Many of us are finding that we are getting less and less money coming in at the moment with all the uncertainties regarding furlough and people not wanting to spend quite so much. It is also coming up to an expensive time of year as winter rolls in and Christmas looms on the horizon.
So how can I help you save a bit of money?
By encouraging you to Shop at Home First.
It does take a bit of time when you begin to Shop at Home First because you need to do a complete inventory of what you have available. Now, I'm talking about your weekly grocery shop here, but the same principle can be applied to anything you are looking to buy to some extent.
Step 1. Make an inventory of the contents of your fridge, freezer, food cupboard, pantry - everywhere you store your food supplies. I have three separate lists, my Freezer Shop, Fridge Shop and Cupboard Shop. These are broken down into categories like Fruit/ Veg, Dairy, Meat etc. When I have finished my inventory I have a clear overview of what I already have available to me for the following weeks meals.
Tip: You don't have to do this every week - just keep it up to date by crossing off and adding to it until it becomes unreadable!
Step 2. Go through your inventories and see what meals you can add to your weekly meal plan using what you already own, making a note of what extra you need and crossing off what you will be using.
Step 3. You now should have an idea of how many other meals you need to plan and you can add the ingredients you need to your shopping list. My shopping list is catagorised a bit like my inventories to make it easier for me to add what I need.
Step 4. DON'T FORGET TO TAKE YOUR LIST AND STICK TO IT!!
Have you ever spent time making your shopping list only to get to the supermarket to find you've left it on the kitchen table??!!
By following these 4 steps you will stop buying food you already have, use up food you may have forgotten about and not buy items you don't need, all of which should lead to saving money when we need it more than ever!
I am putting together a planner with copies of all the tools I use to help me run my home. It will soon be available via my website. Please message me if you have any ideas about what you think would be useful to include.
If you would like me to set up a system for you in your home, contact me via the website, my Facebook page - Linda J Harper or by email - lindajharper@yahoo.com.
My Christmas 2020 Planner is still available as a digital download at my Etsy shop which you can access via my website.
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