- check how much you have been spending all along including that fridge list that you always buy once a week.
2. Now that you know how much you have been spending,assess your financial situation,how financially stable are you and how much you are willing to spend.
3. Keep a weekly fridge list:
- This list includes those food stuffs that are refridgerated e.g fruits,vegetables,bread,fresh milk
- This will help you to have a certain amount of money that you take from your budget &put it aside for weekly use other than taking it from wallet when you have exhausted your monthly budget.
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| Shopping |
4. Next make a standardised/basic commodity list:
-this includes all basic things you need from mealie meal,cooking oil,sugar to washing powder etc ( this is a list of those things that you can't run your home without not luxury stuff)
5. Now that you have a list of basic commodities, plan and create your own weekly menu. Write down what you will be eating during meals and snack times per week. From breakfast, lunch and supper for a week meaning to say every Monday or any other day of the week e.g every Monday supper: rice and chicken/pork (anything available be it chicken / pork)
-this includes all basic things you need from mealie meal,cooking oil,sugar to washing powder etc ( this is a list of those things that you can't run your home without not luxury stuff)
5. Now that you have a list of basic commodities, plan and create your own weekly menu. Write down what you will be eating during meals and snack times per week. From breakfast, lunch and supper for a week meaning to say every Monday or any other day of the week e.g every Monday supper: rice and chicken/pork (anything available be it chicken / pork)
6. From the weekly menu,now make a list of those food stuffs that you have mentioned in the menu with their quantities bearing in mind that you have roughly 4 weeks in a month so remember to multiply by 4 in-order to get monthly quantities e.g if you need 2 cups of rice every Monday it means (2 cups × 4 Mondays in a month) = 8 cups of rice thats roughly 2kg of rice per month. Do the same for all good stuffs.
7. Combine your standardised list and your menu list ...you are almost done.the next step is to take your list and choose 2/3 shops that are cheap then you can go do window shopping and compare prices or rather collect pamphlets ,check for commodities that are on sale or reduced prices.Also check on t.v, some sales are advertised on t.v & radios.Write down those that are cheap and where they are cheap.
8. You can now make a list of what you are going to buy and from which shop.I recommend you have at most 2/3 cheapest shops that you will buy your commodities to avoid moving around too much and confusion.
9. Since you have identified things that are on sale.If your money permits you can also buy in bulk and your budget will be reduced for the next coming months.
10. When buying fruits and vegetables from your weekly fridge list,buy the fruits and vegetables that are in season because they are plenty in the shops and in the markets therefore making them very cheap & affordable.Those are out of season are usually imports therefore making them expensive.e.g buying grapes in winter/mangoes in winter etc .
11. When you are on the till watch your goods being scanned.Some may seem reduced on the shelve but when scanned on the till you will realise they are not reduced but rather too expensive for you.
12. Always keep paper bags for re-use on your next shopping especially if you bought them. Do not be ashamed to push your trolley outside then you take out your old plastic bags and pack your goods there. Remember we are trying to save here so every cent counts.
13. As soon as you get home,pray 4 your groceries to last and rebuke the devourer spirit and then unpack them.
NB. Never go for shopping on an empty stomach,you will end up going off the budget buying yourself lunch:
- Never go for grocery shopping with your kids,believe you, me ,you will end up buying what they want rather than what is on your list.Remember you are the parent &you know what is good for them from food to bathing soap
- Another thing you will end up buying your kids expensive take away (that you did not budget for) rather leave them home.
- Love your left overs, do not throw away left over food be it it's ordinary beef soup or cheap vegetables.left overs are good for lunch boxes or afternoon snacks.
May God give you wisdom to run your home
