In order to grow your fund, you need to set a grocery budget. The idea of setting a budget can be extremely overwhelming. It’s very important that you take a deep breath and set a realistic goal. Here’s the steps to follow to set your family’s grocery budget:
1. Gather up all receipts, bank statements, credit card statements etc from the past few months. Go through each of them and figure out what you spent at the grocery store and what you spent going out to eat. Start with 3 months ago and figure out what you spent in that month. Do the same with 2 months ago and then what you have spent in the past month. Add all 3 numbers together and divide them by 3.
Now pick your jaw up off the floor. It’s going to get better. (If you don’t have your statements, spend a good 5-10 minutes racking your brain to try to figure out what you might have spent. I’m sure it will come to you, eventually.)
The reason I told you to add up what you spent going out to eat is because I want you to get a realistic figure. You could have gone out to eat for dinner every night in that month and only spent $150 at the grocery store. Obviously $150 would not be your realistic budget amount.
2. What you spent in the past month is a great starting figure. I want you to divide that number (your monthly average) by 4 and that is your new weekly grocery/dining out budget. If that figure seems incredibly overwhelming, you can go ahead and reduce it by 10%. If you reduce it too much, you are setting yourself up to fail. While you are learning to coupon, you need some wiggle room!
Be sure to pick the date that your grocery budget will reset. Mine resets every Thursday.
3. For the next 2 weeks, I want you to take a very realistic approach to couponing. I don’t want you to set your expectations too high. It is very important that you don’t overwhelm yourself because couponing can/is very overwhelming at times.
Here’s what I want you to do:
- Gather up the store ad(s) and plan your menu based on what is on sale. Before going to the store, I want you to visit their website and read thru their rewards programs. (Be sure to check out my tips on how to shop at your store.) It’s also great if you can find a blogger who covers your store’s deals (find that list here or google your grocery store’s name. Usually a blogger will be listed on the first page of results).
- Pick one drug store to shop at. Shopping at more than one will be very overwhelming when you are starting out.
- Check out the Walmart and Target deals and add them to your list if you want/need to.
- Read through the Getting Started series if you haven’t already.
- Go shopping by yourself or with a friend. Don’t take your kids on your first trip out if you don’t absolutely have to.
- Keep saying to yourself “Okay. My weekly grocery/dining out budget is X amount. I am NOT going to spend over that amount and anything that is left, I can add to my fund if I want.”
4. After the initial 2 weeks is over, I want you to take a look at what you spent verses what your grocery budget is. If you managed to save a substantial amount less than what you spent, go ahead and reduce your budget by another 10%. If you spent close to your budget amount, wait another 2 weeks before evaluating it again.
5. Every 2 weeks I want you to compare what you spent verses what your budget is. While in theory it would be great if your budget was $250 a week for groceries and you only spent $50 and were able to save the other $200 in your fund, that is not always practical. There is a chance that you were overspending on groceries/dining out and other areas of your budget were suffering because of it. It is important that you get your weekly grocery budget down to a practical amount.
Example:
The Smith Family (Mom, Dad, Daughter, Son) has not followed a grocery budget for some time. Mrs. Smith goes to the grocery store a couple times a week without a shopping list. She throws whatever appeals to her in the cart and when she gets to the register, she groans as she swipes her credit card. Mr. Smith goes out to lunch everyday and picks up take out a few nights a week. On the weekend, they stop for fast food and go out for dinner on Sunday night.
When Mrs. Smith sits down to figure out her grocery budget, she adds up what they spent at the store. She is pleasantly surprised to see she is able to feed her family of 4 for just $450 a month. But then she adds up all their dining out costs. She is shocked to realize she has spent an average of $1100 a month on food for the past 3 months. No wonder they are starting to feel the squeeze in their bank account and their bills are getting paid a little later than they used to.
So Mrs. Smith decides to set her budget. She could say “Ok, I am going to set my budget at $100 a week.” But that isn’t realistic for her family. They have got to change their spending habits and if the first week out of the gate she sets the budget too low, they will fail and say this isn’t worth it and give up. So following this advice, Mrs. Smith sets her budget at $275 a week. She gets out the ads for her local grocery stores and sets a meal plan for the week based on what is on sale (she doesn’t try anything new, she sticks with meals the family likes and she knows how to cook). She plans at least 5 meals that she will cook and 2 meals of convenience foods. (The Smith Family is less likely to go out for pizza if they know they have a couple of their favorite pizzas at home in the freezer.) She also makes sure to get plenty of breakfast and lunch foods, snacks and beverages. She also prints out the lists for her local drugstore (I suggest you only start with one when you are getting started) and checks the under $1 lists for Walmart and Target to see if she needs any of the items.
