Guest Post Bio- Mr.CBB is the voice behind the blog at Canadian Budget Binder. He can be serious, passionate and a bit quirky but loves his fans and helping others save money in their budget. Join him daily on Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest.
Budgeting and Planning are 2 words that go hand and hand with any grocery budget. Before I moved to Canada from the United Kingdom a few years back I was young (still am) and loved to spend money but only on what I needed. The reason I talk about coupons and samples is because they are part of the reason we are able to spend $190.00 a month on groceries for the 2 of us.
Ways We Stick To Our Monthly Grocery Budget:
- Free Canadian Product Samples as you know give us the opportunity to test out new products so we are better informed of taste, quality and usefulness of the product. This has helped us to make the decision of whether to purchase a product or not when grocery shopping.
- Canadian Coupons are another factor as to why we can lower our grocery budget. We don’t use as many coupons as we used to because we realized that there were many products that we could easily make homemade for cheaper such as my homemade Sloppy Joe recipe. We like to keep a well stocked pantry as we to keep our grocery budget down.
- Flyer Deals assist us when we can plan our shopping around what is on sale. Reading the local flyer inserts to see what the specials of the week are can help ease the pain of planning your shops. Eating food that is in season can help to lower your grocery budget as will combining coupons and sales.
- Reward Cards- Each year we save our points and redeem them for groceries, gifts, tools, gas and health and beauty products.
- Growing a Garden is something we do each year. We like to grow a variety of vegetables and herbs that we can freeze for the winter so we aren’t spending more money out of pocket.
- Cooking Homemade Meals- Ok so I’m a guy, we already established that but I do love to cook and bake. I’m no Jaime Oliver (well, ok maybe the accent and charm) but in the kitchen I do enjoy learning and eating good food which doesn’t have to cost you an arm and a leg. Each week I post a new recipe on the blog that I created to add to my repertoire of recipes. You can also see all my food in one spot by visiting my Facebook page.
- Stockpiling certain products when they go on sale especially if they have a coupon is a great way to save some money. Toilet paper is a great example as you know you will always be in need of this product. We are the king of our own thrown so load up.
- The Grocery Game Challenge is a weekly check-in of our grocery shop and what we spent. It’s sort of like a grocery budget group meeting where I post my shop and you post yours. You hold yourself accountable for your spending. Lots of fans ask me “How much should my grocery budget be?” because they are spending far too much on food.
- Budgeting has been an integral part of our finances and marriage. Setting up a budget is super easy and you can read my tips and the “How We Designed Our Budget Series” that may help you start your debt freedom journey.
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