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We have all heard that you should track your spending. Maybe not all the time, but it is a great tool for finding leaks. Knowing that our second most expensive category each month is the food budget I like to periodically get a good idea of exactly where my food money is going. It does take work to track your grocery spending this way, but it is worth it in the end. Just doing it for one month can be very eye opening.
You can make a spreadsheet on the computer if you want, but I just use a notepad and pen. I divide my grocery spending into categories. For instance - dairy, meats, beverages, snacks, desserts, canned goods, carbs (rice, breads, etc), breakfast stuff, produce, etc. Sometimes it can be confusing to try to figure out where to put things like milk which could go under dairy or beverages, but just make a decision at the beginning of the month and stick with it.
At the end of the month you will be able to see the area of groceries that you are possibly overspending. Maybe you aren't overspending, that is for you to decide, but seeing that you spend 15% of your budget on snacks could definitely make you rethink things. I have found this to really help me with targeting a specific area to reduce, as opposed to just saying I need to lower my grocery bill.
*this post is linked to Tammy's recipes Kitchen Tip Tuesday.
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3 comments:
This sounds like a great idea! I've never thought of that before but I'd like to know what I spend on fruits and veggies compared to snacks and candy.
oh - I like breaking my spending into categories to look at where to cut back. I track our savings, costs and coupon use, but I might have to give this category breakdown a try! Thanks for the tip.
I have been tracking the amount I spend for several years. The strange thing is May is always a month where I over spend by alot. I think the budget busters must by Mother's Day and maybe Memorial Day. I have to plan better next year.
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