How to Write a "Budget" Grocery List

This is a sample of how I make my grocery list to stay on budget

The night before or morning of my shopping trip each wk I write out my list.  I usually sit down with my weekly circulars, coupon binder, and online blogs to decide what I need for the week and what my meal plan will be.  I usually start by writing down each store I will be shopping at and the items I plan on purchasing there.  I divide my page into sections :

1)  What I NEED for my meal plan

2)  What is on sale/stock up prices or price matching (Walmart/Target)

3)  Other (stuff I need like envelopes, milk, bread - reg priced stuff)

4)  Any overage I can apply to my total if applicable and free items I can get with coupons

I always write down any coupons I will be using next to the items.  I put the estimated prices in the margin of my paper and I ALWAYS round ALL my prices/totals.  At the very bottom of my list I put my final estimated total AND "potential" total if overage is applied.  I like to know both totals, just in case your "overage scenario" doesn't work as planned.  Be prepared either way and don't "depend" on overage!!!  I ALWAYS stick to my list and RARELY deviate from it.  Here's what it typically looks like...

WALMART

Meal Plan :

$1      Penne Pasta ($2 - $1/1 Q = $1)

.60     Canned Tomatoes

$1.50 Fresh French Bread

$3      Bagged Salad

$1      Roma Tomatoes x 3

Price Matching/Sale:

$1     Whole watermelon (.99 each @ Sprouts)

.50    Jalapenos x 3 (.50/lb @ Miyards)

$1     Avacados x 3 (3 for $1 @ Minyards)

$3     3 lbs Black Grapes (.99/lb @ Kroger)

.89    Dozen Eggs (.89/dozen @ Aldi)

Other:

$1    Aluminum Foil

$2    Light Bulbs x 4

$4    Hair Dye ($7 - $3 Q = 4)

Possible Overage/Free Items:

+ $4.12   4 Tide Travel Sizes (.97/each x 4 - 4 $2/1 Q = $4.12 +)

+ .12       4 Reach Floss (.97/each x 4 - $1/1 Q = .12 +)

0             1 Travel Size First Aid Kit ($1 each - $1/1 Q = FREE)

Total = $20.50

Total with Overage = $16.50

Tip # 5 - Saving at Ethnic Markets

Last week, as part of my "Thrifty Tip Thursday" post (HERE) I mentioned about saving on your grocery budget by using local ethnic markets.  Well today I got a local circular from a Hispanic market proving this theory...
If you live in the DFW area (also in Austin and other areas in TX) there is a store called "El Rancho SuperMercado" and it's newest location is off of North Beach Street in Fort Worth.  Click the link HERE to see their locations and weekly ad.  This would also be a great store to price match at Walmart!  Here are some advertised sales that stood out to me...

El Rancho SuperMercado

Bone In Pork Butt - $1.39/lb

Marinated Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts - $1.79/lb

Extra Large Shrimp (no count given) - $3.99/lb

Sonny's Medium Eggs 18 pk - .99

Cabbage - 6 lbs for $1

Avacados - 6 for $1

Russet Potatoes - 10 lb bag for .99  (BETTER than Aldi!!!)

Limes - 15 for .98

Cilantro bunches - 4 for .98

Mexican squash - 2 lbs for .88

Tangerines - 6 for $1

Red Delicious Apples - 4 for .99

Disposable Foil Roaster (turkey roaster) - .77 (BEST price I have seen!!!)

The proof is in the numbers!!!

Following a Grocery Budget

EVERY good couponer has a budget.  Every budget is different.  There's no "magic number" that you must follow or rule of thumb that works for every family.  My family only consists of my husband and me.  I usually try to spend no more than $50/week.  This includes pretty much everything: food, toiletries, dog food and drug store deals.  If I spend less than $50 one week, than the next week I will add that extra "unused" money to the next week's budget.  I'm currently trying to build my stock pile so that eventually it can be less than that.  I do have a separate $50/monthly "stock up budget" that I use as a cushion for things that I have an abundance of but will buy in bulk when sales are good.  I did this because I found that even though the stock up items cost next to nothing it was eating up my weekly food budget.  If you buy paper towels for $2 a package - that's a good price.  If you buy 15 of them to stock up on it adds up to $30, leaving only $20 for actual food and other necessary items on your list. 

This is how I do my weekly grocery budget:

1.  ALWAYS use cash - I do the envelope system (Dave Ramsey Style).  But I take out $50 every Sunday instead of monthly or on pay day.  Sunday is when my budget starts every wk and ends on the following Saturday.  I like Sundays bc this is when a lot of the drug store and non-grocery store ads start over and its important to get things ASAP before they are out.  It also helps when you can physically see how much $ you have left to spend for the week.

2.  I save all my receipts in my monthly grocery budget envelope.  This is also good since you have all your receipts for future mail in rebates you may not know about when you purchase an item. I separate the weeks by paper clipping my receipts and attaching a post it note with the appropriate info.  Week #, $ spent thus far, and $ left to date.  (SEE PIC ABOVE)

3.  I have a 4x6 index card with my overall monthly budget at the top and the weekly totals

4.  I keep my budget envelopes (both grocery and stock up) in my coupon binder.  I never have to guess how much $ I have left over or what I have already bought.