Saving Money at the Store: Part 1-Set a Budget

I know that of the few people that read this blog, most are moms or dads. I also know that no matter what your income level is, most people are looking for ways to save money on grocery and household items. So, I thought I would use a post to blog about what I have learned in my few years of living on one income. I have to admit that it took a while, but in the past year or two, I have really become organized in my grocery buying and meal planning. Household chores? Still a work in progress. And I'm not sure you can really call it progress :) I am by no means a pro, but maybe there are a few things in this list that will help you save money. Since I am quite verbose, I thought I would do this in parts to avoid a hugely long post. If you have any questions or tips that have worked for you, feel free to leave a comment!!

Decide on a Budget:
In our marriage of 9 years, there was ONE year where we did not really have to be concerned with money. We were not buying Rolexes or $200 jeans by any means, but I didn't have to sweat a $50 trip to Target or a $40 dinner out. This was the year I was teaching (pregnant with Xavier) and Shawn had started his first year as an accountant. We refer to this year as "the glory year". Before that, we were both teachers (2 teaching salaries = still barely making it), and after that I became a stay-at-home mom.

We have had ups and downs with sticking to a budget, but it wasn't until we went to using cash for grocery and household items that we have really followed it. Credit and even debit cards are just so easy to swipe...$10 here, $15 there all adds up. So, for us, physically having the money has worked out much better. Coming up with the budget took a few months of averaging our grocery/household costs. (I mainly shop at a superstore, so we combine the groceries and the household items like shampoo, lightbulbs, stamps, and diapers.) We still have months where it is really tight, but all in all we have been successful with the same budget for well over a year.

So, before you can start saving money, know how much you have to spend. Keep your receipts and think about how many tubes of toothpaste, bottles of shampoo, and packs of diapers you roughly use a month, as well as your food costs. You'll have to look at your other bills, obviously, and know that there will be some tweaking during the first few months of the budget. Maybe credit cards or debit cards will work fine for your family, or maybe you would rather use cash. Just try a few different things and know that you'll need to be flexible, especially the first few months.