I have had my grocery budget set at $250/fortnight for at least a year now, and I rarely meet that. I don't know what I have not done yet but I can say that I have tried many ways. I noticed that despite planning for meals, something will crop up that would mess it up. A meal that I cook for at least 2 meals would either only last a meal (cos we'd eat it up cos it's so good) or will be leftovers for 2 or so days. That just messes things up especially when there's plenty of vegetables or fruits.
I had been contemplating on finishing up everything in the pantry so that I can free up space and actually buy stuff that we need. It has been working so far. So, this made me think about going to the supermarket every 2 or 3 days based on what we plan to eat in that period and on what we have in the pantry. This works for us because we live close to a shopping area and my place of work has New World nearby.
First day into this strategy and the cart looked empty compared to our previous style of weekly shopping and to other shoppers who have their carts spilling with goodies. It's very exciting to try this new strategy! Last night when I went for the 2nd shopping trip (after 2 days), I was attracted to this >1kg of mince beef for $10. I stood there and talked myself out of it because we have enough mince beef at home for the spaghetti bolognese I cooked today. We didn't need 1kg of mince beef for the next 2 days.
I hope for the best because I have no plans to up my budget for another year. I know that inflation plays a part here. I thought that maybe having a child in diapers and formula makes our grocery spending shoot up, but according to this article teens cost more.
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