Where’s your Grocery Money Going

One of the first keep steps in creating a financial budget is to track where your money is going. Once you understand where you are spending your money, you can decide if it’s necessary and if there is someplace you can cut back.

Grocery budgets are the same way, you have so much money each time and you need to buy the food your family needs. But are there food areas you are spending too much? Can you cut back?

The first thing to do is keep a few weeks of grocery receipts. After each trip make an excel sheet of your food categories, such as meat, fruit, veggies, snacks, pre made meals, drinks, dairy, breads and so on.

Now just do a general overview. You don’t have to do down to the penny (unless you want too J). Get a basic idea of where your food money is going.

Then ask yourself, where can I cut back and how? If you are spending a lot in fruits and veggies – that’s great, are you using all you buy? Maybe the meats category – are you buying what’s on sale?

You can always see if you can make it yourself. Snacks are easy to make and won’t be filled with preservatives and lots of sugar. Make a pan of your own chewy granola bars and place them in plastic baggies for the week.

Another area easy to cut back on is in the breads category. If you eat sides of bread with some of your meals, it is fairly easy to make your own rolls. Simple buttermilk biscuits and popovers compliment any meal and take just minutes to prepare. (I’ll be sure to write a post under Doable Doughs soon with those two recipes!)

You may be surprised to find where your cash is going. Making just a few items yourself can save you lots in the long run!

To see more money saving grocery tips, visit Grocery Mama.