3 Simple Tricks to Track Grocery Spending

October 29, 2009 | Posted by Margarette

photo credit: Stephen Cummings

If you’re clipping coupons, you want a good deal.  But a good deal is of little use if you can’t keep track of your money.  In the popular finance book Your Money or Your Life, the authors repeatedly highlight the importance of knowing where you spend your cash in order to be financially free.

If tracking your money is important for personal finance, it’s definitely important for the regular trip to the supermarket.  But keeping up with those dollars and cents isn’t always easy. Here are three tips that work for me, and I think they can help even the most time-starved parent.

1.    “Phone” it In
Use the calculator on your cell-phone to add up what your total will be, before you get to the checkout line.  Standard calculators are important for adding up your grocery bill, but does anyone remember to bring one to the store?  I don’t.  But I’ve learned that in situations where I really need to add up the total, I can just whip out my cell-phone/calculator and find out exactly what I need to know.

This gadget also lets you keep up with your plan.  You can add up  purchases as you place them in your cart to make sure you’re not going over the budget for your weekly menu.  (You are writing out your weekly menu, right?  If you need ideas for meals and recipes, Smart Cents Mom has some good ones).

You can also use the the alarm feature on your phone to let you know when you should leave.  The less time you’re in the store, the less money you can spend!

2.    Let your bank do the work for you
If you use a debit or credit card to make your purchases, your bank or credit union may be able to provide you with statements that have detailed information about where your money went last month.  (Unlike your check register, they’ll even add on the things you probably want to forget about, such as finance charges).

Some banks will even categorize your purchases.  The benefit is that if you’re looking for an area to ease back on spending, you can look at the categories that are taking the biggest bite of your income and make adjustments.  You can even download the information to a personal finance computer program, which takes me to the next step…

3.    “Computerize” it
Personal finance software programs such as Quicken or Microsoft Money (or even web-based programs and sites) are powerful at helping  track dollars.  The key for success is getting into a routine so that you’re regularly recording your purchases on your computer.  This may mean having a set time each week to write your receipts into the program, or to download the data from your financial institution.

Once the software has your information, you can run reports, charts and graphs that show where your money is going.  The benefit is that you can spot trends you weren’t even aware of—such as how much you spent on junk food over the last six months.

Categories: Advice | Tags: calculators, coupons, groceries, track spending | No Comments »