I know there’s no ‘one size fits all’ budget on grocery for every family.
But, I bet you’re probably spending too much already. If you say no, then read this…
How do you know when you are spending more money than you need on your family food budget?
Please answer these 7 questions…
1. Do you have a reserved seat at a Mama Put?
I know it’s a piece of candy to walk into a restaurant and make a pick of your favorite Fried Crispy Brussels. But, have you thought of how it affects your purse?
See this:
An average American spent $3008 on restaurant meals in 2015 alone.
Now, that’s more than what many peeps earn from their jobs in a single month. So, what does it mean?
- Restaurant meals are way more expensive food than indoor meals.
- You’ll save an extra $2000 a year just by reducing restaurant meals by two-third a week.
Now if you can identify with that, then I think you should get a giant cleaver and cut the cost on those Crispy Brussels or Pizzas.
Related: 5 Strong Money Lessons You Should Teach Your Kids Right Now
2. Do you spend too much on food compared to other expenses?
We all spend a good portion of our monthly income on food compared to other expenses. I know, it’s the age-long necessity. But hey, there’s always the word “too much”.
So, how do you know when you buy too much food stuffs or groceries? Well, just take a minute and compare your monthly groceries bills to other basic expenses.
If you can notice a steep difference, then I think you’ve picked up too many sachet cookies on a shopping splurge and you should cut it.
Related: Here’s Why You Should Not Get Furniture On Loan
3. Do you have more veggies in trashcan than your freezer?
I love this quote:
“Bins don’t lie. Your trashcan will tell the kind of peep you’re”
In other words, you can always fish out a wasteful spender just by taking a peep into his tashcan. It’s like this: if you buy more foodstuff than you you can preserve, then you’ve got no choice but to dump more waste in your trashcan.
If you can you relate with that:
- Then, you probably don’t need as much foodstuff as you buy.
- You are already spending most of your hard earned income on Zeros -and it’s time to cut the cost
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4. Do you always cut the cost by going the bulk?
Yes, I’m talking about perishable foodstuffs. Now, let me give you a simple scenario:
You go to the market to get some veggies for just yourself, but the nice, sales boy has great gimmicks:
” Hey Tom, you can get 3 more bags and you pay $5 less, you know?”
Yes, it’s an attractive offer – but is it really a great choice? I don’t think so.
It’s like “trying to kill a mosquito by punching your chin”. You want to save money – but you end up loosing more!
Yes, you save $5 by getting more veggies than you need, but you will also have extra $25 more veggies end up in your trashcan.
Related 10 Genius ways to save money traveling on a budget
5. Every ‘Tom Dasher’ know your first Name?
It’s easy to go the convenience route: Lay off your stove, sit on your couch, and swipe up your Android screen and you see Tom ( The Pizza guy ) on your doorsteps.
It’s way more convenient. But, it’s not about convenience. Right? So, the point is how does it affect your monthly expenditure or is it even worth it?
I read a report on Forbes that forecasts food delivery sales to jump to $365 billion [ from $35 billion ] before 2030. And yes, that money is to come from us all.
Yes, I know ordering for food online has its own advantages:
- It’s a convenient choice.
- Saves your time
- Let’s you focus on other stuffs
- More time and less stress may mean more productivity at work.
But, here’s the point: if your goal is to save money, then it’s a NO. So, if Tom, the Dasher already knows you by your surname, then you should watch it.
Related: 13 Legitimate work from home jobs that you can start now
5. You Can’t Say No To The Bill Pushers?
I know group dining at a restaurant is so much fun. I also believe it’s more fun to give someone an unexpected treat once in a while.
But, don’t forget the words: “someone” and “unexpected”. So, what about the peeps who always love to push the bills on your wallet?
Note this:
No Tom! I don’t think you should pay a friend’s bill because he or she makes you feel ‘obliged’ or ‘generous’ to do so. That decision should come from you.
Don’t forget: A Restaurant table is not always the best stage for Michael Jackson’s “We are the world”.
I think Neal McCoy’s “Every man for himself” would actually do more help to your purse.
6. Do you fancy being a Club Nomad?
Do you believe the weekend clubbing is the haven to ease off the week-long work stress? For me, I don’t, but I will be objective here. So, the point is how much money can you spend on food clubbing? I saw an interesting report on business insider:
An average party goer spends $81 on a night out
Now, what if you go clubbing every couple weeks for a year long? Of course, it would easily rake up to a big sum. So, if you are loosing bucks, it’s time to check out if you’ve been a club nomad.
Recent: 7 Money tips that will make you a millionaire in 2019
7. Do you save your changes with Restaurant attendants?
Here’s a phrase I’m always curious about each time I go pick up a stuff at a mall.
“Yea.. Don’t worry yea. Keep it for yourself!”
I’d first skim the face of the attendant being told to keep the change and then quickly, the smile on the face of the giver. In many cases, the attendant’s smile always seem more sincere to me! Why not?
But the other guy probably choose to forgo the change because there was none – and he was made to believe it was just some pennies.
But wait! Is it really about how big it is? No, it’s my money, even if its a quarter of a cent. I don’t want to forgo all the small bucks, and always end up telling myself “Sorry” on the way home.
See this:
If you leave every “small” change in every mall, then you can’t possibly track your spending after all. Leave it only if you want – but not because it “seems small”.
Final Thoughts
Restaurants, Parties, online deliveries and – even trash cans are stealing money from our purses. It’s because, we spend too much on groceries and never care to track our finances – most importantly, when it comes to food.
What do you think?
