Posts Tagged ‘Grocery store’

I Can Buy It, But Can I Afford It

Posted: May 23, 2013 in Everyday Living Tips
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Can I Afford it

Author: Katrina

I can buy it, but can I afford it. Sounds pretty simple right?  It is!

This last year has been a very educational year for me in terms of finances and managing my money. Every day I am improving and I am further along than I ever thought I could be. I’m actually really enjoying learning everything there is to know about personal finance especially when it comes to my bad habits.

Since starting my landscaping business which is a passion of mine, earning extra money has been an eye opener for me. I have also been able to engage in a few money conversations and actually feel comfortable having an idea of what I am talking about. One of those conversations happened just this past weekend.

What Can You Afford?

I have always enjoyed talking with my one Uncle and this time we talked about money! I loved it! Even more I loved what he shared with me. He mentioned that when he talks finances with people he always brings up the phrase…. ‘I can buy it, but can I afford it’?  These were just the words I needed to hear. Simple and easy to say to myself, which I will…over and over again.

 I’ve got money in my pocket, sure I can afford it.

Let’s look at a scenario together shall we? So, I walk into a grocery store to buy a bag of milk and I have a $5.00 bill in my pocket and the cost of the milk is $3.99. On my way into the store I see a display of my favourite chocolate bars, I love Mars bars! They are on sale for $1.00. Wow, what a great price I think to myself. I have $5.00 in my pocket, I can buy one! We all know chocolate is a taxable purchase which will bring the total to $1.13.

So after I buy the chocolate bar I am left with $3.87. What did I actually come in here for I ask myself? Oh yes a bag of milk….oops the bag of milk costs $3.99 and now I only have $3.87. So moral of the story here is yes because I had $5.00 in my pocket I could buy the chocolate bar but could I afford it? No!

Now I am leaving the store without what I originally went in for, the milk. I cannot afford the milk now because of an impulse purchase that I really didn’t need. This is just an example to explain the idea behind what my Uncle had to say.

Adjusting The Budget

An extreme example of this might be, say you have $30,000 in your bank account, does that mean you can afford to go down to the dealership and pay cash for a new car? What in your budget have you sacrificed to buy that car? How much are you going to have to adjust your budget for buying something that you really couldn’t afford?

Going in and out of multiple stores for my job challenges my ability to say no to impulse purchases. I usually take advantage of this opportunity to do my grocery shopping kid-free. Those with kids will agree that grocery shopping can easily get more expensive when bringing the kids in the store.

But….being I am in the stores so often it can be easy to walk past a really great sale and convince myself that I need that product when really I could have done without. If you pick up an item and you look at it and tell yourself, ‘I can’t buy it’, likely you shouldn’t be. Listen to yourself more often and you might just save a bundle.

Having the money in my wallet or my bank account allowed me to be able to buy it but it wasn’t in my grocery budget. I do now. Now it has to come out of somewhere else in my budget, so really I couldn’t afford to buy it. This phrase will continually pop into my head every time I am in stores now.

I am preparing to join the Grocery Game Challenge on June 1st , I promise I’m in! Saying this over and over to myself is going to help me stick to my weekly/monthly grocery budget. It is now. I am also starting to enforce ‘no-shopping days’ when I go to work to help me from spending money I don’t need to spend.

Multi-Buy Purchase

After working outside all day yesterday in the garden I had a handful of stuff going into the house. I set my sunglasses on the step in the garage so I could open the door.

I forgot about them until this morning when I stepped into the garage to throw out some garbage and stepped on them, breaking them to pieces instantly. Smart that was, now it’s going to cost me money to replace them.

I do not leave my house without sunglasses, even on a dull day. I find myself wearing them as I seem to get more headaches if I don’t have them on. After I finished work today I stopped in at Ardene’s to buy a new pair of sunglasses.

I usually buy my sunglasses there because they always have a deal, usually either 2 or 3 pairs for $15. Today’s deal was 2/$15. I picked out one pair then continued to look for another.

Ask Yourself This…….

Then I stopped and thought to myself….I was not planning on having to buy one pair of sunglasses, let alone two. If bought individually each pair cost $8.50. In the past I wouldn’t have even thought twice and grabbed two pairs, but in this case being an unexpected purchase saving myself $2.00 by buying two pairs wasn’t worth spending another $6.50.

I reminded myself that yes I could buy two pairs but really I couldn’t afford two. Buying one pair was already something I would have to take money from somewhere else in my budget. I could justify one pair as I need them, but not a second pair.

Every time that I see a multi-buy discount now I will stop and think it out again. Do I really need to buy the second one and is the deal really something that I can afford? If you have to ask, you can’t afford it.

What I can afford is patience….

