With the Price of Everything Going Up, How Do You Budget?
Yesterday I spent about $110 total between the two grocery stores I shop at. Since my grocery budget per week is $85, this was significantly over the budget I had set for myself, and had been more or less successfully following for the past few months. Occasionally, I would have a week where I spent much more than the budget, but that would usually be balanced out by another week where I spent significantly under. But yesterday, I didn’t expect to spend quite so much - my list was just a little more than average and I expected to be at maybe $90 total or maybe $95.
I started looking at detail at my receipts when I got home, and comparing the prices of items to the past few months. I am behind on entering prices on my spreadsheet, but I have the receipts still to compare. And over the past few weeks, a number of items have steadily increased. Milk is about $1.00 a gallon more than it was in January. Peanut butter is $0.50 more. Apples are about $0.20/lb more. Cat litter is almost $1 more. Even animal crackers and rice cakes have gone up $0.10 each. In fact, a number of things that just 2 months ago were $0.99 on my list are now $1.09 or even $1.19. Even though that is a seemingly small price increase, when the majority of your list goes up by 10% or 20%, your spending also goes up.
What’s your strategy for dealing with ever-increasing prices? Do you adjust your budget upwards? Where does the money come from? Although, hopefully, my spouse will receive a raise in the next month or so, we’ve also adjusted his 401K contribution upwards, and he brings home about $50 less every two weeks than he used to. The raise may compensate for that but I doubt he’ll get a much higher raise than that. So we’re starting to look at the rest of our budget and see what can be squeezed or trimmed. There is some trimming I can do in the food budget as well, but in the end, eating healthy food is important and there is only so much trimming that can happen.
Where are you at with your food budget, and what are you doing to compensate if you need to?
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April 21st, 2008 at 3:59 pm
i recently joined the grocery game and have been surprised how much i’ve saved. i get lists for kroger’s and walgreen’s and you do have to be careful not to get sucked into unhealthy (but cheap) choices. at the minimum i will save a ton on household stuff (deodorant, tp, etc) because you can work some rebate deals with walgreens that come out free or nearly so. i also check out a lot of blogs that have scenarios for shopping at my favorite stores (showing you how to combine sales and coupons for low prices).
i think my food budget is one place where i can greatly improve my spending and there are lots of tools out there that can help.
April 21st, 2008 at 4:41 pm
We have gone to eating a lot of sandwiches. Just can’t afford to eat more healthy than that. Gas goes up and so does everything else. My snowball amount is shrinking.
April 21st, 2008 at 4:58 pm
I don’t use a budget but what actually happens to me is a bit less for general savings (just savings for whatever I might want - vacation…). I am not going to cut my only targeted savings - for retirement.
If I didn’t have un-committed funds - say all my money was going to be spent somewhere - I would probably just reduce the luxuries (going out to eat, cheaper vacation…).
April 21st, 2008 at 5:26 pm
With the rise in gas and food prices we are going to cut out one vacation this summer…we normally do several long weekends and end up driving 3 or 4 hours from home.
Plus, I use the Coupon Mom site to tracks sales and use my coupons…it is free!! I used to pay for the Grocery Game so this saves me even more. I also stock up on the loss leader sales and fill my freezer up really cheap.
I am spending more mindfully and adding even more to our emergency fund. The state of the economy is really starting to worry me ,so we want to be prepared in the event of an unexpected job loss.
April 21st, 2008 at 5:50 pm
No idea, really. Can only think to do what would normally be used to reduce your grocery bill, has to be applied just to stay even. Depressing. I hope grocery stores, their suppliers, etc., figure out ways to reduce their costs (use biofuels, ship more efficiently, purchase locally, just be more energy efficient overall -whatever) otherwise a lot will simply resort to firing employees or reducing workers’ hours to control their costs. That certainly won’t help our economy!
April 21st, 2008 at 6:26 pm
I’ve started the Grocery Game as well. I save about $20 a week, so I think that’s offsetting recent increases. However, I find it depressing to have to clip coupons to stay ON budget. I really wanted that to be snowflakes for debt reduction.
April 21st, 2008 at 6:41 pm
I hear ya about the increase in prices. I started a price book about a month ago and I had to adjust EVERY item that we normally buy at Sam’s Club. On average, the prices of the items in my book (from Sam’s Club) have all gone up ~40 cents each!! Ugh!! The unit prices on these items are still better than our local grocery store, but boy are they close. It might not even be worth it to renew our membership next year. However, I have barely noticed any increase in the items that we routinely purchase at our local grocery store. I’m sure it’s going to happen any day now
I haven’t made any adjustments to our grocery budget yet. In March, we only had $10 left for the last week of the month so all I bought was milk, bread and bananas. We barely scraped by but we did it. Our freezer and pantry were bare bones at the end of the month and I couldn’t wait until April 1st. It really felt good using up almost everything that we had on our shelves. We still have one more week left for this month and I am again down to about $10. It’s going to get very interesting
With summer rapidly approaching, our oil and electric bills have decreased substantially. So for now, I will be able to make adjustments to our overall budget that will not affect the bottom line. I’m still going to try and stay within the $500 grocery budget that I have been using since I started budgeting in January. I always like a good challenge
Beans and rice, rice and beans baby!
