YNAB You Need A Budget

[mvw0717]

I have been using YNAB for a month. It has helped me to focus on where my money should be before spending it. Groceries is a big budget item for our family like it is for most. I decided to start using my Grocery IQ app again on my smartphone. You can also use it all your computer if you do not have a smartphone. Go to http://www.groceryiq.com to learn more. I was creating my shopping list on my computer and remembered that I can add the price to each item. I never used that feature before, but now since I am using YNAB, I think it will help me to stay within my grocery budget. As I add items to my list, the amount that I plan to spend increases. I might take things off of the list as I see the total increasing.

I will create a list of favorite grocery items and add the prices. When it is time to shop then I will add from my favorites to this week's grocery list. Yes, it will take me a little time to add prices to the groceries that I usually buy, but it will be worth it. You just need to add the price once. You can always update the price if it jumps or "rollsback". Even though prices change, it will still give me a better idea about what I am about to spend in the store.

[WairereRose]

A few of us use different apps like that to help us. I have one that I can enter the prices as I walk around the store and it adds up what I have in the cart. Sometimes I will put things back so I can get other stuff that is more urgent. Rarely (yet) do I have enough money on any given shopping outing to get everything on my list, but the more I stay in budget the closer I get to achieving it.

[ginsmoney]

I've also got Grocery IQ on my phone. I had stopped using it because it did take a while to add the prices in, but it did make me thing twice before buying certain items. I just spent over $200 at the store, picking up a few items. I only had $150 in my grocery subcategory. I couldn't believe I had spent that much. Groceries are definitely a budget buster for me. Thanks for the reminder that this app is great for making you think. Just don't make fun of me when you see me scanning my canned goods with my iPhone at Walmart.

[Budget_Ninja]

I tried a few of these apps for my iTouch. Grocery IQ was the best one I tried. I don't use it anymore in favor of this grocery shopping system. (I like it better when its a 'system').

I create a meal plan for the week.
I get a list of ingredients I require for the meal plan
I find out what ingredients I need for the week & add them to my paper list.
I gather the weekly flyers and find the cheapest price for my ingredients. Our grocery store price matches the flyers
I also keep an eye on those items which I use frequently but come on sale less frequently and add them to my list. (I keep a pantry to take advantage of sale items I use a lot)
Then I only buy the stuff on my list.

Frankly the groceryiq application was not adding much value to our shopping and it was quicker and easier to just scribble our list in a note pad and take a pen to the grocery to scratch off the items we obtained. We typically come under budget in our grocery trips so keeping under X dollars isn't an issue. When we were in college/university this app would have been helpful - I used to add up the rounded dollar value in our cart and stop shopping when I got close to the maximum we had for groceries that week.

I think its important to recognize 'market' prices for the items you buy regularly so that you can judge the 'sales'. Some times stuff on sale is cheaper at the grocery down the road - not on sale. Sometimes the deal is so good we'll literally load up our cart with it. I typically don't purchase more than i can consume in about 6 months of items that are on a great sale and that I use often.

[apsjr1]

there is a app [for the iPhone] i recommend it called Grocery Gadget it does inventory of your grocery

Grocery Gadget.jpg (53.91 KiB) Viewed 1719 times

I use it a lot it help me to save money on my budget.
go to you-tube to teach how to use it copy & paste
[ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dP-aPj-LJEA ]

[steveosiris]

I've also got Grocery IQ on my phone. I had stopped using it because it did take a while to add the prices in, but it did make me thing twice before buying certain items. I just spent over $200 at the store, picking up a few items. I only had $150 in my grocery subcategory. I couldn't believe I had spent that much. Groceries are definitely a budget buster for me. Thanks for the reminder that this app is great for making you think. Just don't make fun of me when you see me scanning my canned goods with my iPhone at Walmart.

Just started using Grocery IQ per your suggestion. I find that it works very quickly, and it has definitely helped me save money on my shopping trip. It also keeps me very focused on what I need and what I just want to impulsively buy at the super market. It also is great for keeping track of how much I spend on groceries per month. Are there any other good grocery apps that have more features? Thanks.
-Steve

[litterbug]

My personal experience is that the best way to stay within my grocery budget is to ask myself "do I need this?" every time I pick something up in my hand and before I put it in my cart. The other best way, which is a little harder, is to keep a running total of what I'm buying the way you would with an app, although I downloaded Grocery IQ and haven't used it once.

I also look at my cart before I check out to make sure I really want or need what's in there.

What's helped me with YNAB is thinking of it as a way to make informed choices in my spending. I budget according to my personal priorities, and every time I spend I am making a choice to put my money either to support my priorities or to do something else. Thinking of spending as making serious choices about how I'm going to live changes my whole approach to spending, whether it's paper towels, new furniture, or a nice bike. Does this further my progress toward what's important to me?

No app can do that for me; only I can decide to follow my plan or not.

[sarham]

DH does the shopping. He found the best "app" for keeping under budget was to simply have his calculator app open and keep a running tally as he filled the cart. We agree on the amount, and then unless he has a really good reason to go over, the overage comes out of his fun money! So far, great system for us!

[FlipFlopGirl]

I could never find a grocery app I was happy with so I just use a private board on my springpad account. Once I know what we need for the week I type it into a checklist. I have the app on my phone & just check off what I need as I find it.

[Malisa]

My current system is Remember the Milk. I was using it for all my to-do's, but I've moved to using Evernote for most of those. I find that I like having the shopping stuff separate. Go to Trader Joe's is a task in Evernote. But keeping track of what I NEED there, I'm using RTM. The tags work well for me, knowing that some things I can only buy at store A, but some I could buy at store A or B and some at store B or C.

[dmdunca44]

I also use Grocery Gadget. The best way for me to rein in grocery spending is to stick to my list.