When finances are limited, grocery shopping can be a challenging weekly routine, especially considering our country's current recession doubled with rising food costs. Shopping for food on a budget takes some planning and determination to faithfully remain within the price you and your family can afford. Staying out of debt is the supreme goal and can be achievable with some help. Steps can be taken today to get you started on the right track for this week's grocery outing.1. Establish a budget. Ironically, this can be a difficult and often avoided first step, but shopping on a budget is quite unfeasible if a monetary limit is not initially set. First, a complete budget of all your monthly expenses should be drawn up (if married, make sure to sit down with your spouse, as the budget is a team effort). This includes total monthly income divided into subsections such as fuel, grocery, mortgage/rent, utilities, loans/credit card payments, donations/charity, savings, miscellaneous, and unexpected costs (such as medical care and prescriptions). Designate a reasonable budget for each subsection, keeping the miscellaneous budget to a minimum, which can consist of eating out, Starbucks, birthday presents, and whatever else that may attract your wallet each month.
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