Tuesday’s Tip

April 14, 2008 > 14 Comments

This might sound silly, but today’s tip is CASH.

There are many people blogging about how much they spend on groceries every month. I even keep track of my spending in my sidebar. Coupons, sales, and CVS have helped to keep my grocery budget low, but what has helped me the most is paying for my groceries in cash. I divide my grocery budget in half every month, then I withdrawal that amount on the first and fifteenth of the month. When I shop, I am committed to only spending the amount of money I have in the envelope. Using this method I have been able to cut my grocery budget in half. I was spending over $1000 a month in groceries and now I spend less than $600. When I shop, I know how much money I have in my purse and it helps me stick to the list and to pass up any impulse items I might be tempted to buy. Seeing how much money I have left also helps me to stretch the food we already have in the house, and we end up with significantly less waste. Today was the first day in a long time that I had to throw out something from our fridge that had gone bad.

If you don’t already, I challenge you to use cash to pay for your groceries next month and see if it changes the way that you shop.

For more frugal tips check out Tightwad Tuesday and Tipster Tuesday.

The Happy Housewife

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Comments

14 Responses to “Tuesday’s Tip”

Tina in Thailand
April 15th, 2008 @ 2:53 am

Hey, I saw your question about removing permanent marker from a white board. I have found that by drawing over the permanent marker with the white board marker, you can remove both when you erase the white board marker.
Worth a try on your board anyways.

Denise
April 15th, 2008 @ 7:03 am

Yes– using Cash has been the secret to our budgeting success!!!

Loved this tip–

Pam
April 15th, 2008 @ 8:38 am

I only use cash to pay for my groceries and it has really helped save money for us. I try to use cash for most of my purchases because it seems harder to part with cash than with a check, debit or credit card.

kristin
April 15th, 2008 @ 9:45 am

HH – thanks for the gardening tips and I will concur with Tina…dry erase marker will remove permanent marker on a white board (interesting, huh?)

Also – great new site!!! Did someone do this for you???

DIYMommy
April 15th, 2008 @ 9:59 am

I did this for the first time last week and it really helped! I went with $40 and only spent $39!!!

Mary aka Canadagirl
April 15th, 2008 @ 10:09 am

I just loved how you took your money and divided it in half like you would get paid and then use it wisely. Very good.

That was a great decrease in how much you spent. Good Job !

Sending you blessings and ((hugs)) my SSiC
In Him<
-Mary

Jenn4him
April 15th, 2008 @ 11:40 am

That would remove the temptation to buy something we don’t really need!
Jenn

Krista
April 15th, 2008 @ 11:49 am

I use the money/envelope system on my groceries, and fuel. I do really good on my groceries but I can’t ever stay in budget on my fuel. I guess I haven’t figured it well enough. My fuel spending is over $750 a month…

Beth
April 15th, 2008 @ 2:04 pm

For the last two months I have tried your method, and it really has not worked for me. For one reason, I seem to buy more in the first two weeks than the last two weeks of the month.

So in May, I am going to try to take all of the money out of the bank at one time and see if that works.

Mama Karen
April 15th, 2008 @ 4:37 pm

I guess using debit doesn’t quite count as cash…(-:
I am very impressed that you have realized serious money savings by paying with hard cash. Good job!
Mama Karen

Denise
April 15th, 2008 @ 4:41 pm

I would like to try this, not sure how hubby would feel about me taking out a huge chunk of money for the month tho.. lol. Before I was married I did the envelope system and NEVER had any problems lol.

amydeanne
April 15th, 2008 @ 5:15 pm

it is a great way of doing it!

Amy B
April 18th, 2008 @ 9:50 pm

I missed commenting on TIghtwad Tuesday posts — I am very behind! We do notice the cash method helps when we use it. The problem is we tend to switch back and forth. Thanks for the encouragement!

Amy B