Mrs. Smith heads out to the grocery store (she decided it wasn’t worth her time or gas (hehe) to go to 2 stores) with her list in hand and she sticks to her list. She picks up what she needs at the drug store and Target and Walmart. She comes home smiling because she only spent $199. She has $51 to last her until the week is out. But Mr. Smith forgets his lunch one day and spends $11 on fast food and she ends up running through a drive thru to get milkshakes. At the end of the week, she realizes that she still has $33 left! She is very proud of herself and feels like this is going to work for her family. Since the Smith family is still feeling the pinch, they decide to leave the money in their bank account to cover bills. But they celebrate at home with a family game night (free!) and their store bought pizza.
The next week comes and Mrs. Smith is starting to get this figured out. She still has groceries left from last week. There are better sales this week and she feels more confident and decides to shop at 2 grocery stores instead of just one (after all she did have some money left last week to cover the additional gas and the second store is having a great sale on meat). She also finds dining coupons for her husband to keep in his truck (in case he ends up going out to eat again). By the end of the second week, she has $68 left!
Mrs. Smith sits down and takes a look at her budget. Since she had $33 left the first week and $68 left the second week, she decides that she can reduce her budget by $30. Her new weekly budget is $235.
And so it continues for the next 3 months. Every few weeks she is able to reduce her budget even more. By the end of the 12th week, she is now spending just $125 a week for her family of 4. Their bills are caught up and they no longer feel the crunch in their bank account. They decide that they are now comfortable with setting a weekly grocery/dining out budget of $150. Each paycheck, she withdraws her grocery budget in cash. She spends as little as possible and deposits the difference into her fund. Since she would have spent the entire $150 if she wasn’t couponing, she feels great every time she makes the deposit. And by saving for something her family wants to do (maybe it’s a trip to Disney or a new TV), they are on board and actively try to keep the budget down (because face it, it’s hard to do it without the support of everyone in the household).
And that my friends is how the Smith Family does it!
Please feel free to add your comments below. If you feel like I missed anything, let me know!
Go here to learn more about my weekly grocery budget.
If you are new to Couponing, you might want to take a moment to read more in my Getting Started Couponing series.
Is there a grocery budget spreadsheet that is super easy to use? LOL…forgive me if it’s right in front of my face but I’m having computer issues at work yet again. Thanks in advance!
I have to be on my budget because of my income. However I don’t have dinner parties etc I am not a very popular person I guess. I don’t give food away to others. I do take food in to new mothers or the eldery i nmy area after a suregy etc. My kids have playdates but I only feed others kids about once a week and that is about two kids. IT is doable if you aren’t that picky. I don’t eat organci can’t afford it and don’t ind I havea garden. I would love organic chicken though but it costs 3 a lb where rtegular chicken is 1.40 often. Get your steak on slae at smiths for 2.99 lb we get the petite sirloin it goes on sale every couple months. I am not gonna lie it is a hard budget 200 was alot easier to meet. Before I couponed I spent around 400 then I started my new budget only two months ago. I am getting used to it. In a way I like it because I don’t overbuy on items we already have or don’t really need this week. But I am buying 15 bags of goldfish while they are o nsale for 1 each at smiths my kids and hubby fav that will probally last 8 weeks i nour house.
