Budgeting can be one of the hardest things to accomplish. It is a project! You have to train yourself discipline and know that in the end the results will change your life.
Couponing is the same way. You have to discipline yourself to shop mostly with coupons and to shop the deals. Which brings up what you should use to pay your finalized grocery bill after coupons…. CASH.
Some will say that they have great self control and they know when to stop spending. If you are that person then GREAT JOB because, I am not. I find that when I shop with my debit card I spend more money then when I shop with cash. That doesn’t mean that I will walk in the store and because I have coupons I can purchase this and that and every other thing on the isle. It simply means that I use coupons and cash to help control my urges for something that I DON’T NEED and don’t have a coupon for!!
So… shopping with cash can be a great budgeting tool when purchasing your groceries. You will then only spend what you have set aside for your grocery budget.
I know several of my friends that use the envelope system for their purchases.
What is the envelope system?
They set aside how much they want to spend on groceries, drug store purchases, and other miscellaneous items. This is figured on the budget they have set up for their family. If they use all the money in one of the envelopes then they can not pull from the others. If they have leftover money in one then they can use it next week to add to their budget the next week.
I have used this system and it really works. Once you know your limits and can stick to them you will find that unless you have cash for it then you won’t buy it.
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I always use cash when I shop. You are right it does help from getting the items I don't need.
That is a good idea!
I don't use cash when I shop BC I don't take the time to go and get from the bank but it would save me more money to start.