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Home Page => Organize => Kitchen and Cooking => Keeping a Food Book

Keeping A Food Book
by Nikki Willhite - Willhite@aol.com

Description: How to keep a food book to track grocery prices.

When money is very tight, we usually look to our food cost to save money.  Many of our expenses are fixed, and we can't do anything to change them--like the mortgage or rent. However, how much we spend on food is up to us.

The average American family spends 15 percent of their income on food.  With planning, you can spend a lot less.

One way to do this is by the use of a Food Book.  This is where you keep track of what you buy, how much it cost, and where you bought it.  

For organizational purposes you will want to divide your notebook into sections, such as meat, dairy, fruits, canned foods, etc.  Be sure and save your receipts when you go shopping, and then when you have some time, write down how much you paid for each item in the notebook (in the appropriate section)- and where you bought it.

It won't take long until patterns become clear to you.  You will  notice that some food chains sell certain items cheaper than others. You will know the average price of each item, and then be able  to tell a real sale from a promotional item that isn't really priced well.

A lot of people do this instinctively, in their minds.  They are like human calculators when it comes to food, it doesn't come easy to you, write it down!

It is a lot of work at first, but it gets easier with time.  As an added bonus, when you plan your menus, you will be able to calculate the cost of each dish you want to make, as you will know the prices of the ingredients.  Then you can determine the cost per serving of the dish, which is the bottom line in your food budget.. If you are willing to take the time to do this, as well as make good use of your leftovers, and coupons, you can reduce your food budget significantly.

Reprinted with permission from: 
The Pennypincher 
An E-zine for the Frugally Minded 
The Conservative Homemaker & Home of The Pennypincher E-zine 
http://www.AllThingsFrugal.com


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