We have a $400/month grocery budget. For 2 people and 2 dogs, this is pretty high, even if it includes all household items (toothpaste and toilet paper, etc) and dog food. Over on the money boards, there are people who feed a family of 4 on less. So, if I were to need to cut our budget, this would be a good place to start. And the truth is, with rising gas and grocery prices, and a loss of income coming up at the end of June, I might very well need to take a closer look at this- or at least keeping our grocery budget where it is even as prices go up.

I am not, however, ever going to be one of the extreme coupon people. In fact, I have a hard time remembering to look at my CostCo coupons (or take them with me). So if I’m not going to spend time actively seeking out deals, what’s the key to keeping the grocery spending on track?

Planning.

I want to call out here two of the blogs over on the left of the page, The Empty Kitchen and Not So Desperate Housewife. Both of these women have busy families and really work to schedule their weekly meals. Knowing before you go to the store exactly what you are going to make for dinner this week cuts down on impulse buying and prevents the last minute grocery store run for that one item you need (which often leads to more impulse buying).
Instead, you have a menu. You have looked through your pantry/cupboards and know what you already have, and know exactly what you need. There’s no wandering up and down the aisles wondering what sounds good, no standing at the meat counter wondering if you want chicken or ground beef, and how much you should get. Instead, you know. Because you already know what’s for dinner.

We do not do this. We do have a couple tricks, though, to keep spending down.

When my husband cooks (because he is the cook in the family) he always makes enough for two nights worth of dinner. That’s right, we plan left overs. This means that on a night when we’re both tired and crabby, instead of going out to dinner, its even easier to heat up the left overs. With any luck, I can also get a lunch of it too.
We also stay fully stocked on our staples. We always have rice, penne, cream of mushroom soup, tomato paste, and milk in the house. I’m not a good cook, but with these items and some general spices, I can make a quick and easy dinner. (Caveat: We have a rice cooker. Without it, rice would not be quick or easy.) Add either some chicken or ground turkey (which we use in place of ground beef) and there can be variety in the meals. It helps that we both really like the simple dinners made from these items. And again, knowing we can have dinner ready in half hour or less cuts down on the urge to eat out.

But, you might say, after seeing my budget categories, eating out would keep the grocery budget down. True, but at a cost. Our eating out budget is $125 a month. That brings the food budget to just over $500 a month, with eating out 1/4 of that. Does that mean we can afford to eat out one week a month – 7 nights? No, we’re usually good for 2-4 dinners out, depending on where we go and whether or not we split entrées.
And the eating out budget, also a very likely place for there to be cuts once the income goes down.

This month has been a rather expensive one for us. We adopted a new dog ($300), paid our taxes ($1000), and had work done on the car ($1400). Those are all expenditures that aren’t in the normal monthly budget, though we do have savings specifically to cover these things.
However, April also happens to be a 3 paycheck month for me, and I’m also getting a small bonus.
Today I fleshed out the final April budget, accounting for these expenses. We are paying them all, along with an extra $1000 toward my graduate student loans, without pulling any money out of savings. In fact, we’ll still manage to put $500 in to savings.
This also means that as of 4/18, we will have enough money in savings to pay for a full year’s worth of full time college for my husband, even if we manage to save nothing else. (Our plan has us saving enough to cover school as he goes along.)

This isn’t a major milestone. It’s just something I realized during the day that removed a little bit of stress and worry. And isn’t that the point?

Lets start with this – I like talking about money. I know its supposed to be one of those taboo subjects in every day life, but I don’t care. I find finances, especially personal finances fascinating. And not because I’m nosy or want to know if I’m “better” than you, but because I honestly believe you can’t learn in a vacuum.

This country is currently in a financial mess, and I’m not talking about just the federal government. People are becoming entirely dependent on Social Security because they either failed to plan for retirement or their plans fell apart – 401(k)s demolished in the crash, companies abandoning pension plans, etc.
Most of us are swimming in credit card debt. Paycheck advance companies have become such big business that they advertise nationally. The housing market means many of us are just barely holding on, or on the verge of foreclosure and bankruptcy.
Kids are coming out of college with student loan debt ranging in amounts from luxury cars to mortgages. They don’t know if they’ll ever be able to retire, whether Social Security is still around or not.

There are a lot of factors contributing to this situation, and many that we the little people won’t have any control over except through our votes. While I may occassionally touch on those subjects here, that’s not hte purpose of this blog.

The purpose of this blog is to talk about the things we can control. To put ideas out there and learn from each other. If you’re making a decision in a vacuum, luck is the only chance you have of making a good one. We tell people to research smart phones, car, computers, etc., before they buy. But we rarely talk about making sound financial decisions. We consider it rude to ask about income, savings, budgeting. Most parents don’t even talk to their kids about these things. How can we expect anyone to make good financial decisions if no one talks about personal finances?

So that’s what I am here to talk about. I can talk with authority only about my personal financial situation. I will present my views on a topic, but please don’t just listen to me. Research your financial options just like you would a new car. I have links to the left with my three favorite money message boards and to other blogs where finances are at least sometimes discussed. Go there. Read what other’s think.
And if you have something to say about what I post, say it. Agree with me, disagree with me, I don’t care. Let’s have a conversation. Let’s talk about money, and maybe, just maybe, we’ll all be able to make better financial decisions because of it.