I was out with a friend for lunch and when we got talking about how expensive most things had gotten, we found that we were moaning about the same things. Food, car running, clothing, telephone, data and treats such as we were having that afternoon; just being able to take yourself out for lunch.
If you are like me, your grocery bill must have more than tripled over the last 3 or so years, while your income has more or less remained the same. For some people the income has shrunk in the face of retrenchments and recession. So the question here is, are we eating less, have we stopped some household chores and activities and are we moving about less? Certainly not! How then do we get our depleted wallet to perform the same functions if not more?
We just have to. With wisdom, we can take a second look at our normal expenses and see where we can cut back or get our money to do more than before.
Let’s take a look at shopping for groceries.
Make wise choices. Some of the ways we can do this are:
- Plan your meals ahead. Start with 3 or 4 days and when you go shopping buy just what is on the menu. No extras or frivolities.
- Shop once a week. You are likely to spend more if you stop at the store several times a week.
- Shop in familiar stores when you are tired or in a hurry. Reason being that you can navigate the store and get out with what you need quickly. No browsing.
Plan ahead
- Clean out your fridge and cupboards once a month. This way you are able to use up what you have before buying more.
Shop with a Budget
- Try new foods. Get creative by trying out new recipes with less expensive food items.
- Learn how to bake. School snacks for the children don’t have to come from the fast foods joints. Those pies, sausage rolls, cup cakes, meat pies and sandwiches should be home made.
- Only buy what you need and can afford. Buy 2 bottles of vegetable oil and get 1 for 50% only makes sense if you will use both.
- Buy in bulk. Those usually come at a cheaper cost.
As ladies, the fashion temptation is one of the hardest temptations.
Shopping is awesome, but it can be a demon in disguise, as I’m sure you already know. With the prominence of online shopping, you can literally buy things without even batting an eyelid—and before you know it, your plans and budget are flung out the window. When realization sets in you are left with that sinking feeling in your stomach and a bitter taste in your mouth: I shouldn’t have bought that.
Lesson No. 1: Don’t buy everything on the rack just because they are cheap. I have been guilty of this in the past, especially when I travelled abroad. Even cheap things can add up to a lot of cash!
Lesson No. 2: Allow yourself to window shop sometimes. Just browsing what is currently on the market is the fun part and buying and owning it is the secondary part.
Lesson No. 3: Buy things because you NEED them and not because you WANT them. And this is pretty hard and therefore takes discipline. However we know that consuming fashion is supposed to be about fun and spontaneity and not about necessity so it’s okay to break this rule from time to time. However, be cautious.
Lesson No. 4: Regular closet audit is necessary. Take stock of what you have and what you need regularly. This will ensure you buy what you really need.
Lesson No. 5: Don’t buy something if you already have a similar version of it. So, the next time you eye those strappy sandals, ask yourself, “the three similar pairs I have in my wardrobe, when last did I wear them?”
Generally, these times call for frugality and so the discipline to resist buying on impulse is very important. If you did not plan for it, then perhaps you shouldn’t buy it.
One of the best reality checks you can carry out is to prepare a monthly cash flow. Put pen to paper! List all your monthly inflows versus you monthly outflows. Hopefully you have a healthy cash flow; that is, you inflows far outweigh your outflows.
Remember, “Every prudent man acts with knowledge, But a fool lays open his folly.” – Proverbs 13:16 and Proverbs 21:5 says, “The plans of the diligent lead to profit as surely as haste leads to poverty.”