Question

I went over our food budget this week by $65. 39 Should I increase our budget or try harder next week?  

Answer 1

See if you can locate why you are going over. If it's because you didn't budget enough the I would adjust. I saw someone mentioned they went over because of Illness. This for me would be purchased with my medical expenses budget. I budgeted way under on purpose when I started to see how much I could reduce. I am using the next few months to see what my average is and will adjust accordingly. As our needs change I'll continue to adjust. That's what is good about this system.  

Answer 2

Try harder to stick to your meal plan/grocery list. If it still goes over, maybe increase after that.  

Answer 3

Try harder next week! Try to figure out why you went over and if it was preventable, or if your food budget is unrealistic for your family. I wouldn't reevaluate until I've done a month of shopping, and see where I'm at. We do much better with our budget when we meal plan, check our pantry first, and shop sales. We also do exceptionally well when we do grocery pick up, no chance of impulse buying

Answer 4

Try harrdeeer next weeeek!  

Answer 5

Try harder next week! It’s hard to get the hang of it, I would give it about 5-6 weeks of going over before you increase it

Answer 6

$65 isn’t a oops I went over our food budget. $5 or $10 yes. I would sit down, look at what you actually purchased via receipt. Was there anything that wasnt a need to complete a recipe or meal? If purchases were wants, I wouldn’t increase the budget. If they were needs, I would. I would also look at other stores to see if items could have been purchased for less.  

Answer 7

I increased my food budget because i am going over everytime.  

Answer 8

Look at why you went over. We went over the last 3 weeks, but. I was not separating out medicines. We've all been sick the last few weeks. In addition to otc meds, I've been buying gatoraid and yougurt and tempting snack foods to get the kid to eat at a much higher rate than normal.  

Answer 9

I also notice that I usually go over budget at least once a month. It happens to be the week when we seem to run out of everything. I'm trying to remember to stock up on some things ahead of time on those weeks when I would go under budget.  

Answer 10

Try to stretch stuff you bought. It happens. I had to buy some things this week like cleaner and cat litter that meant we needed to be strategic about portions so we could have lunch and leftovers. Take a good look at your freezer and pantry and see what you already for meals for next week. Then only buy what you need to finish those meals.  

Answer 11

Shop in your own pantry and come up with meals with ingredients you have! You can do it!  

Answer 12

I would increase food budget. I dont know what it is but if I allow myself extra I normally spend less ‍♀️

Answer 13

Yes, also, look at what 2as bought: was it staples like pasta or rice? Was it ready to eat foods? Also, if there were special ingredients for a specific meal or kids treats then just adjust the meal plan and grocery items.  

Answer 14

3 adults in my home 300/m I plan meals and sho from my pantry freezer to make meals with things already have

Answer 15

What’s the budget and how many people! I see everyone say try harder but maybe the envelope is under funded

Answer 16

Food is a tricky one and sometimes one week can be less and another more. You’ll get the hang of it and find the sweet spot.  

Answer 17

If it were a one off I'd leave it. If it's happening regularly then either 1) increase it 2) do more meal planning.  

Answer 18

Really depends on how you shop. Do you shop sales and from your pantry? Meal plan based on sales and what you have? Or do you just get what looks good?  

Comments

@nikolai55483 yes. Have you tried doing online grocery pick up? Your able to see what your spending before you do it. That way you can adjust from there.  

Answer 19

I'd review my purchases and determine if anything should go in another category (I separate beauty, pet, medical) and review any convenience items (pre-grated cheese, sliced cheese, premade dips, dressings you could make cheaper) then adjust accordingly.  

Answer 20

I also shop Dollar Tree before I grocery shop. I pick up toothpaste, paper goods, lunch items for kids, shampoo/conditioner, shaving items.  

Answer 21

Shop online so you know your budget and stay under it at check out

Answer 22

We went over ours this week too. In our case, it was because I have been trying to get our freezer stocked with dinners for at least 2-3 weeks. Now that that is finished, I’m going to pull the amount we went over from next weeks budgeted amount (to replenish where we borrowed from) and there should be no reason for us to go over. Well more than likely be under for the month or break even!  

Answer 23

I give mine 3 months. If I’m consistently over, then I need to readjust.  

Answer 24

If you can afford to increase it I would. And then if you’re able to spend less that’s great. But definitely make sure your goal is realistic to your family.  

Answer 25

Go over what you bought and didn’t actually use and make not for next week

Answer 26

I say do a bit of both  

Answer 27

My rule is if it happens twice in a row and there's no serious reason why, then I will increase my budget for that category. But if it's just once or something happened where we needed to spend more, I don't increase.  

Answer 28

How about a little bit of both, increase your budget by like $30, and be mindful of what you buy. Don't worry, it will all even out eventually. Our budget is fluid, kids get bigger, so they eat more, kids move out as they get older; your budget will need adjusting.  

Answer 29

We recently increased our grocery budget because we kept going over. Our two year old stopped nursing and eats like a grown man now! We increased by $30

Answer 30

This keeps happening to us too, and we even cut out eating out almost completely and were still going over. I think I'm going to increase by 30-40 and see how that feels.  

Answer 31

We kept going over so I allotted $15 more for food in our budget.