April 21st, 2008 at 6:58 pm
I feel the pinch! And I compensate by shopping less! We eat from the cupboard and fridge more often now. I buy no processed foods, no cookies or crackers, no extras…only the basics for a healthy diet. I do make more crockpot and 1 dish meals now. For snacks we make stove top popcorn from kernels and pita chips from pita bread. And I have a big patio tomato plant growing on my porch, which I hope will provide salad tomatoes all summer.
April 21st, 2008 at 7:45 pm
I adjust up
Especially with gas for my car: I don’t have much of a choice since I deliver pizzas.
April 21st, 2008 at 7:45 pm
I find I’m eating less meat as it’s really expensive here in Australia at the moment. I’m also doing more of my shopping from around the edges of the supermarket and making things from scratch. I’ve been buying generics as much as possible for a while now so they help too.
April 21st, 2008 at 9:41 pm
I’ve drastically cut back on meat (1x wk instead of nearly every meal) and get most of my protein from eggs now. I’ve also decreased portion sizes (who doesn’t need a diet?), started thinking of food more methodically (Is there a cheaper way to get fiber? protein? whatever), and made some of the changes I’d been hesitant about before (powdered milk for cooking and eliminating all non-water beverages except for my morning tea). So far it’s working pretty well– I’ve been able to add in some more inexpensive greens and grains and am staying on budget more often than not. These price increases are killer!
April 21st, 2008 at 11:02 pm
I adjusted our grocery and gas budgets up recently. I mean, surely you could cut the amount of food you have or eat really cheaply, but you need to think about it. Inflation exists, and it is going to eat away at getting as many goods for $x. If it makes you feel any better, the debt you are paying on is also worth less in missed out purchasing power as a result of inflation.
Hey if the economy collapses and there is hyperinflation, assuming your spouses keeps his job, it would be really easy to pay back the debt
“Oh, psssh, I make $500 an hour at McDonalds” 
April 22nd, 2008 at 12:32 am
Wow! This afternoon when I visited the Safeway after having stayed away for several weeks, I was stunned. Prices were ridiculous.
They gave me a coupon book (thoughtful) for “green” products, most of which are processed foods, which I don’t eat. Plus of course those old organic stand-bys, Pepsi and Coke. Which I don’t drink.
It looks like I’m going to be eating more beans–bought a bag of great northerns today–and less meat. Am already planning two all-veggie days a week. When the Costco stash of meat and fish runs out, I’ll buy large chunks of meat, such as pork roasts and chicken, that can be spun out indefinitely as leftovers. Lots more crockpot meals, lots fewer barbecues this summer!
And keep working a second job…try to keep that extra income stream comin’ in!
April 22nd, 2008 at 3:12 am
Just heard tonight that Costco is actually (at least in CA) rationing/limiting the amount of rice people can purchase per visit. Apparently some of our international sources of rice are now limiting exports.
Sheesh.
Also heard on the news how in some regions of the world, the food staple corn is becoming too expensive for the poor to purchase. Alot of corn is being diverted for ethanol and various other nonfood products. I’m sure we’ll soon feel the impact of this here, too.
April 22nd, 2008 at 6:31 am
At the moment I am not budgeting. I have worked hard on getting my expenses down and buy nothing unnecessary apart form luxury foods so I am still doing that at the moment as my one treat. I am concentrating on earning more money rather than spending less.
April 22nd, 2008 at 9:12 am
I’ve saved money for a freezer, which I will be buying soon.
This will allow me to do the following:
Buy a quarter beef and a quarter hog - Purchasing in this quantity will save me significant dollars over all on meet costs, and I’m purchasing from a local farmer who doesn’t do engage in factory farming.
Freeze produce from my garden.
Purchase bulk frozen goods when they are at lowest price in my local retail establishments.
Next, I will need to develop a root cellar area in my basement for long term storage of root vegetables. But I need more research into that because my basement develops leaks during heavy rains so I need to know how to mitigate.
Of course, the next thing is that I’m starting gardening. Not a ton, but enough that I shouldn’t need to buy certain easy to grow vegetables from mid-June throught the end of September, and longer, depending how much excess I have that I can put up.
Lastly, we have a farmers market that will be starting up soon, and I will be returning to it for regular purchases as well.
April 22nd, 2008 at 9:26 am
Yes, prices just keep going up and up. My grocery budget is pretty bare boned the way it is. I will NOT give up healthy foods for my family. I’m not fanatical about buying only organics or anything, I’m simply talking about lean meats, fruits and veggies, and low fat dairy like skim milk and yogurt.
