Grocery Budget Busters

I have been trying to lower my grocery bill each month and I finally have it to an acceptable amount (for us) but there are still things that will bust my grocery budget every time if I let them.


1.  Candy isle at the check-out.  I know this would only be $1 or $2 each time, but if I go weekly that adds up.  At the end of the month if I've spent $8-$10 on candy that means we will grill hotdogs instead of steaks and I'm not really sure the gum or snickers bar is worth the steak ya know?

2.  Convenience food.  I don't just mean the prepackaged lasagna or precooked meatballs.  I'm also talking about the precut vegetables and fruits and smaller "to-go" packages of things.  I know it takes time to cut up fruits/veggies or take a big box of raisins and separate them out into smaller "to-go" portions, but since we have started doing that ourselves we can save $25/mo and end up with more food.

3.  Canned soda and individual bottles of tea.  I have to admit, we still buy the 12 packs of soda, but we go Aldi's brand so it at least is less then it could be, but we no longer buy the teas or sports drinks.  We buy the big can of powder and make our own.  You get more, it is cheaper, and I think it tastes better - but that last one might just be my imagination.

4.  Shopping without  a list.  This is a biggie, for my family at least.  We use cash for groceries, and when the allotted amount of money is gone - it's GONE.  That is all there is, so I have to shop with a list.    If we didn't we would probably not end up with what we need for the week and we would not have any money left.  Sad, but true.

These are just some things that came to mind, but I would love if you would share your biggest grocery budget busters.