At the start of this year, we took a close look at our budget compared to our actual spending. One area where we consistently overspent was our weekly grocery shopping. While inflation has caused an increase in overall costs, I also noticed that I was opting for more convenient yet less healthy food choices. I’d often justify it, thinking, ‘it’s just an extra thirty dollars, not a big deal.’
However, an additional $30 to $50 per week can really accumulate over a year! ($30 per week x 52 weeks = $1560)
I read about the concept of paying for groceries using only the allocated weekly cash in an envelope. Since I prefer ordering my groceries online, the cash-in-hand idea doesn’t work for me.
What I Did
So, what I did instead was set up a separate bank account (which is free through my bank) with its own debit card. We have an automatic transfer into this account with the weekly budgeted amount. This way, I can’t exceed the budget!
As an added motivation, I’ve challenged myself to keep the grocery spending below the budgeted amount. If there’s any money left at the end of the year, we plan to use it for a holiday. It serves as a fun incentive for us.
The overall concept of this blog is to learn simple living to find financial freedom. Stay up to date with my blog – Finding My Simple Life on Facebook or Instagram.
Love this idea. I started writing a thesis about grocery shopping habits over three generations. I was using my own experience as well and keeping it in my local area. Covid was one of the reasons I gave up, as interviews are not the same if you can’t do them in person… plus habits changed dramatically during lock downs. Look forward to how successful you are in keeping those costs down.
Excellent idea to have a separate account!!
Since phone banking became common place I struggle to stick to a budget… I miss envelopes!