I did a cash experiment in March to see if it made a difference in my spending. It made me keep closer track of where our money was going to do things that way, but I decided to do things differently this month to see if there was a difference. So in April I used my credit card as usual to pay for my groceries and Walgreens purchases, but I kept my receipts so I could keep track of my spending. So beginning April 1st, here are the results:
Week 1:
Groceries: $41.31
Walgreens: $15.03 (have $2 RR left) Total: $56.34
Week 2:
Groceries: $48.99
Walgreens: $0.65 OOP -used gift card for the rest (have $5.50 RR left)
CVS: $0 OOP -used ECBs and gift card (have $13.49 ECBs left)
Walmart: $22.90 Total: $72.54
Week 3:
Groceries: $57.33 (and submit for $3.49 in rebates)
CVS: $0 OOP -used ECBs and gift card (have $10 ECBs left)
Walgreens: $9.74 (have $7 RR left) Total: $67.07
Week 4:
Groceries: $37.18 (and submit for $6.68 in rebates)
Walgreens: $1.73 (have $2 RR left) Total: $38.91
Overall Total $234.86
To be honest, I had been typing in my numbers each week, but I hadn't been keeping a running total. When I added it up just now, I was hoping I'd be under $275 so I would be able to get groceries next week and still stay under budget! With $275 as my total, that leaves me $40.14 for next week. If I'm careful I can probably do it, but squeezing 5 weeks in (because I always shop on Wednesdays--double coupon day!) makes it tight!
How do you keep within your grocery budget each month? Do you use cash or credit cards? What do you do in months where there are 5 weeks?
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Friday, April 24, 2009
April Spending
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5 comments:
Karen said:
"Stick with the budgeting!! It's tough the first few months, but it will get better. We've been doing the $$ envelopes for about 3 years now. My husband gets paid ONCE a month (we use his paycheck to cover groceries) so we have to really watch how we "stock up". How many weeks there are in a month really doesn't affect the way we save or spend each month. Some months are tighter than others as well.
I suppose it also helps that we have an 18 & 20 year old at home and they can “go hungry” (yeah, right! :) if need be!"
Jessica, when my husband gets paid every two weeks, I take my grocery allowance in CASH. When I used to pay for it with a credit card, I always overspent and now that cash helps me to stay within my parameters.
Jessica, when my husband gets paid every two weeks, I take my grocery allowance in cash and I go shopping every Friday. That helps me not to go overbudget and I know exactly how long I need to stretch food out for.
Jessica,
My husband gets paid every two weeks and I take my grocery allowance then in CASH because I used to use credit cards and I always spent more. Now that I have my cash, I never go over!
Nice Signature!!
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