LIke IS aid it depends on what u eat and the age of your children. I have a 5 year old 2 year old me and hubby. I have to be well disciplined on my budget. We eat out once a week for date night and that is it. I use that as a seperate budget of 80 a month. Every once in a while we do pizzahut and that comes out of our grocery budget. I love kristin idea of starting slowly. When I grocery shop I have it planned to save at least 60 percent I have fun when I save 80 percent. I live in utah the land of no double coupons except kmart. I have been couponing for almost two years and have a good stockpile which helps me stay o nbudget for example I got ragu last week on sale for a 1 use 50 cent off coupon from the redplum for fifty cents ajar I use two jars of that a box of free angel hair pasta 1/2 of pound a beef I get on sale for 2 dollars a pound four times a year so u have to be careful to stock up. Topped with some parmasen cheese about 2bucks at winco and half a pack of texas toast get for 2 a box then-50 cent coupon so my total for this dinner is about 3.75 e will eat this twice I usually do some corn with it or fresh brocoli . I make chili and roast alot we grill chicken and steak with salad and a potato . I get all my juice for a dollar or less and we have that with dinner crystalk light 2 liter of soda never pay more then 64 cents for I get em free with my riteaid up rewards when they r on sale for 64 cents. I also make a really good zupa tacana that we can eat three times its the sausage soup they have at the olive garden. I get my cereal always under a dollar and we eat alot of fruit and sandwiches for lunch. I live in utah where r milk is 2.50 a gallon and u have a 75 cent off coupon. This week I am getting hunts diced tomatos for 18 cents a can at smiths for my chili.So basically load up when its on sale and think creative dinners that are yummy cost effective and I hate to cook so for me not to difficult to make. Also my daughter eats alot of nutella and jam instead of mac n cheese etc for lunch. Hope this helps. If you live in utah I do coupon classes too.. I can be contacted at [email protected], I use the under a dollar deals at target and walmart alot. I have learned the sales cycles and how to be a bit patient. Don’t get discouraged just start however u can if u save 30 bucks a week that is 120 a month! I also do a lot of mail in rebates to get stuff for free like potao chips and pizza sometimes meat and cheese too. In utah beer rebates do not rerquire a beer purchase. I also set limits for certain items which helps me stay motivated and excited. Thism onth it is 20 for produce for the month. By the end of the month we most likely will be eating canned corn and peaches but that is ok cause I already have those in my stockpile. If yo uahve any mexican type grocery stores i nyour area they have the best prices on produce . I always get apples for no more then 69 cents a lb bannas 33/lb grapes under a 1 roma tomatos no more then 50 cents, avocado 50 cents, kiwi 20 cents radish 20 cents a bunch etc. USe potatos they re cheap and yummy.
We are a family of 4 and have a monthly budget of $240 per month, or $60 per week. I use coupons and take advantage of my store’s sales on their loss leaders to stock up on items we use regularly. I think the important thing to remember is that each family is different. You have to set a budget that works for you and your family’s circumstances. If you try to make your budget the same as someone else’s, chances are it will not work for you and you might be tempted to give up budgeting altogether.
I am definitely going to try this! I feel ya though Tia. I am not so great with the saving with coupons. I think my max was 30. I also live in new jersey and prices are crazy. I’m trying my best to coupon as much as possible and get lowest prices but I’m not nearly as good as kristin. hopefully one day i will be! Thanks for all the tips kristin!
I must be doing something wrong because we are a family of 5 and we spend about $170 a week. I do the couponing and we save on average about $15-$20 a week in groceries with coupons and that doesn’t even include eating out which we rarely do :o( I can’t seem to save more that $20 with coupons (this is just strictly food).
Yes I have no idea if she has young children or teens with a bunch of teen friends – that makes a huge difference!! I am a family of four and we spend an average of $400/mo, sometimes more sometimes less and that doesn’t include eating out, which we spend at least $100 realistically. I don’t think I’ve ever only spent $150/mo and I coupon and shop sales! I live on the expensive east coast – I think it also depends where you live, and the quality of food you buy (organic for instance) and how much you give to others (for instance if you donate food, make meals for new moms, or if you host your extended family often. So, difficult to say how much a family of 7 should pay…but Kristin’s idea of tracking your past history and then subtracting 10% is a great start!!!
That seems very high I spend 150 a month on a family if four plus 80 on eating out for date night once a week I spend 20 a month at the drugstores. We eat steak and yummy foods I shop once a week at the grocery store. A family of 7 depends on the ages etc my kids are still little
Is there a spreadsheet you use, like with the stores listed? I have Target, a couple supermarkets and CVS and Rite Aid nearby. Costco and my produce market are across town. I figure I can list those at the top, in columns, then print a sheet each week and pop in what I need/deals of the week.
Thank you for the tips, as always! Gave up my $4.29/lb favorite homemade potato salad from the deli. I usually get 1 pound a week, and my family devours it instantly. I shared with the people at the counter, and they told me the exact ingredients, and I made it at an 1/8th of the cost, yes, an 1/8th!!!!! It may not seem like a lot, but I can use it as a side dish for my husband’s lunch, and not buy his chips (he’s okay with this). It’s these little “victories” that make it worth it.
what schould a family of 7 be spending weekly on just groceries ???? in Tomball Texas
My guess is Kristin can’t tell you what a family of 7 should be spending, bc every family is different and how much money they can afford varies. What have you spent over the past few months and does that amount put a strain on your budget? If you want to save more money, I would suggest as an amount to go by, maybe $175 – $200/wk?
It does vary greatly depending on a LOT of individual factors, but I have heard that a good starter attempt is ~$25 per person, per week. So for your family of 7, consider $175 per week (if this seems totally unrealistic, maybe $200??)
I have a family of 4, and we spend ~$120/week on all groceries, eating out, and sundries (shampoo, tp, etc). We live in Arizona :) Hope this helps a little