Better grocery shopping in 2012

Hi

We(read me) need to get better at grocery shopping in 2012.  We know that we overspend in this area every week.  I'm not talking $100's but $20-$30 most weeks with the occasional big overspend $50-$60.  Terrible. 

We had a budget for groceries in 2011 and we recorded the spend everyday in our diary.  We (read me again) didn't actually record the amounts in our spreadsheet until much later.  This meant that we couldn't make any adjustments when needed which just compounds over time.

I would always make a list to take to the supermarket.  It's what 99.9% of budgeting blogs say to do.  The unfortunate problem is that I am too easily swayed by 'specials' and tend to throw the little extras in.  So I would always have more than the list.  I guess that makes it more a reminder note than a list.

Oh and I think that using the credit card for everything(paid in full every month) might not be helping either.

So these are the problems that have been the undoing of our grocery budget. 
Here's the new plan to tackle them in 2012.

1. Stick to the list. - write everything down on the list even the occasional 'treat' snack food.  Avoid, avoid, avoid the impulse buying no matter how small.
2. Start using cash instead of credit card.
3. Record purchases in spreadsheet in a more timely fashion.

I'm really hopeful that these few changes will produce a positive effect.  I'll record the results at the end of the first month.

Mrs BB

How can we be better in 2012?

Hi

We've made our budget for 2012(together).  We've got our new 2012 diary next to the phone in the kitchen ready to start recording all our spending.  But we had these 2 tools in 2011 as well.  So why do we feel that we didn't make any real headway in 2011?

If we are to be honest it is the delay it takes to actually transfer from diary to spreadsheet.  Sometimes I could be recording 2 months later.  NOT helpful I guess.  If we went over budget with groceries(our biggest overspend) in May I would not really know till end of June.  And June may not have been on track either.

We use our credit card for all grocery purchases.  We do this for convenience and the extra 4cent off petrol vouchers on top of the supermarket 4cent off.  I'm starting to see the value of using cash.  I see lots of bloggers use 'the envelope' system where if there is a certain amount left it is very visible. That extra $20-30 this week(that might push us over budget) isn't noticed with a credit card. 

So I think that the 2 biggest changes we should make in 2012 are:

1. Keep up-to-date with recording in the spreadsheet(makes it easier to analyze)
2. Start using cash for groceries -  withdraw the amount needed and stick to it. It will mean missing out on the extra 4cent voucher but the savings could be more than worth it.

Mrs BB

1st Post - The Intro's

Hi


This the first post of our family finance blog. Yeah! Feeling both excited and daunted at the same time. Probably natural as I'm sure many other bloggers out there felt the same way when deciding to take the plunge and press the Publish Button on their first post. Especially when it deals with family finances,budgets and alike. They probably thought the same, will anyone else in the blogosphere be reading, what will they think, etc. Then again I guess you have to have the attitude that this is more for yourself or family than anyone else, but if it hits a note with others and a dialogue is started then GREAT.

Who are we and why have we joined the community of bloggers in the big wide blogosphere?

Well we are a family of 3(Hubby- 48yo, wife(me)- lets say 40ish and daughter -9yo) living in Brisbane Australia. For the last 2 years we have been living on the 1 fairly average wage that Hubby earns. Although we have been very good at writing a budget and staying out of any consumer debt, we don't seem to really be moving forward. This is probably due to how lax we are at actually recording these figures in a form that shows us how we are actually tracking. This REALLY has to change. If there is one thing I have have learnt reading some great personal finance blogs is that a 'cross your fingers and hope for the best' attitude is a sure fire way to trouble. We want this blog to be where we are accountable, where we record and where we hopefully learn and share(this part is the most exciting aspect of blogging I think)

So let the journey begin! Should be great!