Go With A List

Another good way to constrain your grocery spending is to make a list of things to buy before you go.  One of the easiest ways to buy unnecessary items is to go without a goal, so to speak.  You will spend needless time perusing the aisles and impulse buying.  Going with a list gives you specific goals for the shopping trip and you can go from one item to another without pit stops in the pastry section much more easily.

Don’t Allow For Takeout

When you go to the supermarket, make sure you buy enough to keep you eating for a week.  That will help you resist the urge to order takeout.  Takeout will take a chunk out of your income, that’s for sure, and especially if you do it regularly.  If you know you have something in the fridge waiting for you when you get home, you may be less tempted to call that Chinese place down the street.  However, this may not always work, because I know that I’ve come home at the end of a busy day, exhausted, and called for delivery.  Well, at that point, it just comes down to sheer willpower!

Do Buy Snacks

This sounds a bit counter-intuitive, but it will help.  Stock up on snacks like granola bars and keep a stash around.  For example, they’re a great item to throw in a purse or keep in a drawer at the office.  This way, you will always have a snack to munch on when you’re on the go or when you’re sitting at your desk.  Keeping supermarket snacks on you is a great way of avoiding the expensive cookies and pastries at the coffee shop.

Budgeting

At the end of the day, one of the most important things you should consider doing is creating a weekly or monthly budget for yourself.  What can you allot for food, going out or other extraneous expenses after you factor in the bills and rent?  This way, you have a rough forecast and some guidelines for yourself as well.