Track your monthly grocery spending

With the cost of food continuously on the rise, you might find your groceries costing more and more every month.

If you want to stick to your monthly grocery budget, then you need to keep track of what you are spending throughout the month.

This is especially important for people who prefer to buy their groceries on a weekly basis, as opposed to filling two trolleys with food once a month.

If you just buy stuff willy-nilly, you could find yourself going over budget.

Here’s how you can keep track of your monthly grocery spending.

Set a budget

Before you begin planning your groceries for the month, set a budget so that you know how much you can afford to spend every month. This way you know exactly how much you have to spend, and it will make it easier for you to decided what is a must VS a need. 

Create a meal plan

To ensure you don’t run out of food during the month, and then have to go shopping for more, create a meal plan for every week of the month. Write down all the things you expect to make for breakfast, lunch, and supper. You can also include a snack category.

Create a grocery list

Once you have created your meal plan for the month, list all the groceries you will need for the month. Make sure you consider how many times you will need to make, for example, pasta so that you can buy a sufficient amount for the whole month.

Put extra money aside

Make sure you put aside some money for things that you will need on a daily basis, like milk and bread, so that you don’t get stuck during the month.

Keep your receipts

Keep the receipts for your monthly groceries, so that you can compare them every month. This will help you ensure you don’t under-budget for your groceries. Also keep track of any food you buy outside of your grocery budget. There will be days when you are too tired to follow your meal plan, especially at dinner, and decide to order takeout or a ready-made meal for your family. Make sure you keep the receipt. At the end of the month calculate how much you have spent on food outside of your budget.

Stick to your list

This might seem like common knowledge, but it is important to make sure every time you go to the grocery store you go with a list. Make sure you include an estimate of how much it will cost. Then only take the amount of money you need to those specific groceries. This will help prevent you from getting tempted to buy unnecessary things, like junk food.

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