GO GIRL BUDGET PLANNER TRIAL
GO GIRL BUDGET PLANNER FREE

But setting my goal uncomfortably low forced me to pay attention to my grocery spending in a way I hadnвЂ™t for a while. To be perfectly honest, I wasnвЂ™t sure I could do it. So I decided to aim for spending $200 a month on grocery items.

GO GIRL BUDGET PLANNER FREE

So really, thatвЂ™s not too bad.Д«ut over the past few years, I started to really feel that I could do better and free up more money. I am shopping just for me, and like I said it includes non-food items like shampoo, paper towels, cleaning supplies-you get the idea. My monthly average over that time was $261.38. The spike a few months later? I was sick that month and really needed a good popsicle supply.

Oh, and that big spike in the middle? That was my вЂњOh my gosh thereвЂ™s a pandemic I need to go buy all the things!!!вЂќ shopping month. Over the past 6+ years IвЂ™ve spent over $17,000 on groceries. (To be fair, YNAB, my budgeting app, tracks this for me-managing this information on my own for this long would put me in a whole different category of budgeting glory.) YNABвЂ™s Spending Trends report reveals how much groceries have cost through the years.Д¬an we just stop for a second and look at that total? I mean-wow. Being the budget nerd that I am, I have data going back to December of 2016. Do whatever works for you! Grocery Spending History (itвЂ™s a lot of money)ДЄlrighty then, with that out of the way, letвЂ™s look at some of my grocery spending history. (I have three cats and a dog, so I really need to know what they cost me so I can prepare appropriately.) Some people choose to list their household goods like cleaning supplies or paper towels into a separate budget category. But with that being said, implementing a few of these strategies and putting our free price tracker, kitchen inventory, and meal planning printables (see below!) to use can help reduce your food budget, too.ДЄlso, for clarityвЂ™s sake, grocery spending for me includes everything I buy at the grocery store with the exception of pet food, which I track separately. I focus on my average since thatвЂ™s a real number that I can control.

ThatвЂ™s why I donвЂ™t spend a lot of time comparing my grocery budget to others. My grocery bill would be higher in some places and lower in others. If I lived in NYC or Seattle or basically anywhere else, prices would most definitely be different. What I share here is what works for me in Maine. IвЂ™m going to share some numbers and strategies, but please keep in mind: Grocery prices vary wildly across the United States and beyond.

GO GIRL BUDGET PLANNER TRIAL

ItвЂ™s taken a lot of trial and error, but over the last year and a half, I feel like I have finally dialed it in. Groceries have been a sore spot in my budget for years, and as the deadline approaches for meeting one of my personal financial goals, I decided to really focus on this frequently fluctuating expense so that I could funnel my savings towards something that matters more to me right now. Grocery shopping on a budget is one of budgetingвЂ™s greatest challenges-especially as prices continue to rise.В Get organized and cut costs with our free price tracker and grocery planner templates.

Go girl budget planner