YNAB You Need A Budget

[Trakeveth]

Today was grocery shopping trip no. 2 since starting YNAB. I budget $100 per week. Last week I spent only about $75 and I was eager to see how I would do this week.

Before starting YNAB I would "tell myself" that I had a $100 budget, but I was really lying to myself because I knew darn well that I was going to buy everything in my cart even if I went over-budget.

Today, as usual, I headed to the store with my weekly menu plan in place and my shopping list in hand. Also, as usual, I picked up a few things that were not on my list but are frequently used items that were on sale for a really good price.

When I got to the check-out lane (I use a do-it-yourself lane), I immediately separated the "must-have's" from the "wants" in my cart. I rang up the "must-have's" first and then I began ringing up the "wants" in order of priority to me. Once I hit $99.99 I stopped. The only things that I could not get were a box of cake mix and a jar of frosting (which I wanted to have on hand just in case my husband changed his mind and decided that he does want a cake when we celebrate his birthday with his family).

I felt so proud of myself handing those items back to the store clerk and really, truly and honestly sticking to my grocery budget.

[lautzu]

Good for you Tracy, congratulations!

Now you just have to learn to make homemade frosting...

[maryea]

Thats great! It's amazing what we can do when we set our mind to do it.

[Maggie Magpie]

Separating the Musthaves from the Wants is a great idea! I like that! I experimented with another idea this month, to attempt keeping my bill down: As we've discussed in the past, milk tends to drag us into the grocery store and, as I had posted in the past, I end up spending an average of over $80 per gallon when I go to the store.....in other words, my trip for milk ends up being a trip resulting in nearly $100 of other items. So this month, I learned how to bake bread. I purchased the book My Bread, and it not only weaved a beautiful story about the journey of bread making, but the writer really walks the reader through the simple bread making steps. My husband and I have not only enjoyed the process "together", but we've now made about 4 loaves at a cost of about 50 cents each. Considering we were spending $3.59 a loaf, that's $12 in savings. But get this.......less trips to the grocery store. It's almost the end of the month and our grocery spending is $196.00 less then our average. So, with that said, below is a list of some of the tips I've picked up:

1. Stick to yours list. But if you don't, assemble your Wants in order of priority (per this post).
2. Menu plan
3. Less trips (eg., purchase 2 gallons of milk at a time instead of 1)
4. The sales come 'round in 12 week cycles, so stock up on those sales when they come around.
5. Combine coupons with those sales cycles for additional savings.
6. Less trips......did I mention that?

I think for next month, I'm going to try and do one "huge" shop and jig a couple small but strict fresh vegetable/milk/produce visits.......along with better menu planning.

The food categories (grocery and restaurants) continue to haunt my budget. ~sigh~

[rollercoaster]

The food categories (grocery and restaurants) continue to haunt my budget. ~sigh~

Me too! I have a love/hate relationship with food. Love to eat it. Hate shopping for it. Hate having to plan what to eat. Hate cooking it, then having somebody whine about it!

As a result we eat out more than we should and I buy more lazy cook's pre-packaged frozen food than I should.

A quick look at the numbers from the past two months...

January Groceries: $801.92
January Restaurants: $158.62
February Groceries: $82.69 so far
February Restaurants: $ 141.17 so far

I did a huge grocery shop in January then went out of town for 10 days, so February is basically just fresh fruits and veggies when needed - that I'll get DH to pick up on his way home from work. I dislike grocery shopping that much.

I still have enough meat in the freezer to last another week or so and we are going out of town this weekend, so the restaurant expenditures will rise, but I don't expect the the groceries to have any more outflows this month at all.

[MALMomma]

The Grocery Game is what helps me. Some people don't like it because it's a subscription service ($10 every 8 weeks; $5 for each additional List you subscribe to), but I easily save well over the cost of the subscription in one shopping trip. It's a time saver, you don't have to clip coupons until you need to use one (just file the inserts until the List mentions the coupon), and I know I'm getting the really hot deals or, even better, the free ones. Free 4 week trial, so you can see if you like it. Just a thought. I've been a subscriber for about 6.5 years now and have easily saved enough to pay cash for a "cheap" car over that time period (and that's not the savings from retail to price paid, that is what I've said compared to my prior spending habits.) Now if only I had saved that money, we wouldn't have the debt we do!

Other than that, remember a few things...

1. DO NOT turn your nose up at coupons. Manufacturers are GIVING you money to buy their product.

2. Watch out for those temptation sales - the ones that really aren't that good, but you might buy it "because it's on sale". Wait. The price will go lower and you'll kick yourself for paying more.

3. Have coupons & a really great sale hits? Stock up! Don't be brand loyal unless you HAVE to be. You'll find a lot of great brands by trying something new & be able to stockpile for your family's need much better.

4. Just because it's store brand doesn't mean it's cheaper. Again, coupons + great sale = a LOT cheaper than store brand. Don't fall for that myth & don't perpuate it. LOL Now, if you need something and there's not a good sale or a good coupon to make a sale great, obviously, go for the store brand. But otherwise, you'll have better luck with a brand name.

