One question I often get is “How much do you spend a week?”
My weekly grocery budget is $55. Sometimes I spent less, sometimes more. If I spend less- I “roll” the extra into the next week. If I go over, I reduce my next week by that amount. I get too much of an “excess” from rolling either way occasionally I will wipe the slate clean and start over with a $55 budget after a while.
The next question I get is “How did you get that number?”
That’s an easy answer- several years ago that is all I had to spend. With 3 kids and 1 income (I am a stay at home mom) that’s all that was left after the mortgage, car payments, credit card bills, electricity, etc. If that is all you have- well that’s your budget.
If you are more flexible and just need to set a budget look at what you are spending right now.If you are new to strategic shopping- make gradual reductions in your bill.
For example:
If you are spending $150 a week right now here is what I would do. Please remember that we are ALL different- our families are different sizes, we have different dietary requirements and favorite foods. But this is what I would do.
Week 1: Instead of having $150 a week to spend only spend $130. Take $100 of that for your “needs”- the items you are out of that you need to keep you going for the next week. The remaining $30- use to stock up on items you use that are at a great price. Look over the grocery store & drug store matchups (look at the top of the site for “grocery” and “drug” store tabs to find these lists) and look for the items at really good prices. Don’t just buy 1 of these times buy 5 or more or however many you have coupons for.
Week 2: $130 budget: $100 needed items, $30 stock up items
Week 3: Reduce your new $130 budget by 10%. Instead of a budget of $130 only have a budget of $115. Take that same $30 and stockup. Spend $85 on “needed” items and $30 on stock up items.
Week 4: $115 budget, $85 needed items, $30 stock up items
Week 5: Reduce budget by 10%. New budget: $100. $30 stock up items, $70 needed items
Week 6: $100 budget, $70 needed items, $30 stock up items
Week 7: Reduce budget by 10%. New budget: $90. $60 needed items, $30 stock up items.
Week 8: Budget: $90. $60 needed items, $30 stock up items.
Week 9: Reduce by 10%. Budget: $80. $50 needed items, $30 stock up items
Week 10: Budget: $80. $50 needed items, $30 stock up items.
Week 11: Reduce by 10% Budget: $70. $40 needed items, $30 stock up items.
Week 12: Budget: $70. $40 needed items.$30 stock up items.
Onward: Keep reducing until you are at a plateau. $55 was my plateau. It’s a number I am comfortable spending each week and it sustainable. A weekly budget of $10 a week honestly is not possible for most families.
Hopefully by this time, you have seen your stockpile grow and you have a nice foundation. You may even have found that your “needed” items have been reduced to $10-$15 a week. Awesome! Then you can roll that excess into the stock up items or start a fund for that vacation you want to take, pay down your credit bills, etc.
A few tips:
- Be realistic. A $10 a week budget for a family of 5 is not realistic. We need to eat & we like to eat!
- Don’t fret if you go over budget. Just adjust. If you go over budget week after week – examine your budget maybe it’s NOT realistic for your family.
- Don’t compare. My weekly budget is based on the fact that my stockpile is 10+ years old. A new couponer won’t reach this level of stockpiling for at least 1 year. Sales cycle around. It takes time.
- Don’t sacrifice…too much. My family has learned we eat what we have. If we have a lot of canned veggies- that is what we eat. If we have rotini pasta and the wanted spaghetti- sorry we have this variety. Slight sacrifices is what allow us to spend on our money on FUN things instead of paying $2 for a box of pasta.
- Splurge a little. Just like a “cheat day” on a diet. A splurge here and there on something that you ENJOY will allow you to be motivated to stay on track the rest of the time.
- Stay accountable. Keep track. You never realize how much you spend until you keep track. Check out myFREE Budget Tracker to help you stick to your budget. That is why I write my Tuesday Totals. If I have it all there in black & white I can’t hide from the fact that I spent too much! Keeping a record also allows you to see that your $150 a week budget is too high or your $30 budget is too low. Analyze your spending and see where you can make cuts (are you spending $100 a week AND buying dinner out 3x a week and buying lunch out 5x? There might be an issue!) or adjustments.
- Run your budget Wed-Tuesday to coincide with the grocery store sales. I have found that is the best way to keep track of what I am spending and allows me to budget for the week easier. If I know that there are HOT deals at Lowe’s Foods than I have my entire budget to stretch out the week. If you run Sun-Sat you will cross 2 sales cycles and it can get messy.
What tips do you have for setting a strategic stockpiling budget?
The link for the Free Budget Tracker isn’t working. :o(
I will check as soon as I get back thanks!
Free Budget Tracker link doesn’t work 🙁 Would love to have this! Probably much better than MY spreadsheet lol!
I think I fixed it!
Thank you so much for everything that you do to help all of us save money. I have tried to get organized to better improve my skills, however I just find my self becoming a little overwhelmed then frustrated. I lack the ability and/or patience to stay on course so your quick tips always peaks the interest so to speak to put me back on track. 🙂
Lee, You can do it! What is most frustrating for you?
Sometimes you extend your budget with gift cards. Do you have a special website that you get those from? I have used the 10 off 50 Harris teeter from the recycle banks but I would love to figure out how you get the gift cards! Thanks so much for all you do!
I use that coupon to buy the gift cards! My store allowed me to buy my items and then a gift card- use the coupon and spend less than the $50 out of pocket. Not ALL stores will allow this.
Curious to know if this budget includes only food items or if it also includes household items like detergents, personal hygiene, cleaners, paper products, feminine hygiene, etc. Either way, kudos for surviving on it!
My budget includes all of the above!
Well now I’m completely impressed – mind-blown even. If we could do that, my husband could quit his second full-time job!!! To find the time…to find the time….
One more question (for now) – How many newspapers do you think you use(d) – routinely- to allow this budget, and did you pay for those papers out of the $55 or did you have a separate newspaper budget? We’re currently using four, but I’m wondering if we should increase that if I seriously get this going – which will take time and organization, particularly for printables! 🙂
I get 10 newspapers delivered each week and often gather more up from friends & family (sometimes up to 20 papers)- my general rule of thumb is 2 per family member. But that is my personal rule so it’s not for everyone! CHeck for discounted subscriptions to your paper. My newspaper budget comes out of a different “budget” than my grocery budget.