I do occasionally shop for clothes and fun things for myself and the kids, although the majority of my impulse spending is on groceries. I am not the person who has to have every new gadget on the market.

I’m also not someone who will spend $100 on a pair of jeans. I also can’t afford to. When I do buy something for myself I don’t like to feel uneasy about how much I’ve spent. I’ve learned to have a good amount of patience for the things I need to purchase but haven’t saved the money up for yet.

I Love My Job

Working in a retail environment for a few years, I have learned lots about how companies strive to achieve top sales. I work on behalf of multiple companies as an in-store marketing representative. Part of my job includes working with the store to maximize sales and secure optimal placement of their products and advertising materials and displays in-store.

My job is to market products to maximize sales and I understand the reasoning behind why manufacturers want their product seen. I also know that as a consumer I have the right to make informed decisions whether the product is in my face or hiding on a shelf. Alternatively I might decide to buy something the day the product is released, or wait a few weeks/months until the price drops significantly.

It’s a pretty simple concept even though many find difficulty with it like I have in the past. Having it said to me and being a catchy, simple phrase really stuck in my head, and it just makes sense to me. I’m working so hard sticking to my budget so why do I want to throw my budget out the window just to buy something I really can’t afford?

How do you avoid buying things you can’t afford?

Post Contribution By: 

Katrina is regular contributor for Canadian Budget Binder and is as passionate about personal finance as she is gardening. Katrina is a horticulture graduate with over 10 years experience with landscaping and greenhouse production.

Her goal is to share her knowledge and experiences blogging about gardening and her continued passion for personal finance in hopes of motivating others. While being a single mom of two and an in-store marketing representative  for major retail shops she also runs her own Landscaping Services in Southwestern Ontario.

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The Grocery Game Challenge May 20-26,2013 #3: Eating Too Much Food

Posted: May 21, 2013 in The Grocery Game
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Eating Too Much Food Grocery Game

When I started The Grocery Game Challenge last year we were stocking up on lots of food and soon realized that we were buying too much food. If you stare at the food in your house and know that it’s been there for ages, you’re likely buying too much.

If you are a regular reader of my blog you know that I quit smoking as well last year and since then we’ve learned lots about our eating habits. Different people require different foods depending on their personal circumstances.

We can easily see grocery budgets go up in expenses but with time we can also see that if we stop eating too much food we can further reduce those costs. Purchasing groceries on a budget means you will plan what you are purchasing and learn how to effectively use the foods you buy to create meals to fit your lifestyle.

Just recently with the wife going on a  low GI diet we both noticed that it wasn’t so much what we were eating as we generally eat very healthy. The problem was more so in the fact we were eating too much food. In a conversation with our friend who is also a doctor he explained that many people tend to more than their bodies need.

He also went on to say that people who go on low-fat or fat-free diets may eat too many carbohydrates that the body struggles to process. He’s been helping my wife by answering questions she may have as well as offering suggestions such as not using EVOO to cook but if we do to add a knob of butter.

He suggested using coconut oil which we already do and find the Grace Coconut oil to be the best brand so far. We picked that up at the Bulk Barn using the Spend $10 save $3.00 coupon which makes it a great deal.

He has suggested to eat portioned amounts of butter, bacon and sausage as the body processes proteins but limit the carbohydrate intake as we simply don’t need to eat that much food. Portion sizes are critical to eating the right amounts of food and if you don’t believe me you would be shocked to see what a portion size really is. You know those lean cuisine meals? Although I’d never buy TV dinners or prepared meals the nutrition label tells is like it is.

We started to find that when we would eat too much food we would feel bloated and just not an overall sense of happiness even though I would work out every day. It’s easy to get caught up in good food when it’s all around us but we have since learned we can eat it, just not too much of it.

Some other effects of eating too much food for me was acid reflux especially if I ate too much spicy food. I find that I am not taking my medication much now since we have changed how much we eat and what we eat.

If you remember our friend Bonnie who got fit on a budget and has lost a significant amount of weight by including   walking every day as well as portioning her food while making healthy food choices. Her results speak volumes for anyone who wants to lose some weight or simply stick to a healthy eating regime for life.

What are Good Foods To Eat?

Healthy Foods ranked by Nutrition

Good Question and for us it’s anything that is not processed. I found a great photo the other day on Pinterest. I found it on Tracey Bregmans Pinterest (yes the lovely Tracey from The Young and The Restless) who is also a vegetarian. It ranks te top 20 fruits and vegetables by nutrition which I thought was lovely. We certainly enjoy many of these foods in our cooking.

Eating Too Much Food

When you read the calorie count, fat count and other nutritional information and then look at what you get for all that you likely sink in your chair. You already feel like you will be starving and that you won’t even feel like you’ve eaten anything at all. The reality is that we should be consuming enough food in accordance to what our nutritionist and doctor recommends for our body type, activity level, health and Body Mass Index (BMI).

