The biggest hurdle for us was where to begin? How to start saving money? My concern was, “What is the Best Way to Track Our Spending as a Family?” All the budget articles that I read were showing examples of tracking spending on a per-item basis. As a family of 5, this was not very realistic! Just the thought of going about it this way made budgeting seem overwhelming.

When I was looking to set-up a budgeting system, I was not looking for another job! To update our budget today takes closer to 15 mins per week! Anyone with kids knows you do not have time to do anything until the kids are in bed.

One evening it dawned on me, we shop at the same stores for the same items month after month. We go to Costco for gas (the cheapest gas in town) and fruits and veggies. We go to Walmart to get the sugar-free coffee creamer (Costco does not carry) and some other items that we do not want to buy in bulk. Finally, we go to Target for the rest. I decided to begin to build our budget by listing the stores where we shop and our average amount spent over the past 3 months. Forgetting about the per item list. You can see a sample of our Home Budget by following this link (Link to Google Docs)

This list was an eye-opener! It was a HUGE eye-opener to see much we spend every month at Walmart, Costco, and Target, and not to mention Amazon. Having this information, we were now able to begin to get a handle on our spending and see where our money was going every month. We realized that we were doing something wrong! How was it that we had a full pantry but still went out shopping for food every week?

WE WERE SHOPPING FOR GROCERIES IN THE WRONG WAY. 

We began with the following 3 Simple Steps, which helped us reduce how much money we spent on Groceries without necessarily cutting back.  

1. Always use a shopping list, and not just for groceries. Our biggest issue was thinking that “we might need this” or impulse buys. Things we were not 100% sure we might need, but we would buy anyway, just in case. This forced us to plan our meals for the week, which reduced how much food spoiled and got thrown out. Do you realize that throwing out food is like throwing out your money! 
2. We always go Grocery Shopping after eating a full meal. This is the easiest way to avoid all the “food” impulse buys. As a side benefit, it probably is healthier to walk around after a meal than to flop on the couch to watch TV.
3. Avoid Shopping with kids! Anyone that has gone shopping with kids or watched someone shopping with kids has witnessed why this is! It is impossible to stick to your list if you are shopping with kids. We divide and conquer. One of us stays home, and the other goes grocery shopping without the kids.

Following these 3 simple steps has helped us reign in our spending on groceries. We have reduced the amount of food thrown out as waste while taking control of our spending. Did you know that, according to the National Resource Defense Council, the average household throws out 40% of their food! By only buying what we will consume, we can reduce the amount of money we throw out in the garbage in food that we do not eat!

Implement these steps today and watch how the amount of food you throw out drops drastically.