Groceries: Need vs. Want

Groceries: Need vs. Want

One of the many responsibilities that often falls on the Navy wife, is managing the household finances. The reason is simply that our husbands are not home during normal hours and are often gone for three to six months at a time. I am sure that many civilian wives also manage the finances for one reason or another as well.

I have been struggling to stick to my budget, which allots, a $140 per week for groceries.That is $560 a month!!! Which is ridiculousness for two adults, an 11 month old, and 3 pets.  I explained my predicament, of not having given myself enough money for grocery's, to my husband and was astounded when he responded with "do we NEED everything you buy"? My first response was "of course we do, we need to eat!". 

Lets face it, my job as a homemaker is to take care of my family, and I like to make sure we have great food. I realized that I might be purchasing a significantly more then the food we needed, the food that actually was going into the preparation of meals. I often enter the grocery store with a list of 30 items, and before I even cross one thing off my list, my cart already has several items in it. I know there will always be things you see in the store that you really do need such as soap or diapers, but I am guilty of adding the extras. 

I seek to manage my expenses in a way that will prosper my family, and I thought I had been doing great by saying "no" to new clothes and other shinnies that tempt the wallet. I never dreamed my weakness would my grocery bill. Truth is I just assumed we needed food and since I was frugal everywhere else I didn't really need to watch what I spent on grocery's. My husband had to point out the blindly obvious to me. 

Here is what I have done to help us keep more of our money!

1. I asked for my husbands help in identifying why I was struggling, to stay in budget. 

2. I love to bake, half of my grocery bill was on items to bake with. Reducing the amount of goodies I made will keep us healthier and more on target with our finances.

3. I never got in on the coupon craze, but I have been making an effort to grab coupons when i see them and then actually use them. I started saving about eight dollars a trip, which isn't a ton but it's something!

4. I'm sure you have heard, "never shop hungry", that really does help me. 

5. If I shop when I think my son will his happiest I am prone to look for better bargains and evaluate my purchase more. I end up just throwing anything in the cart to be done if I go to close to shop to close to nap time. 

I think that by serving our families in how we spend the household income can be one of the greatest ways to bless your family.