How am I adjusting my budget? Well, it’s not something that I like but I’ve started transfering more money over from my “giving” envelope and putting it into my grocery envelope:( There’s just no where else to pull money from at this point….
April 22nd, 2008 at 9:56 am
You’ll have to reduce one or more of the following to get your budget adjusted accordingly:
Discretionary spending
Savings
Extra debt payments
April 22nd, 2008 at 10:50 am
I can’t believe how much food has gone up in the last 3 months!! Here are some things I’ve done:
– started buying gallons of milk at the gas station convenience store (for some reason, it is $3.59 — was $3.49 until last week — there instead of over $4.) I then freeze half of it in glass quart jars until I need it.
– started cooking more dry beans. I’ve eaten more beans and less meat for years, but now, instead of reaching for a can, I try to remember to cook up a pot of beans in the crockpot on the weekend and freeze what I don’t use.
– buy the cheapest pasta instead of the rotini and angel hair that I prefer. I plan to try to make some, too.
– put in a small garden (8×12 ft) with spinach, tomatoes, peppers, peas — I’ll add beans & squash soon.
– built a chicken coop from scrap materials and ordered some chicks!!(of course, not everyone can do this, but I plan on eggs being my primary source of protein.)
– I now buy NO junk food (unless you consider crackers to be junk food) and no mixes.
Still, I’m spending more than I was a year ago at this time.
April 22nd, 2008 at 12:28 pm
I have turned off the heat and AC. With a gas heater, I expect that cost to go up (same for the hot water heater) and I am trying to add and remove layers, use windows and ceiling fans, blinds and other methods to aid the cooling and heating of the home. Using the heat-producing appliances at night helps, too, I hear. Less stove/oven use. I am pretty good with cooking in a microwave (not just reheating). Crockpots. I am also cutting back on meat during the week. Also learning about home remedies like yogurt, vinegar, baking soda uses that can reduce OTC drug purchases and make us well quickly too. I make a killer chicken soup from scratch and that and Miso soup I think are good for many meals, healing, and such. I am on a low-carb diet, so don’t want to add beans, but sweet potatoes I will bake and keep in the fridge, reheat in the oven. They are sweet, fibrous, good for you, and my grandmother used to have them for her after school snack back in the 20s, so kids can enjoy them, too, instead of other snacks (I do doctor with butter and salt but not sugar/cinnamon). They can be a good dinner as well (I often have something small like that, an avocado, or yogurt with fruit I cut up and fiber one cereal, for dinner after working out.) If any of these are useful to others, I am glad. I appreciate all the other ideas too.
April 22nd, 2008 at 7:28 pm
Hey, inflation happens. That’s just a fact of life. Different prices change at different rates based on economic conditions and you should expect your budget to change — sometimes faster than others — to match prices.
Of course, you could also take the long-term view and petition lawmakers to invest more tax money in research for alternate sources of energy. If people weren’t obsessed with fastest results (and if the farming lobby wasn’t so loud), nobody would have invested in corn-based ethanol. Some people jumped on it for profits, some jumped because it was the cheapest proposal, but nobody seemed to notice the scientists who pointed out that major investment in totally new energy distribution methods will turn out to be the cheapest in the long-run.
Yeah, I’ll stop ranting, just don’t expect to see food prices go down until years after we decide to invest heavily in fuel research.
April 22nd, 2008 at 8:24 pm
Inflation may be a fact of life and happen, but one still has to deal with it.
Unless you see a corresponding increase in salary to match prices, the money has to come from somewhere.
April 23rd, 2008 at 1:27 pm
I make an egg dish for dinner at least twice a week (scrambled) or a frittata to use up the bits of produce. Eggs are an excellent source of protein, and super healthy for most people if prepared without the bad oils.
Like another poster says, dried beans are the way to go. I cook up a big pot, freeze some and then I have easy fixings for beans and rice, refried beans and torillas, chili or soup– all of which don’t have to cost a lot, are great with the bits and scraps of vegetables that need to be used, and are healthy.
April 25th, 2008 at 6:04 pm
I have been following another great blog, blog.totallyready.com. Carolyn advises a food storage plan so that you only have to purchase food when it is on sale. I have started doing this and am saving money, despite the rising cost of many food staples. Check it out.
April 27th, 2008 at 1:53 pm
Yes, food prices have gone up. But we in the US still get cheap food, considering the true costs of our agricultural practices. I won’t go on a rant here, but will suggest reading Michael Polan’s books for more information/insight.
Our family has been buying more staples that can stretch through several meals: rice, beans, oatmeal, frozen vegetables, etc. And I just try to take advantage of sales and coupons, although its rare that your fresh produce and other whole foods go on sale. I think eating less meat is totally the way to go to stretch the budget. Most people eat more protein than we need anyway.
As for gas, I just drive less. If I stay home, well then I can’t be spending money (well, I guess I could online).