"For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord."
Romans 6:23
|
4 Tips to Avoid the Pitfalls of a Grocery Budget
By Rick J. Henderson
Sticking to a grocery budget is a very hard task. Your family members which includes yourself will have cravings for items that you have been feeding on for a long time. These items are salt sugar and fat. You can expect to see members of the family looking in cabinets for sugar and salt. You need to prepare yourself for this transition. Here are some tips that I have used to help transition the family.
My family has a very large sweet tooth. I have no discipline when it comes to sweets, therefore I do not keep them in the house. I also never shop if I am hungry. I will make myself something to eat first and then hit the grocery store. Here is my list of tips for the sweets
1. Sugar free pudding, these products have come a long way, I only buy good quality brand name. The flavors are fantastic and go beyond chocolate, vanilla and butterscotch. Pudding and milk never seem to be on sale at the same time. I will buy the puddings first when they are on sale and hold on to them until a milk sale happens. This is when I break out the pudding, I like to make it feel like the family is getting a big treat so I usually mix to flavors. I make one flavor and pour it into the cheap plastic wine glasses. This will be he base flavor and it is some kind of chocolate. Once the base has firmed up I will add a completely different non chocolate flavor. Whipped cream would be awesome but it is kind of expensive for my budget.
2. Sugar free crystal drinks are better than they have ever been. If there is no pop in the house, as an alternative they will most certainly drink the sugar free stuff. Only buy one flavor at a time to control the amount they have.
3. Pancakes and waffles. This may sound strange but pancakes and waffles are carbohydrates. The body considers this type of food to be similar to sugar since it is easily digestible. We all have cravings and this food can minimize these cravings. I add wheat germ or oatmeal to mine to slow the digestion.
4. Pancake and waffle Syrup. I use the light syrup all the time. There is still sugar in syrup but the calories are not as high. Just be careful and keep a watchful eye as to how much they put on their food as they will be trying to satisfy their sweet tooth.
If you can learn to make pancakes and waffles the rest of these tips are very easy. The reduction of sugar and salt will help improve the healthiness of your family.
Rick and his wife have been able to reduce their grocery budget by almost 50% since they started this challenge in 2010. Their 15 years of grocery shopping for the family has led them to start a blog that includes avoiding the pitfalls of a budget, money saving tips, meal planning, cooking utensils, recipes, and grocery lists.
you can follow their blog and post comments at http://feed4forunder100week.blogspot.com
|
