Your grocery budget: how to set it and stick to it

1 min read

A grocery budget isn't about spending as little as possible: it's about knowing where the money goes and avoiding surprises at the end of the month. It works if it's simple and you look at it often.

1. Start from what you spend today

Before deciding how much you want to spend, look at what you spend: add up a month or two of receipts, including the small top-up shops. That number is your starting point, not the one you'd like.

2. Set a realistic monthly figure

Choose a figure a little lower than today's, not half of it: an impossible budget gets dropped after two weeks. If some months are different at home (holidays, guests, summer), allow for them.

3. Tell buying apart from using

A big shop at the start of the month pushes spending up, but much of it stays in the pantry. What counts in the long run is how much you use. If you stock up one month, the next one will cost less: looking at both avoids worrying for nothing.

4. See where the money goes

Splitting spending by category (fresh food, pantry, cleaning, toiletries) and by shop shows straight away what weighs most and where the same thing costs less. The real saving is often there, not in going without.

5. Check halfway through the month

Once, mid-month, look at how much you've spent against the budget. If you're ahead, do the second half's shopping starting from the pantry; if you're behind, that's fine.

6. Count what you throw away

Food thrown away is spending you don't see. Noting what ends up in the bin, and what it was worth, is the quickest way to know what to buy less of.