meals around what you can afford to buy.
Buy non perishable foods in large amounts when on sale.
Stay away from quick fix meals.
Check another grocery store and shop around for the best price.
Thy store brands, especially coffee, it is often as good as name brands.
If have to compromise on coffee, do so.
What nonperishable foods are good for you? The three main ingredient for prepackaged foods are salt, sugar, and grease.

(And, boy, I sound like a health nut, but not really. We have to watch our blood pressure, I'm diabetic, and lost my gall bladder, so don't digest grease well anymore. lol)
 
S

SpoonJuly

Guest
#7
What nonperishable foods are good for you? The three main ingredient for prepackaged foods are salt, sugar, and grease.

(And, boy, I sound like a health nut, but not really. We have to watch our blood pressure, I'm diabetic, and lost my gall bladder, so don't digest grease well anymore. lol)
We store extra coffee, tea, pasta, dry beans, rice, flour, can goods, jelly, honey, almost anything that does not need to be kept in the ref or freezer.
Peanut butter and can goods have a 2-3 year self life and can be stored with ease.
Last week a local store had can tomatoes on sale for 28 cents each. We bought 100 cans for $28. Good until 2021.
Saved us $51.
Last month found coffee at $4.19, $2 off reg price. Bought 20 cans, one year supply. Saved us $40.
Takes a little work to rotate and watch dates, but saves a lot of money.
 
Aug 2, 2009
24,574
4,262
113
#8
I shop at walmart even though it is my least favorite store because they have by far the lowest prices in town...

oh and Costco, my second least favorite store because its always so busy...

I might feel like I desperately want to strangle someone, but at least I saved a few bucks.. :rolleyes:

 
S

SpoonJuly

Guest
#9
I shop at walmart even though it is my least favorite store because they have by far the lowest prices in town...

oh and Costco, my second least favorite store because its always so busy...

I might feel like I desperately want to strangle someone, but at least I saved a few bucks.. :rolleyes:

My local independent grocer is cheaper than Walmart and 30 miles closer to home.
They also have real meat, not that junk Walmart sells.
 

tourist

Senior Member
Mar 13, 2014
41,243
16,252
113
69
Tennessee
#10
I shop at walmart even though it is my least favorite store because they have by far the lowest prices in town...

oh and Costco, my second least favorite store because its always so busy...

I might feel like I desperately want to strangle someone, but at least I saved a few bucks.. :rolleyes:

I don't care for Walmart because the service is lousy, almost impossible to find an associate and when you do they have no idea on what you're talking about, not knowledgeable at all even in their own area. Also, very few cashiers means long lines. I like Costco, yes it's always busy but there are plenty of cashiers and you can't beat their price, of course you are buying in bulk and that is not always a good thing for some items such as cereal and spices. Walmart's prices are low also but it can be quite a hassle shopping there.
 

tourist

Senior Member
Mar 13, 2014
41,243
16,252
113
69
Tennessee
#11
I do my grocery shopping on line and get it delivered.

Its quick easy, you can see the prices as you go along and the total.
You can search out the buy one get one frees and special offers at a click,
rather than trailing around the entire supermarket.

You can instantly compare the price of, say all apples if you want apples.

The supermarkets often give freebies and vouchers to use on line that I would
not get in store.

Some weeks might be a small shop and therefore cheaper. Other weeks it might be a
larger shop so it all balances out.

The supermarket I use refunds you the money back if you don’t like something!


Plus its less tempting to buy what you don’t need and you don’t pick up stuff cos you
can’t remember whether you need it or not, just a quick check in the kitchen then carry
on clicking away. :)
We have been buying online too for certain items. Always get free shipping if the total is at least $35. Right now, about 1/3 of our shopping is online but I can see that percentage getting higher. It's usually cheaper too. Can't beat it.
 
S

SpoonJuly

Guest
#12
I don't care for Walmart because the service is lousy, almost impossible to find an associate and when you do they have no idea on what you're talking about, not knowledgeable at all even in their own area. Also, very few cashiers means long lines. I like Costco, yes it's always busy but there are plenty of cashiers and you can't beat their price, of course you are buying in bulk and that is not always a good thing for some items such as cereal and spices. Walmart's prices are low also but it can be quite a hassle shopping there.
Often wondered why Walmart invest in 30 registers in a store and never have more than 7 or 8 open.
Just never made since to me.
 
S

SpoonJuly

Guest
#13
We have been buying online too for certain items. Always get free shipping if the total is at least $35. Right now, about 1/3 of our shopping is online but I can see that percentage getting higher. It's usually cheaper too. Can't beat it.
Not my wife. If she can not pick it up and look at all sides, no sale.
 
Mar 11, 2016
3,055
241
63
Singapore
abigail.pro
#14
I use a combination of a budget app and excel files. :D

I don't do groceries at one go anymore, but I know around how much I'll need for an entire month. I don't cook and I only eat take away food cause there's a lot of stores around me and their food is much better than my cooking.

