What? That’s right! Today I’m going to show you how to declutter & lower your grocery budget . At least once a year for the past 2-3 years, I have began this practice of “decluttering my budget”.
My first experiment with this process was a few years back when we found ourselves getting a little lax with our finances. During the mission to “reclaim” our budget, I found that some of my purchasing habits were no longer budget worthy. That’s when I decided it was time to DECLUTTER!
What exactly does declutter mean?
Declutter : “To remove unnecessary items from“
That sums it up about right! It’s so easy to let unnecessary purchases slip into our everyday and every week spending. That doesn’t mean that you have to necessarily give up all these items. But oftentimes, there are cheaper options that have nothing to do with loss of quality. And .. yes, sometimes we do need to give up things!
Why Should I Declutter My Grocery Budget?
Taking time to “declutter” your grocery budget helps put your spending back into prospective and can help fix an over spending issue.
This is also a great way to transfer from “no budget” into a “new budget” Or from a bigger budget into a smaller one.
How To Declutter & lower my grocery budget
1. First, I began checking my every week spending.
I am looking for items that I could possibly save on, substitute, or omit completely from my grocery list.
You want to look for
#1 very expensive items
#2 anything you use a lot of
Next you will Begin a list of these items.
Don’t worry about figures yet, just start the list.
As you go about your day and notice qualifying items you use, add them to the list. Check your online grocery app for frequent purchases or add items as you add them to your physical grocery list.
3. Once you have a few items on the list, you can sit down and begin your “Decluttering” process.
To declutter, you will need to do some figuring.
You will need…
–note pad
-pencil
-calculator
Choose one item form your list. You want to begin by asking yourself these 5 questions.
1.Is this product something I need or really want to keep purchasing?
2.If yes, could I make or purchase this item for cheaper? If no, mark off of list.
3.How much do I currently spend on this item,on an average, annually? You can do this by multiplying the average amount you spend on the item by 52 (for 52wks in a year) or multiply how much you spend a month on the item by 12 (12mo the per year).
*Figuring by the year is very important!
This shows you exactly how much your small expense add up in comparison to your usage. It can be surprising, at times , what seems so little can add up to when used regularly!
4.How much less could I make or purchase item for per year?
5.How much would I annually save and
is it worth the exchange?
If it’s not worth it, mark from list and continue to next item.
*Here is the exact savings results I had from two of the items on my grocery declutter this year. I did this 5 step process to these two items and this was my result!
Just by changing the brand of washer cleaner that I use to a equal quality product, I was able to save $71.76 per year! That’s an entire week of groceries for my family!
Imagine what your saving total could be after decluttering an entire grocery list!
This was not even my biggest single item savings this year . My biggest savings declutter had to be from our OLLY multivitamins. I simply swapped which store I would purchase these SAME EXACT vitamins from and discovered that I could save approximately $87.36 per year ! Just on vitamins.
These same steps can help you declutter and lower your grocery budget in the same way!
How Long Does it take to Declutter and lower your grocery budget?
This process can be a little time consuming but don’t feel like you have to do it all at once and remember, once your saving it will be so worth it! I like to start with a few items then as I think of more products to add to my list I’ll continue the process, breaking it up in 2-3 small sessions.
I don’t recommend waiting too long in between sessions for fear of forgetting exactly where you are at in the process.
No matter how you do it, all at once, or over a couple weeks, be sure you stay at it until you are complete.
Why Should You declutter and lower your grocery budget Every Year?
I declutter and lower my grocery budget at least once year for the same reason I declutter my home over and over. And that is because time has a way to build up “clutter”.
Life happens, we add purchases we didn’t need last year without considering the most frugal options. Sometimes, prices fluctuate or new items are available changing the “best buy” and other times life gets busy or we get slack adding things we just don’t need.
All that said and I personally have found that decluttering my grocery budget once a year is definitely NOT overdoing it!
If anything, it isn’t enough.
Tips For Success while you declutter and lower your grocery budget
• Don’t forget to keep ALL the notes of your savings and tally them up at the end!
This is where you will see the big results of you’re labor, and just think, next time you shop, you will see even bigger results!
You can also use your savings notes for future checks on savings as new purchasing opportunities arise so, don’t toss them out to quick.
•When considering ordering items as grocery replacements, do not forget to include shipping cost, if there is any.
•Never assume a “bulk” bye is cheaper. It often is, but sometimes it is NOT.
•Realize that sometimes convenience is worth the money, as long as it’s within your budget and is really beneficial to your families life.
In Conclusion
Decluttering our grocery budget has really helped me “stay in the budget.” I hope it helps you in this way too!
Please let me know in the comments below, if you try this or what you currently do to stay in you’re grocery budget.
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Happy Homemaking!
