May Budget roundup!

This month I knew I had to trim my grocery budget down a little bit from $150 because we were buying plants and sprinkler items for our yard. It was actually easier than I thought- and going through all my receipt totals and adding up the final numbers we spent $115 on groceries this month! (And then $85 on yard items, eating out, and other Home Depot expenses- it's expensive to upkeep a house!) All of that to say we stayed under budget this month! HOORAY!! And I actually didn't even really feel the pinch- I felt we had plenty of a variety food to eat, we were building our food storage and we were able to get everything for our yard and house we were working on. (I don't count things like sprinkler heads and drip irrigation hoses in with my grocery budget, because you can't buy them at the grocery store. I DO however count things like toilet paper, diapers, shampoo/conditioner, and make-up in with it because those things you CAN buy at the grocery store.)

I also realized I haven't had to buy shampoo/conditioner or toothpaste for three or four months because of the stockpile I built up the three or four months before that. That's also how my bill can be so low, I wait for the best sales- stock up as much as I can- and then I don't ever have to buy anything at full price. I don't even know what full prices for things are anymore.

If you haven't kept track of your groceries before- I challenge you to do it this month! And then tell someone what you're spending so you can have someone to account to. This alone can be amazing to help curb spending- If you're going to be blogging about a purchase- it helps you stop and say do I really need it? Pick a goal to be at for the end of the month and if you make it, reward yourself! Maybe a day without the kiddos, lunch with friends, or a candlelight dinner on the patio with that special someone- where you don't have to cook! And as always start small- and make it fun! Don't try to go too far too fast. That will make it not fun and more than likely you'll give up and stop trying. Just like any exercise plan, start it small, and then gradually add as you are successful at reaching your short term goals.

Two things that helped me- going to cash to pay for my groceries, and only using the money allotted for the week, rather than having access to my monthly budget. I found if I tried to use the monthly budget I would go over the first two weeks, and then have $50 left for the last two weeks. This was frustrating to me, until I started only using the $40 or $50 per week, and sticking to it!

Let me know your goals, and then how it went at the end of the month!