I need help with setting my monthly budget
By Archie0
@Archie0 (5652)
October 30, 2022 3:02am CST
I am slipping from savings. Currently I’m working on least pay. I have no other choice at the moment. I need help in how I can manage my salary. I get paid monthly so it’s way more difficult than the ones who get paid weekly. Saving is zero.
I need to save little money for myself, spend on buying groceries, veggies and meat. Pay bills and rent. How do you guys set budget for groceries mainly?
7 people like this
8 responses
@pumpkinjam (8775)
• United Kingdom
30 Oct 22
I've almost always had a very low income so had no choice but to budget well.
The first thing is to prioritise the necessities - bills that you must pay at a set amount (rent/mortgage, fuel, water, any other essential bill). After that, make a list of groceries and stick to the list. Buy the staple foods first rice, pasta, potatoes, etc. Buy long-lasting foods and toiletries in bulk if you can because they are often better value that way.
Tinned/canned and frozen foods like vegetables are usually just as good as fresh, and often cheaper. But always check for bargains and make sure you will use any fresh food you do get.
I find it helps to also create a meal planner so I know exactly what will be needed, whether I'll need anything fresh or additional.
I stock up on cheap long-life foods like tinned tomatoes, baked beans, rice, frozen meals.
We're not fussy about particular brands so we'll mainly get the cheapest items as long as the quality is good. However, there are some items we'll spend more for better quality. That's something to think about - is there anything that you would only choose a certain brand or type? It's not worth getting the cheap stuff if you don't like it, of course.
We do a big shop once a month and spend around the same amount each time. If we have a little more to spend, we'll add on a few pantry items to keep. If we have a little less to spend, we'll either find a cheaper alternative or trim the list down a little - that's where the extra long-life things come in handy!
2 people like this
@pumpkinjam (8775)
• United Kingdom
30 Oct 22
@Archie0 If there is a discount on the large items at the same time as we can afford extra then yes, we'll do that!7
We don't really have the ready to eat meals as I prepare most things from scratch. The canned and frozen foods are just the same as the fresh e.g we might have frozen peas, tinned carrots, frozen plain fish or chicken. Proper 'ready meals' aren't great - if you mean the ones that are complete frozen dinners that you can heat up in a microwave. They're OK in an emergency but they're not good value nor are they usually healthy.
I do most of my grocery shopping online - because I hate shopping and we don't have a car. I get most things from one supermarket that sells lots of different things - fresh, frozen, whole foods, etc.
1 person likes this
@Archie0 (5652)
•
31 Oct 22
@pumpkinjam I buy most of my dry groceries like lentils and oil online. We have people selling local vegetables near the house which we buy once a week. Vegetables are little expensive. We buy fresh meat when we want to eat as we have chicken once a week and eggs once or twice a week. I too never bought the ready to eat meals but where I work people always buy these online and I see the packets selling faster, makes me think if they never cook fresh and if this is good. I like your idea of bulk on some items
1 person likes this
@koopharper (7601)
• Canada
30 Oct 22
Dealing with inflation makes savings hard to save. I'm making better money than before but able to buy less.
1 person likes this
@xstitcher (32754)
• Petaluma, California
30 Oct 22
@pumpkinjam has some good advice.
1 person likes this
@aninditasen (16508)
• Raurkela, India
30 Oct 22
With rising prices it has become difficult to save money. Even I am finding it difficult to save money now.
1 person likes this
@aninditasen (16508)
• Raurkela, India
31 Oct 22
@Archie0 Household and other bill payments too. Like electricity, gas, etc.
@Archie0 (5652)
•
30 Oct 22
Yes a lot of things that I want to buy which falls out of my grocery list. Like even a door mat is pending on the list from long time but my budget does not allow me to press the buy button. However, I did it this month. As we have festival season I got some extra cash as gift from relatives
