Groceries

Author: Kevin Mogollon Cabellos Editor: Kevin Mogollon Cabellos Learn More: FoodAccounts.com

How to Budget Groceries?

It seems absurd to buy from only one grocery store without weighing other options

Finances has never been a enoyable

task by any means. Having to balance a salary income between home, auto, health, food, and any unexpected costs can create one of the most frustrating gut-punching feelings that many people have to face unprepared. Unfortunately, this is the case for a majoirty of adults that had little to no financial literacy courses during high school or college. A grand total of 78 percent of people live paycheck to paycheck according to a CareerBuilder survey in 2019. With three out of five Americans not having a budget at all according to JP Morgan Chase. Another study according by FINRA Investor Education Foundation showed that there has now a distinct trend of declining financial literacy. This could lead to years of crippling debt building. One of the best ways to avoid debt is to start a stable budget. An standard monthly budget typically looks like this: housing should be 20-35 perchent of overall income, next comes insurance at 10-25 percent. An emergency fund technically can count as a savings account, however, a majority of budgets set it apart and put around 10-20 percent of total income. Next comes transportation which should be around 10-15 percent, food takes a total of 10-15 of a budget, utilities such as the internet are around 10-15 percent, healthcare is 5-10 percent, with a final 5-10 percent for personal spending. Whatever is left is typically then used in an overall savings account. The example on the left gives a well rounded budget, something to rember is that budgets can vary drastically from person to person.

Food Budget

Food then becomes one of the most important aspects to budget for. It is also one the hardest to budget due to a constantly changing market. For example, when budgeting for food people need to take into account the price of food in different stores and the number coupons or discounts they could use. The biggest mistake being to make buy food at a wasteful price causing a budget deficit.

The first part of starting a proper budget for groceries is to take into account how much money is actually there to budget. In other words, a full budget that encompasses all aspects of a person’s life is needed and can not be skipped over. Once the full amount of money that is going to be spent on food is recorded the next steps can be taken. From the amount of food budgeting, more subdivisions are needed again. For example, the food budget encompasses things like groceries, restaurants, and food orders such as Doordash or Uber Eats. This part of a budget heavily depends on how much a person wants to spend, however, it is recommended that the majority of the food budget be spent on groceries. Restaurant meals quickly add can quickly end up costing well around 20 dollars per person if not more. On the other hand, Doordash or UberEats orders slowly build up a big amount of money without a person noticing. A simple 10 dollar order has to then be taxed with then each restaurant or fast food placing their own delivery fee, which can go up to a whole six dollars, which does not include a tipping fee for the driver. Making the price be around the same if not more than for a restaurant.

Grocery Budget

Groceries are where most people should spend a majority of their food budget. In other words, groceries can become one of the best ways to save money which can then be spent somewhere else or saved for the emergency fund. Making a list of what to buy in one grocery store is a quite mundane activity that most people already do naturally. However, what is often overlooked is the store in which to buy things. Many stores have various prices that fluctuate up and down based on the market. It seems absurd to buy from only one grocery store without weighing other options. On the other hand, it is not uncommon to search in multiple different stores for clothes, electronics, or entertainment. Searching in multiple different stores allows a better understanding of how much an item is generally worth. In turn, this allows the consumer to put a price limit on how much to spend on a certain item while getting a view of what stores sell this item at the price and quality that they want. Visiting multiple stores also lets consumers find and stack on coupons which are not to be underestimated.

The Power of Cupons

At first glance coupons may seem useless, since saving a few dollars does not seem to do much for an overall total purchase. Over time though coupons end up stacking up to save quite a lot of money. A purchase of 20 dollars could be reduced to 16 dollars. With multiple purchases saving four dollars each time, a bill that would have been made by five 20 dollars purchases resulting in a 100 dollars spend would be reduced to only 80 dollars. With various stores giving both in-store and online coupons the consumer has the ability to pick and choose what coupons they need to use along with the store. Creating a budget for groceries does not need to be complicated. Looking at different stores for the best prices and coupons is a huge starting point in creating a budget. After all, being able to control one’s own wallet has become a new crucial life skill for surviving the modern world.