Set Limits On Amount Of Money You Spend On Food In A Day?

We don't have a daily spending limit on food, but when we buy food on the market or supermarket there is a set budget for it. I think having a set amount of budget for food everyday is a good way to save money. I don't think it 's for me though, I'd rather have a weekly or monthly budget.

 

I don't have a daily food budget either - as to be honest apart from the hassle of having to do that on a daily basis - for me - as I've always cooked everything we eat from scratch and live a considerable distance from any stores - its actually way more cost effective and considerably less time consuming - particularly as my grocery bill is far from expensive and doesn't vary much from week to week - to have a monthly food budget - as not only does it ensure nothing goes to waste - but as the cost is spread over the month it allows for a wider variety of food choices and of course the opportunity to take advantage of any bulk buy deals.

That said - I do see how having a daily food budget could be of benefit to those who maybe eat out regularly or who shop daily ( on foot rather than by car ) - particularly as there probably wouldn't be much leeway - for impulse purchases.

 

Budgeting food on a daily basis is pretty impossible for me. I have no records of what I have spent on the staples like flour and spices. I do attempt to keep my grocery budget within a certain amount each week but when I am out of everyday things it's hard. This time of year it's almost impossible because I make homemade candy for gifts and the ingredients are part of my grocery spending rather than my gift spending. I could try to keep them separate but candy making supplies are usually for friends or family that I wouldn't ordinarily give a gift to, so I don't like to consider that in my gift budget.

 

Rather than having an actual limit I try to spend every day similar quantities, but I'm not that strict with myself, I mean, if I really feel like picking something up or if I need a specific expensive product I'll buy it anyways.

 

I do have this but I admit I think it's only easy to manage because I only have to worry about my own expenses. I usually have a budget in mind whenever I eat out or buy groceries and the amount is always relative to what I can spend each month. I've already calculated the rough amount I could spend on food each day and sometimes I also allow myself a bit more in allowance to splurge on more or a bit more expensive type of purchase, but for regular days I do have a set amount that I stick to even though I spend a bit more or less each day. Whenever I spend less though I always keep it in mind so I know I can splurge more later on.

 

As I had posted in another thread, we don't scrimp on food. However, there is also a budget limit, of course. But the budgeting is for 1 week and not daily. That means we can have steak today and tomorrow we will have a cheaper dinner. And when we overspend for this week then it will be compensated next week. That method of budgeting is not really to save but to actually teach us the discipline in spending.

 

Keeping to a food budget is pretty difficult as prices tend to rise on items when you least expect it, and it could throw off your whole meal planning ideas. I am going to the store today...I am going to try to spend just what is in my paypal account..with an emergency extra 5...I find it easier to spend a specific dollar amount at the store than stick to a budget per se.

 

I don't have a daily spending limit for groceries, I have a monthly spending limit and I try to do my shopping once a month, for the whole month with the exception of things like dairy that I have to buy more often.

 

I try to use a $5.00 rule on the amount of money I spend on the protein for my family dinner. I am pretty good at sticking by this. I buy all my meat on sale so I can usually get a pack of sausages for under $5.00. I stretch out this by making sausage spaghetti or a sausage stew. I buy ground beef from Costco and portion it out so that they are $5.00 per portion. I use this rule when I'm shopping to determine if I'll buy the protein or not. I can get a nice piece of ham for around $7.00. I usually can stretch this out into two suppers by making a ham hash and ham mac and cheese.

 

I don't think of my food budget in terms of a daily amount, but rather I would try to keep my grocery spending to under $100 every two weeks (since I'm only buying for myself). It's not always easy though with the fluctuating prices of some of the food items I buy, so it may be as high as $130 or so when I go grocery shopping. Certain times of year, items such as peppers, or lettuce, or even fresh herbs may go up in price. Even eggs are currently more expensive, due to some flu that was affecting the chickens. Bacon as well has gone up in price due to it becoming a fad food in recent years.

I really wished I lived near a Costco again, because their $5 chicken's were a huge money saver for me.

 

On good days I would say maximum of 50 Dollars per day, while on bad days it would be more around 20 Dollars.
When I buy for 50 Dollars I always try to get enough to cover the next two days afterwards.
I try though and it does make sense to have a daily limit in order to save more in the end.

 

Before my son was born, I could budget per day what I could spend and kept a daily log of what I did spend. It was educational and an eye opener for me. However, now that I have a teenage son who eats like a lawnmower, I find it harder to budget food dollars. I mean I start out with a budget, but always go ever it. I buy what I think should last a week and he eats the fruit in two days or the food is gone on day 5 and we still have 2 days left in the week. How can you tell your teenager he eats too much???