We have started to weigh and measure our food so we get a better understanding of portions and how much we should be having. I found out some of my meals contained enough food for 3 people to eat. I’m a healthy eater but I’m also very active. I can stand to eat more calories with the amount of daily heavy lifting I do and exercise but that doesn’t mean I have to eat enough to feed 3 people.

 If you are not sure where to begin, talk to your doctor which I highly recommend. The more carbs we eat the more work we have to do. We also see a spike in our insulin levels as well when we eat too many carbohydrates. Eating has been a challenge since we quit smoking but we vow to get back on track to healthy eating because eating too much food is simply not good enough for us.

What food challenges do you face in your diet?

Grocery Game Weeks for May

If you missed grocery game posts for this month just click on the links below and post your shops in the comment section.

Grocery Saving Tips

Free Money Saving Downloads just for YOU!!! Get organized with a freezer inventory, meal plan, shopping list, price comparison list and much more!!! Click, Save and Print.. It’s that easy~

What’s In MrCBB's Shopping Cart

Food Basics

  • Head of Lettuce Reduced $0.69
  • Irresistible Bio Quinoa $2.67 (first time buying or trying it)
  • Red Seedless Grapes Sale $0.88lb $1.96
  • Astro Yogurt x 2 Sale $1.88 Organic Plain and Vanilla
  • 1 Whole wheat Pita Sale $1.00
  • Premium Bananas $0.57lb $ 1.29
  • Radishes $1.50
  • 2x Seedless Cucumber Sale $0.88 each
  • 4x Glad White Garbage Bags reduced $0.99 each

Total Out Of Pocket $18.85

Yearly Grocery Budget For 2 : $2819.38
  • Total Grocery Budget for the Month: $235.00 or $78.33 week with one no-shop week per month or $58.75 for 4 weeks per month. (During the months with 5 weeks we just make it work)
  • Total Budget For May: $72.26
  • Total Coupons Used this Week : $0
  • Total Discounts this Week: $0
  • Total Gift Cards Given Used this Week: $0
  • Total Rewards Points Used: $0
  • Stockpile Budget: $20.00 Used: $0
  • Total Spent This Week:$18.85
  • Total Spent So Far for (May): ($162.74)+($42.23)=$204.97
  • Total Over/Under spend this shop: $ N/A
  • Total Over/Under spend for the month of  (May): $N/A
  • Total Left to Spend for the Month: $11.18
  • Total Coupons Used This Month :$6.00+$0+$0
  • Total to Carry Over Next Month : ($ 162.74 has been carried over to May from April 2013)
  • Total Spent To Date This Year: $206.95 (Jan)+ $160.77 (Feb) + (March)$169.62 + (April)$397.74=$935.08
  • Rendezvous Account: $65.38 (this will be used for a date night or a summer holiday)

Weekly Overview:Well it seems we only needed vegetables and fruits this week so it helped keep the budget down. We are really working on eating what we have in the house to help the overspend from last month.

Canadian Coupons Found This Week

We didn’t find any manufacturer coupons this week although we only went to one store. I’ll keep my eyes peeled though.

Frequently Asked Questions

Grocery Game Challenge RULES….. Read the rules first and if you have any questions email me or comment on this post with your question and someone will answer you as soon as possible. 

  1. Do I have to be Canadian to post my Grocery Shop? No, you don’t have to be Canadian to post your shops only to win a monthly prize. We have a few players from around the world.
  2. When does the Grocery Game Close each month? The Grocery Game Challenge Closes at Midnight of the last Sunday of the last post for the month. You can post your shops all month-long.
  3. Does Your Grocery Budget Include Health and Beauty and Laundry? Yes our Grocery Budget includes such items as shampoo, conditioner, laundry soap, fabric softener, dish soap etc. We don’t mind stockpiling items that won’t be effected by expiry dates or have long expiry dates but not so much food any more. It’s just one way to help cut your budget to save money.
  4. Where can I find Canadian Coupons? Here are your latest Coupon Match-ups  of the week including Checkout 51 from 25 Newspaper Inserts around Canada compliments of Save Big Live Better that you can use to help you save money in the Grocery Game Challenge.
  5. How Do I Know what stores accept coupons? You can find all your store coupon policies here. If you are not sure it’s always best to call the store and ask.
  6. How Do I Grocery Shop?- I can tell you about grocery shopping and what we do in terms of shopping to save money and how it works for us. There are no wrong or right answers, just smart choices. Over time you will gradually learn where you should and shouldn’t go in the grocery store or at least how to say no, I’m on a budget I don’t need to buy this or that. You may also substitute items in order to stick to your budget to make it work.

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