If you want to get to the point that you don’t have to go to the store, you can make some plans before your next payday! As payday approaches, follow these steps:
1. Inventory Your Cupboards. Take a good look at what you have on hand. this shouldn’t be hard or a lengthy process. Jot down names of items and how many of each you have on your shelves under different headings, such as: canned goods, frozen foods, etc.
2. Plan meals from food on hand. If you’re unable to get to the store until the payday after next, what meals could you make from what you have on hand? Most people are surprised to discover that even in a rather empty-looking kitchen, they can usually gather up supplies for several meals. Try to create enough simple meals to last until your 2nd payday.
3. Assess basic needs. You’ll find there are some meals you could make if you only had this or that item. Begin to list those things among your needs. Also list other “must have” items. Are you out of toothpaste? Does the baby need milk? Make sure you include NEEDS only- those items necessary to nutritionally feed your family from one payday to the next. Also include non-food items such as toiletries and baby items. Do not include WANTS (those things you would like but can live without) When your list of needs is complete, estimate the cost of each item and add prices together for an estimated total.
First Payday Program
4. Look at your paycheck. Now you are ready to begin actually gaining control of your grocery money. Consider the net amount of your paycheck. Subtract from it the amount of fixed bills and other obligations that need to be paid out of this paycheck. Also deduct out of the ordinary but necessary expenses. Next subtract the estimated total of your grocery NEEDS. The remaining figure is called the “workable amount”. It is the amount of money you can spend on groceries other than absolute needs. Do not be discouraged if this amount is small. Even a few dollars of workable money will get you started! If your economic situation is such that creating a workable amount each payday seems impossible, consider this option. Determine an amount, however small, to pull from your paycheck as if it were a bill. Use this preselected amount as your workable amount. No matter how small your beginnings, the entire program will eventually function for you.
5. Read the ads. Look over your local ads (in print flyers or online) . Pinpoint loss leaders on items you frequently use that are different from items you already have on hand. If possible, choose foods that will combine with other foods you have on hand to increase the number of simple meals you can serve. (If any of the items on sale are on your NEEDS list, make a note of it. Add those bargain-price items to your list and consider buying them in such quantities as space, shelf life, needs and money will allow. Try to choose those groceries that will stretch your money the furthest. Since your workable amount may be limited at this time, you may want to divide your money between food categories to help ensure balanced meals. For example, if your workable amount is $48, you could limit your bargain spending to $10 for meats, $10 for canned goods, $10 for produce, $10 for staples (flour, oil, spices) and $8 wherever it will stretch the categories the most. Then , as you read the ads, decide which are the best buys for your needs in each food category. You will get the most mileage out of your workable amount ny deciding beforehand to choose a VARIETY of goods.
6. Shop using your best skills. Employ comparative shopping skills (unit pricing, brand choice, store choice) to purchase the items on your “needs” list. (Make it a challenge to spend less than your estimated amount.) Buy just enough of your needs items to get by until you see a sale when you can stock up. Also, go ahead and buy your selected specials with the workable amount you set aside.
7. Reassess your needs. Add your new purchases to your inventory list . As your second payday approaches, reevaluate your needs and adjust your menus. At this point, your needs will have changed to some degree since you will have used up some of the commodities that figured in your first menu plan. You may even be out of mustard or toothpaste or some other item that was in stock earlier. Your new menus should reflect your loss leader purchases from last payday.
Second Payday
8. Divide your paycheck. Follow the same steps for determining your workable amount as you used the first payday, including the deduction of the estimated amount of your grocery needs. If you were able to plan enough meals from your cupboard the first time to carry you into this second pay period, your workable amount should increase noticeably. If you had a long “needs” list on your first payday, freeing money for loss leader sales will be a slower process. However, you will eventually see progress.
9. Again read the ads. Following the same pattern as last pay period, check the ads for items on sale that you constantly use. Still try to purchase a variety of items: those that will best extend that budget by providing you with well-balanced meals. As much as possible, buy commodities different from those you have on hand.
10. Shop. Using your sharpest skills, buy your necessities and stock up on your choice of bargains. When you place new items in your pantry, mark them on your inventory sheet and compile new menus to reflect your new purchases.
11. Try to stretch your budget further each paycheck. On your third or fourth payday, you may be ready to “share and save”. Check into the possibility of purchasing some items in greater bulk with your workable amount, perhaps a wholesale outlet. Divide the purchases and the costs with friends. This plan should be repeated until most of your grocery shopping is being allocated for specials and loss leader items. Your pantry should eventually contain a sufficient variety of foods in a sufficient amount that you can serve several weeks of well-balanced meals without going to the store. You will then only need to go to the store when you see prices you consider low enough to pay.
Keep the ball rolling.
As you work with your new meal planning and shopping skills each pay period, you will gain more and more confidence in your abilities. The fuller your pantry grows, the more in control you will feel. The habits you develop as you progress are meant to be ongoing. Ever should you slip back into the “old “ way of menu planning and shopping. Furthermore, menus should be planned Fromm what’s on hand. From now on, shopping should be done from the specials in the ads. If a shopping trip or a meal you plan doesn’t work out, you now have the flexibility to shift plans and adjust meals at will. You are no longer going to the store each week to buy specific foods for specific meals. Your meals come out of your well supplied cupboards. Instead you are buying just what you need to keep your pantry stocked.
Your workable amount will grow larger each paycheck until ALL of your grocery money is free for purchasing sale items. Since you don’t HAVE to go to the store, since you have ALL your grocery money to spend on good deals, you can begin to compile a calendar of best time to buy each commodity that you or your family uses. As the time to purchase each item draws near, review your alternative sources. Compare prices and buy where you can get the best deal, from a co-op, from an outlet or as a loss leader in the store.
Resist the temptation to slip into purchasing habits. You will not necessarily buy the same item from the same source in the same month each year. Constantly watch prices to remain aware of your best options. If, during the course of a pay period, you don’t see a bargain that meets your current needs- don’t buy! Save the money to really stock up when you see something you want. Remember—YOU are now in control!!