5. Bigger isn't always better. Sure, a bigger box might have a better price per unit/ounce/whatever to start with, but if the small one is on sale and you have a coupon for it, you'll get a much hotter deal. Example: Box of 20 oz cereal is on sale for $4.00 - price per ounce is $.20. Box of 14 oz cereal is not on sale and is $3.00 - price per ounce is $.21. Without a coupon, sure, the 20oz is a better deal. But now throw in a coupon for $1 off 1 box. That 20oz cereal becomes $.15 per ounce while the not on sale 14oz box becomes $.14 ounce. Not a big difference in cost, but when you're watching every penny, it IS a difference.

6. Meal plan - and if you don't have a stockpile, then plan around your store's sales & what you have on hand. Do you really NEED boneless skinless chicken breasts that aren't on sale for $4.49lb? Or can you make a delicious chicken meal with the boneless thighs that are on sale for $.89lb? Think about the staples that you have on hand - what can you make with them? What can you buy on sale this week to make a meal with those staples?

7. Plan ahead!! This is a great time saver and can help lower your dining out costs. Ground beef or turkey goes on sale and it's a good price. You know that your family loves spaghetti with meat sauce or nachos. Buy several pounds, cook them up together, and then divide & freeze. Need a quick dinner one night? You can reach in your freezer, toss the frozen cooked meat into the pan or the microwave, boil some water & cook up some pasta, heat up sauce, and voila. Within 10 minutes, you're eating a homecooked meal. That's less time than it takes to have a pizza delivered - and a LOT less money. Try planning ahead with a lot of things - cooking up meats and freezing into meal size portions; buying produce on sale, prepping it for future use, and freezing it until needed (peppers, onions, etc. all can be frozen and are just perfect for cooking with down the road!); whip up a batch of dough for bread, pizza, rolls or tortillas - if you have the time, bake a few loaves then, if not, refrigerate for later (or freeze).

I'm more than happy to share dough recipes or any other time saving recipes with anyone. I bought Artisan Bread in 5 Minutes A Day and it has been a life saver. A loaf of bread costs me less than 25 cents a loaf. I purchase King Arthur All Purpose unbleached flour at BJ's - 10lb bag costs me $5.79. I get my yeast from BJ's, as well. A two-pack of bricks costs a little over $3 (I'm still on the first brick and I've had it about a year now) and I only need 1.5tbsp per batch. A 3lb box of Kosher salt costs me $3.59 (not on sale) at my local food store, but I only need 1.5 tbsp of it. Total cost for one batch is ~$.93 and each batch makes four 1lb loaves.

Hope this helps!

[wudnit]

Karen: I would LOVE dough recipes!!! I made home made rolls the other day that were delicious!!! We cooked a turkey that I bought while on sale during the holidays and we had a THanksgiving with the family in February!! Then I made chicken broth and got enough broth for two large batches of soup. I've already made one batch which we devoured and will make another batch of soup tomorrow. I LOVE soup and I love to have it with fresh rolls or bread.

I freeze any extra broth to make soup at a later date. I was very careful on my grocery shopping for the month and saved $100 from what I've been spending. I really need to check out the grocery game!!! I keeping telling myself I don't have time as I work full time.

Wudnit

[MALMomma]

Oh man, the best thing about the Grocery Game is that it saves you time! Ok, that's not the best thing (the saving money is), but sometimes saving time is just as great! You don't need to clip a single coupon until an item you need to stock up on comes on your List. Just file the inserts in a folder or binder until needed. Print out your List, go through & clip the needed coupons, and then off to the store! Minimal time involved, I swear! LOL

I'll post the recipe a little bit later for the dough. I love that it makes an ~4lb batch of dough that can remain the fridge for up to 2 weeks! (Longer it stays in there, the more sourdough qualities it takes on - MMMM)

[wudnit]

Thanks Karen. I'm going to check out the grocery game this weekend.

Wudnit

[Dzaka]

As we've discussed in the past, milk tends to drag us into the grocery store and, as I had posted in the past, I end up spending an average of over $80 per gallon when I go to the store.....in other words, my trip for milk ends up being a trip resulting in nearly $100 of other items.

Which is one of the reason milk is always at the back of the store. I read a book a couple years ago about what store place what where. I think I need to track that book down again

[MALMomma]

I've also heard that the stores are set up to have you go from right to left... Anything for more $$.

[blarg]

Actually, a bit of culture shock when I moved to Australia was that the stores here are generally set up for you to go left to right. Messes with your head at first.

[MALMomma]

Actually, a bit of culture shock when I moved to Australia was that the stores here are generally set up for you to go left to right. Messes with your head at first.

And that's the route I normally take at my stores! I guess I'd have to go the opposite way if I shopped in Oz, huh? LOL

[bookman413]

@ "Before starting YNAB I would "tell myself" that I had a $100 budget, but I was really lying to myself because I knew darn well that I was going to buy everything in my cart even if I went over-budget."


Exactly, because there's really no point to holding the line on a budget category unless the money adds up to something and makes a difference. With YNAB( and zero-based budgeting in general) you know that holding that $100 budget line is meaningful and is part of an overall goal that you can succeed at.

[cupcake]

Just wanted to add that I am a loyal Grocery Gamer and actually learned about Ynab from their forums. Anyway, I personally have redeemed over $2500 worth of coupons (with a few rebates thrown in) since I started in January 2009. It really adds up quickly and it is a FUN game. I think I save about 50% off groceries and household soap type stuff every week. Try it if you are curious. It's easy, it saves gobs of money and they offer a free trial (4 weeks???). I love it!