Help help help, someone make me budget

[425lisamarie]

Seriously. We have several thousand dollars going out to finish our retaining wall/fence and landscaping and I really need to try to make up for it over the next few months.


I usually spend over 1K on food and buy a lot of wine but I really need to build our savings up and need to stop doing this!

Every month I say I'm going to save but I don't!!

The biggest or at least most trackable you could say food expense is dairy. I spend $30-$35 a week on milk. I buy organic and it's one of the necessary things on my list. That's doesn't count yogurt and other dairy though.

I have tons of meats in the freezer and lots in my pantry so I really have no excuse.

Maybe I need to find like a budget buddy or soemthing

BTW: I am not buying a single bottle of wine for a whole month, and I'm actually wanting to trial this anyways because I think I may be reacting to somehting in wine anyways....queezy next day headaches etc (and I only have one glass a time...). Last month I had $400 worth of wine stocked

I just can't figure out how to stop buying things, because I absolutely love to shop

[Alyantavid]

$400 worth of wine? Wow.

I'd go through your freezers, cupboards and pantry and see what you actually have. If you can make most of your meals with that, even buying dairy and fresh produce won't be as much.

[puddle]

Plan all your meals, using up as much as you have stocked in your freezer and pantry. Make a list of other stuff you need before you go to the store and don't buy ANYTHING not on the list. Don't go down any aisles that doesn't have something on your list. Challenge yourself to make at least 2 or 3 meals a week using only what you have on hand. If you see something at the store you jst absolutely need and it's not on your list, write it down and put it on your list next week.

I'm a big impulse shopper too, and meal planning has really helped me stop buying so much crap and wasting so much food. Another thing that's helped me is that I signed up with an organic delivery service. I try to get as much as possible delivered so that when I go to the store I'm only buying a couple of things. If I can avoid going to the store at all, then I end up saving a lot of money because I can't impulse shop. I have to order my groceries on Saturday and don't get them until Tuesday, so that's made me start really planning ahead and planning meals through the weekends too. We used to eat out every meal on the weekends.


How much milk are you drinking??? How big is your family? Do you drink 5 gallons of milk a week???? Can you drink water instead for awhile?

[425lisamarie]

Originally Posted by puddle

Plan all your meals, using up as much as you have stocked in your freezer and pantry. Make a list of other stuff you need before you go to the store and don't buy ANYTHING not on the list. Don't go down any aisles that doesn't have something on your list. Challenge yourself to make at least 2 or 3 meals a week using only what you have on hand. If you see something at the store you jst absolutely need and it's not on your list, write it down and put it on your list next week.

I'm a big impulse shopper too, and meal planning has really helped me stop buying so much crap and wasting so much food. Another thing that's helped me is that I signed up with an organic delivery service. I try to get as much as possible delivered so that when I go to the store I'm only buying a couple of things. If I can avoid going to the store at all, then I end up saving a lot of money because I can't impulse shop. I have to order my groceries on Saturday and don't get them until Tuesday, so that's made me start really planning ahead and planning meals through the weekends too. We used to eat out every meal on the weekends.


How much milk are you drinking??? How big is your family? Do you drink 5 gallons of milk a week???? Can you drink water instead for awhile?

Yes, impulse shopping is my thing. My kids hate to grocery shop anymore so Iit's not like I ever NEED to go to the store. I always go myself while someone plays with them, grandma or DH.....I am making a deal with myself abuot staying away from Central Market several times a week.

Milk I'm actually ok with spending on. It's actually a huge improvment from a whiel back. We live in coffee land, and we both drink a couple of lattes a day, especially DH. with supplies at home we save a couple hundred a month instead of STarbucks. I have a tually started on tea instead of coffee, am thinking of giving up all drinks except water for a while. I drink wine, which I actually am giving up for a while for health reasons....or permanently.

I buy lots of expensive items. Lots of expensive cheeses, spices, fish....and the thing is I could keep buying these things if I didn't keep buying the same stuff that I already have just because it looks nice . It's basically my hobby though, so I don'to spend the money on any other hobby like most people have a budget for.

I make everythingt homemade, but the problem is cooking is a hobby so I end up making too much, not freezing apropriately (I even have a vaccum sealer) and I waste!! It's really awful!!

I think I just need to revamp my lifestyle because I also spend too much money at Nordstrom on facial items. I've stopped that this month too, which I've actually seen skin improvment since. I'm reather disguisted with myself actually. FOrtunately this is with income we have and not putting us in debt, but it's ridiculous adn I should have a savings the size of a mountain by now instead of wasting it.

I get a lot of rolling eyes from people, but just because I spend more than some trying to cut back on a budget, it's just as hard for me as the next. i think you tend to live up to what you make anyways. I'm really trying to change that!!

[BetsyS]

Meal planning helps me stick to a budget. We have a weekly tailgate market, so I get my produce there, then plan around it.

If I see an interesting recipe during the week (I read a lot of cookbooks, cooking magazines, what have you), then I put it on the menu for the next week, to pick up the ingredients the next time I shop. I try no to make special trips.