Happy Tuesday!
And thanks for coming back to continue on our journey of Once a Month Grocery Shopping : )

So, yesterday i gave you an introduction of my Once a month grocery shopping. I go to the supermarket ONCE a month cutting down on time & money. Let’s keep going… : )

STEP ONE:

Figure out your budget.

This should be your household budget for the entire month, including food, toiletries, nappies, cleaning supplies, kitchen supplies… everything. I’ll explain why you’re not going to split it up later.

BE REALISTIC with your budget! Don’t cut it down so much, in one go that it’s impossible!! If your budget it too tight when you’re learning then you will probably get discouraged and give up.

If you’ve never had a budget before, i would suggest looking through your bank statements, receipts ect & figuring exactly how much you’ve been spending. If you haven’t been keeping track before you’ll probably be surprised (& maybe horrified!) by just how much you’ve been spending. Now take that figure, and maybe reduce it by 10%

If you have a budget that works within your finances but you want to learn to shop, eat & live better/healthier. This is where i was a few years ago. We had a budget, I was sticking to it, but felt that i wasn’t always feeding my family well & working to the WEEKLY budget was stressing me out!
As you’re learning & figuring this whole new way of shopping out, i would suggest you sticking with your current budget (if it’s financially doable) & then looking at reducing it once you’ve been doing OAM shopping for a few months.

If you have a budget that ISN’T working for your finances (providing the necessities for your family is causing you to constantly be over your budget).
Firstly, life is hard in this group right?? Hopefully by coming on this journey with us we can help you figure it out!! Reduce your stress, allowing you to feed your families well!! If you’re in this group, & want extra help PLEASE email me so i can give you individual advice. There are alot of really healthy & frugal recipes that you can use while learning to live on a very reduced budget!
But for right now, KNOW your budget, however small it is!!

While writing this series i’m going to be ask open & transparent as possible. I know that finances are often one of those “unmentionables” but i believe in this context it’s appropriate & helpful to know our budget.

We spend a MAXIMUM ( i aim for less!) of NZ$400 per month. As i said before this is for my husband, 2 young children, myself & several guests & extra meals a month. It includes all of the categories that i said to include.

So, there’s your task for today : )
KNOW YOUR BUDGET! Write it down!! Pray about it!!! Bring it back tomorrow & we’ll move on to the next step.

And PLEASE REMEMBER, i don’t have this all down perfectly but i’m excited to show you the things that have helped my family… so if you need help, ask : )

~ Sally Xx