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I recently attended a blogging conference, and heard over and over how important the priority of goal setting is to accomplish a desired outcome. It got me thinking about how rarely as a wife, mom, homemaker, and “chief-financial-couponing-analyst” do I actually set goals for my own personal life.  While I know that simply writing down my goals each day works in the “business” world (not that I know all that much about that world!), I forget how important it is to set attainable goals in the things that matter most to me.
It's easy to say that I want happy, loved children, a taken-care-of spouse, a clean home, and our finances in order, but unless I actually take a few minutes to set purposeful goals into place, often my most important goals are lost. So I've been thinking that even in our finances, we need to make clear choices to reach our desired financial goals, whatever they may be.  Here's a peek at what my grocery/budget goals have looked like this month so far:
Grocery Budget Goals
- Spend only what's in our monthly budget for groceries, eating out, and miscellaneous activities. This one is tough, and after so many of you shared that you thought our dining out budget was crazy in comparison to our grocery budget, I've really been working to make better decisions. This weekend we ate out one night (with coupons, of course!) as well as after church on Sunday, but other than that our meals have been cooked up at home this week. (Thank heavens for a frozen pizza when this momma needed it!)
- Pack lunches for my children and husband at least 3-4 days per week. Â The price of lunches at school is incredibly high compared to how inexpensively I can pack them, but I've struggled this year to manage chaos in the midst of lunchbox duty each morning! Â Over the weekend I spent a few hours baking items for lunches and snacks as well as organizing our lunchbox food, which makes such a difference when we're in a rush to head out to school. So far this week my husband has packed his lunch each day (a huge improvement as he was eating out way too often. . .), and my kids have also packed their lunches more easily by finally getting our kitchen in lunch-box-shape.Â
- Purposely plan coupon trips each week to save while I shop. While I post a jillion deals here on PPP, many times I only have time to get a few of them myself.  (Ugh. .. I wish you all knew how much that frustrates me!)  This weekend I determined to get those coupons clipped before the sale started at Kroger, and headed out at 6AM to score my deals before church.  It felt wonderful to have grocery trip marked off my list, and to pinch oodles of pennies along the way!
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Well, I think there are different phases of couponing… when I first started I was trying to build a stock pile of items that my family uses on a regular basis… so I shopped many stores and my budget was a little more fluid to allow me to take advantage of deals that would add to my new stock pile… However, 2012 has been about sticking to a budget of $100 per week for a family of four… that means that I have been choosier about what items made my list, etc. But now that we are about 3/4 through the year, I realize that my larger goal is to have a well stocked pantry full of foods that my family loves. We eat at home most of the time (because my husband travels extensively and does not want to eat out when he is home) and pack lunches for school and work. So, I guess my goal is two-fold… yes I want to stick to a specific dollar amount per week but I also want to maintain a certain stock pile at home. I think the best advice I got from PPP was to pick your store and shop it well. The longer I persevere at this mindset of shopping when the item is at its lowest price, the less I need to run out and hit every deal. I would say that Publix is my main store and Kroger is my secondary. I probably spend 2-3 dollars at Publix for every 1 spent at Kroger. Also, I only buy items that my family routinely consumes… I also think that shopping every week on the day with the penny item helps me to stay disciplined and I rarely run out spontaneously. I have been known to make a Kroger run either on the way to or from church on Sundays but again that is part of my plan! This may sound strange but I think I could get by on perhaps $75 per week, but that does not meet my comfort level of food on hand at home. (Afterall, I do have two teenage boys)
“pick your store and shop it well” ~ That probably is the best advice I’ve ever given Peggy! There are SO many deals out there and it’s just so easy to get overwhelmed, so I love that you’ve narrowed down your options. And yes, your budget plans change so much in the whole couponing process ~ what my goals were a few years ago are nothing like they are now. Thanks so much for sharing! 🙂
Do you expect a rise in your grocery budget b/c you will be eating out less (and less school lunches)? Or are you going to try to stick to the $60ish/week budget? Good luck to you as you adjust your goals! 🙂
Hi Michele! I’m *hoping* to stick with the same budget. We have quite a bit in our stockpile, and I’m lucky in that every once in awhile (like this week…) Kroger or Publix offers me a giveaway which gives me a $25 gift card as well as one to share on the site. I usually use those to purchase “extra” stuff to stock so that we’re not behind, so I’m hoping to stay right around $60 – maybe up to $70 per week.
And, if I spend less on eating out, I’ll have more to use if I need it (which definitely happens sometimes!) 🙂
Hey, I feel like I can totally relate to you. My grocery budget was getting a little out of hand because I switched to buying all organic food which means that I would have to cut back in other places like *eating out* so we made an adjustment there to only eating out once a week for my husband and I to have a date night. Additionally, he takes a lunch to work everyday. I have to pack it for him or it will never get done but since I don’t have a school aged child, I only have to remember his lunch. I will say that since going organic I also went off couponing since it was a lot of work and very few actual deals for organic foods, but recently I have tried to get back into it for non food items and if I spot a deal for organic food items I am sure to get those coupons. I recently saw a big improvement due to your 10 minute coupon list, even though I buy organic I saw that I saved 45% of my total grocery bill. I’m not extreme by any means and I’m sure I miss tons of deals but I’m saving where I can and I am under budget for this pay period. 🙂
I love that you’re still able to save 45% with the ten minute or less list (WOOHOOO!) It definitely can be a big change when you add organics in, so you’re doing great to still save so much. Thanks so much for sharing, and I love hearing that coupons are still working for you!
I have stayed under budget so far which hasn’t been easy on my $50/week budget for a family of 5, but we have been eating off of what we have, I told my kids we had to make room for new stuff so they wouldn’t complain too much. A lot of the stuff we have been eating is not our favorites but I am trying to add in dessert here and there to help make it better, which is something I don’t do very often. I have been making our bread this month so that has helped too.
Week 1 spent $55 (i know over)
Week 2 spent $5 on milk, eggs, & apples, had overage to use!
Planned for this week $55 ( over again but gas card deal)
Week 4 planned $5 (milk, lettuce, eggs)
If all goes well that will put me $90 under budget which will mean no more loan payment after this month!
Wow Shannon – you are doing so well! I’m so excited for you, and will absolutely love if you’re able to reach your goal of getting that loan payment paid off this month ~ great job! 🙂