Starting A Budget
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Food Category

When starting a budget the last thing that you want is to complicate things. You want to make everything as uncomplicated as possible and there are things that you can do to make your food category very uncomplicated. You will, however, need to understand your own pattern and habits and make some decisions. You will also want to have a strategy for your menu planning and grocery shopping.

Food vs. Groceries
Calling this category "Food" is perhaps a poor choice unless you are going to only buy food with money for this category. Because you will buy paper products, light bulbs, toiletries, etc at the grocery store that will never get eaten. You could separate out those items and put them in the miscellaneous category or you could change the name of this category to groceries. What makes the most sense for you?

Entertainment and Food
Another area to be cautious of because the categories can bleed over is entertainment. Do you like to host parties? Do you serve food at those parties. You may want to use some of your entertainment money to pay for food served at the party.

Manage This Category Well
The food category can have a tendency to get out of hand and does require a little planning. Here are some suggestions to keep a handle on your food costs:

• Look at your food budget before you go to the store so you know how much you have to spend.
• Use the envelope method for this category.
• Plan your meals a week at a time, making use of what you already have in the house.
• Check the newspaper ads and take advantage of any specials. Plan your menu around the specials.
• Some stores will offer double coupon days where they will double the value of your coupons. Take advantage of that for items you would normally purchase.
• Go to farmers markets for your produce. You can usually get very high quality produce at a very reasonable cost there.
• Make two or three meals worth at a time and freeze the extra.

Starting a budget for food is easy with a little planning ahead. If you would like help planning quick and easy meals I suggest you check out homeiswhere.org.