Hi SweetShreya- $800 just for groceries or does this include eating out? We are family of 2 (currently 3 as mom is here) but I dont think its over 600. I also do my shopping in WH or TJ. My problem is more than the stuff we eat, I waste a lot because I am always excited about food shopping and have a long list of ingredients from a bunch of recepies. I buy stuff that I use for a recepie and the rest goes waste as I dont know what to go with it or never end up making all stuff from all recipies selected. I know my problem but I am helpless to correct it . And I dont even but too much cooked or pre packaged or junk food either- just a couple of things.
SreeSri, What do you mean by Tax on your income? You'll consider the before-tax income and deduct all the expenses? Can you mention your expenses after tax? Also, can you give us categories of expenses and what are the steps you take to reduce expenses?
Sweetshreya, I think $800 for groceries is way higher especially for 2 people. This is what I do to keep our grocery budget within $300: I go for grocery shopping only once a week I create a list for things that I want to buy that week and stick to it. For items that came up after we enter grocery store, we have $10 excess to buy those. I use an app called springpad which can be shared between family members. My husband and I will enter list of items we need to buy for that specific week which helps us cover all the items we need to buy. I look for coupons and sales in the internet. For example, I shop at HEB (Texas grocery store) and Randalls. I have Randalls app which gives good coupons for milk and cheese. I will never run our of things. For example, I look for sale and coupons for toiletries. I stock them up whenever I see a good sale and make sure we never run out of them. So, when we use the last body wash or last can of detergent, I'll start looking for sale and clearance and stock them up again. We do our grocery shopping every Saturday. Every Sunday evening, I check my fridge with a notepad and note down the list of produce I have in the fridge and create a menu based on the list of items in the fridge. This helps me reduce waste and eat healthy. W don't have costco or sams club membership. I've tried it for a year and realized that we don't need to buy bulk for 2 people and most of the stuff we buy there go waste as we were not able to consume all before expiry date By the way, we don't use sugar. We use either palm sugar or honey or agave nectar, which increase our grocery expenses. I don't buy prepacked dinners either. These may increase our grocery expenses, but I know it's good for our family health. Hope it helps...
Uma.. thats indeed a smart planning!! Even I follow some of these.. like preparing menu for week ahead with groceries available in fridge And using mint to track budget.. springpad sounds interesting! I love to buy veggies fruits every week so its fresh and minimal wastage The most confusing part for me in budgeting is categorizing.. especially with gifts, clothing and additional shopping and outings which are random and impulsive expenses..
Anusha, True. I too like to buy veggies and fruits every week For categorizing the expenses, If you go back and look at the last 6 months of your expenses, you'll understand how much it will cost for gift giving, general expenses for home, clothing, outings. My husband loves to travel. So our travel budget is around $4000 per annum. I balanced it out monthly ($300 per month) and I told my husband that he is free to spend it however way he wants. Now he is keen on finding great deals for flights and other travel tickets. :thumbsup Uma Shopping: I created a category called "uma shopping" in mint and set aside $50 per month. Clothing, cosmetics, eyebrow threading, and other MY expenses go under this category. I checked my last 6 months expenses and came up with this budget. Now, I don't go above my budget and I look for ways to expend my money I need to create a category called "India Travel" and set aside $300 per month. That way, I'll be accountable to something when I travel to India (I buy ton of stuff in my India visit :bonk). This $300 will cover our flight costs + expenses there.
Hi guys.. You all seem very smart in keeping track of your budget. Myself - am married, but I haven't created a budget so far(neither has my husband). I created a spreadsheet to keep track of things, but never used it. We are a single income family(am still searching for job), but have never slackened in spending From what remains in our hand at the end of the month, I always wonder where did we spend so much?? Seeing ur posts definitely gives me interest to take an initiative(Thx Uma). Atleast the use of an app, will reduce my laziness, i guess.. SpringPad, Quicken,Mint - Any other suggestions?
Hi Friends, enjoyed reading your replies. Here goes mine. Rent - 1000 Grocery - About 50-100$ twice a month Electricity/Phone - Around 200$ Trying to recollect others. We try to minimize our other budgets to save enough for travel, which comes to around a 1000$ or more in 3-4 months, and shopping, which is a 100$ or more per month and we buy something expensive for the house twice an year.
nvembu, Both Mint and Quicken are budgeting tools. You can track your expenses. Choose the one you're comfortable with. We all start from step 1. Don't worry. you'll get there soon. One thing to reduce your spending is to reduce the money available to spend. For example, If you buy a property, you need to pay EMI every month. It will reduce your money on hand. Also, increase your 401K contribution (I match my employer's contribution). this will reduce your money after tax. Experts: please pour in your ideas.