So, the moment I get some money, I update my excel files: one for the main budget (all major expenses), my school budget (detailed school tuition fees breakdown) and my tithes budget (my tithes is split between two different countries and I like tracking it).

Then, I add my grocery / take away food (I usually just allocate $500 / month for this) budget to my budgeting app. https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/daily-budget-original/id651896614?mt=8 It's a very simple app and works exactly as I need it to.
 
D

Depleted

Guest
#15
We store extra coffee, tea, pasta, dry beans, rice, flour, can goods, jelly, honey, almost anything that does not need to be kept in the ref or freezer.
Peanut butter and can goods have a 2-3 year self life and can be stored with ease.
Last week a local store had can tomatoes on sale for 28 cents each. We bought 100 cans for $28. Good until 2021.
Saved us $51.
Last month found coffee at $4.19, $2 off reg price. Bought 20 cans, one year supply. Saved us $40.
Takes a little work to rotate and watch dates, but saves a lot of money.
Ohhhh, those packaged items. And I was picturing cookies, Fritoes, Hot Pockets, Ramon noodles, and cereal. That makes so much more sense now! Thank you! lol

Also, $.28 for canned tomatoes? Wow! We're excited when they're less than a buck a can. You may have just out-thriftied my dad, and he is the thriftiest person I ever met.
 
D

Depleted

Guest
#16
I don't care for Walmart because the service is lousy, almost impossible to find an associate and when you do they have no idea on what you're talking about, not knowledgeable at all even in their own area. Also, very few cashiers means long lines. I like Costco, yes it's always busy but there are plenty of cashiers and you can't beat their price, of course you are buying in bulk and that is not always a good thing for some items such as cereal and spices. Walmart's prices are low also but it can be quite a hassle shopping there.
Actually my big beef with Walmart is they run out of bananas. Who runs out of bananas?
 
Aug 2, 2009
24,574
4,262
113
#17
My local independent grocer is cheaper than Walmart and 30 miles closer to home.
They also have real meat, not that junk Walmart sells.
You're lucky because all the groceries around here are unionized labor so the prices are a lot higher than walmart or target. In fact, I noticed that the grocery's sale prices are the same as walmart's regular price. I'm not knocking the grocery workers union, just the prices..
 
Aug 2, 2009
24,574
4,262
113
#18
I don't care for Walmart because the service is lousy, almost impossible to find an associate and when you do they have no idea on what you're talking about, not knowledgeable at all even in their own area. Also, very few cashiers means long lines. I like Costco, yes it's always busy but there are plenty of cashiers and you can't beat their price, of course you are buying in bulk and that is not always a good thing for some items such as cereal and spices. Walmart's prices are low also but it can be quite a hassle shopping there.
The walmart workers here used to always seem grumpy and didnt care if they were in your way, but just about 2 months ago that seems to have stopped and now they are actually saying hi and how are you when you come near them. I wonder if maybe they found out that walmart is laying people off or something. I don't think they are, but something definitely changed and its kind of funny..
 

Deade

Called of God
Dec 17, 2017
16,724
10,529
113
77
Vinita, Oklahoma, USA
yeshuaofisrael.org
#19
Well Depleted, if your Walmart runs out of anything: something is wrong with the manager. A good manager will track sales and keep stocked with supplies. 77.gif
 
Last edited:

Huckleberry

Senior Member
Aug 25, 2013
1,698
96
48
#20
Budgets. Most of us gotta have ‘em, but sticking to them can be frustrating.

I have a moderate grocery budget; I plan two weeks of meals at a time, including snacks and drinks for four people...and four cats...and nine chickens (their food is part of our food budget). Once I have the meals sorted out, I make my list- and write out for each item the estimated cost, before adding it all up and often having to start over.

The coffee we buy recently went up two dollars, and it threw my whole system out of whack.

Anyway! I was wondering, how do you all stick to your budgets? What are some creative ways you save money?
We learned budgeting from Dave Ramsey.
I use his "envelope system" religiously, and it works good for us.
We allocate a specific amount per month for food and
household expenses such as soap, toothpaste, etc.
We don't go over that amount, or it wouldn't be a budget.
The dogs' food is part of a separate allocation specifically for them which includes a
little extra each month so when they need to go to the vet, the money's already there.

Ways we save money aren't really creative, just old-fashioned.
-With the exception of our mortgage, we don't borrow money for anything, ever.
-We heat our house exclusively with wood.
-We don't have a/c, but summer is short
here and we have an above-ground pool.
-We grow some of our own food.
-We don't have cable or satellite TV, just over-the-air stations.
-We pay cash for our vehicles, which means they are not new.
-Since we have no car payments, we only carry liability,
which only costs me $700 a year for our four vehicles.
-I do as much work on our house and vehicles as I can.
-We buy a lot of clothes, furniture, appliances, and housewares second hand.
-We save empty glass jars and use them for drinking glasses.
-My wife does all the haircutting in our house, including her own.
-My wife makes her own laundry detergent for relatively cheap,
and she swears it's better than the stuff you can buy at the store.
-We dry our clothes on the line whenever possible,
but today it's snowing so the dryer's running.