How I Buy Groceries

1. I write out my budget, so that I know how much I'll have to spend on food.
2. I plan out every meal and snack for the pay period.
3. I make a grocery list.
4. Next to each item, I write the price. This is my budget for that item. For example, I can spend $6 on fresh fruit. How far that goes depends on what is on sale that week.
5. I add up the total, which is usually too much.
6. I amend, amend, amend. I figure out what I can make myself (bread, granola, buying dried beans rather than canned, for example) until it fits the budget.
7. I rewrite the list in grocery-store order.
8. I go shopping.

Last night, I spent $137 on groceries for the next two weeks, which also included things like cat food, toilet paper, soap, etc.