I record all my income and expenditure so I have a pretty good idea of where the money goes and sometimes how I spend isn't as pretty as it could be.
In some ways I am very good. My food waste is minimal. I check the fridge and take a shopping list with me each time I shop. I've reduced my monthly spend by 15% over the first four months of this year (compared to the same months last year) but I know I could do better.
My big downfall is "bargains". You know, BOGOFs (Buy One Get One Free), yellow stickers, special deals and the like which tempt me away from my list. I usually eat the stuff but it's really not a good way to shop. The cupboards and fridge become jammed up and I can't see what is in there. Often too the deals are on products which are more expensive than the items I would normally buy.
Another silly habit is being careless about portion sizes. I cook far too much. I don't throw it away - I was a post war baby and I learnt from an early age to eat everything on my plate - but to be honest it's just as wasteful to eat food I don't need and don't even mention the other sort of waist!
I'm sure other people have their own danger areas but them's my two pennorth!
We are much the same, we stopped getting bogoff bargains, for the same reasons, just too much food. As for eating everything on your plate, I just can't leave anything, I watch just how much goes on my plate.
ReplyDeleteI was always fairly frugal until we empty nested and the for some reason I became a compulsive shopper .Now I shop online and do a much better job of not overspending
ReplyDeleteI seem to eat to eat the same food over and over so I can BOGOF them without a problem but, unfortunately, the food I like doesn't seem to get the specials very often. Maybe I should expand my preferred food list.
ReplyDeleteI too have done much better at reducing food waist - but - I also get tempted by specials, especially for lovely new foods - and yes, my WAIST does pay the price!
ReplyDeleteAside from fruit, veg and dairy I'm trying to really limit my trips to the shops this month! My downfall (besides sweets) is the lovely variety of cheese I see at the Market - very expensive but very hard to resist!
I too keep a comprehensive list of income and expenditure and find it most useful. If I cook too much it goes in the fridge for the next time, today's dinner is vegetables from Friday and a chicken fillet (much better for me than chicken breasts!!) No food waste here!
ReplyDeleteMy biggest downfall is a very full freezer, often BOGOFs, and veg from the garden which all comes at once......I am always trying to eat from the freezer but it very quickly gets filled up again. I think perhaps another list would be the answer!!! x
PS. Try a smaller plate, that often helps.
I say it every month, that I'll itemise my shopping list and stick to it. However, this weekend, I had the pleasure of having my two Granddaughters to stay over and unfortunately, my budget went a tad awry, not only with buying all their favourite things to eat but in little toy treats too!!! I'll do better next month, hopefully.
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