Sticking to a budget in 2025

I’m not going to lie, sticking to a budget during these inflationary times has not been a cake walk. It’s month three into my new year’s goal of living below my means and while I’ve managed to stay on track, doing so does require extra effort. Here are some of my strategies for staying on budget during these uncertain economic times:

Strategic Grocery Shopping

Groceries are a large part of my household budget, so I’ve made a bigger effort to comparison shop and make more thoughtful, budget friendly choices. Trips to multiple grocery stores in order to find the best prices on specific items has become part of my shopping routine. Checking store apps and the online weekly flyers of my local grocers to see which is offering the best price on produce or chicken, etc. is the first thing I do before meal planning for the week. Admittedly, this is more time consuming but worth the savings. I’ve also enlisted my husband to join me on these shopping trips, which has been helpful and a way to spend time together as we meal plan.

Buying in bulk has been a game changer for me. For the most part, buying in bulk is cheaper because in general the price per unit is lower on items packaged in bulk. I now pay closer attention to the price per unit costs when shopping. This is a no brainer for most of you I’m sure, but in the past, I shied away from buying in bulk given the limited storage in our home and my fear of wasting. I’ve since learned that most food items can be frozen without compromising on taste or texture. I’ve also become a bit more organized since I declutter more frequently (more about that in my low- buy below). Does this mean I’m spending more time food and meal prepping? Yes. Is it worth the savings? Absolutely. Listening to audiobooks and catching up on my favorite podcasts helps to make the time doing this task go much faster.

In the end, all this extra effort has saved me on average $25 per week since January.

Cutting Cable

This is tough one, I’m a 70s kid, so i grew up on television. But our cable bill was over $300 per month, which included internet. We’ve switched to YouTube TV with added streaming services and have reduced our monthly cable and streaming by about $80 per month. Added bonus, YouTube offers a free 3 month trial period, so this year’s savings will be pretty significant. One potential down side is by cancelling cable from our cable and internet services, we lost the bundled discount. Yet, we’re still saving each month. The other down side is that the YouTube TV features and navigation is not as smooth or robust compared to my cable provider, but for a savings of $80 per month, I can live with that.

Low-Buy Year

Embarking on a low-buy has probably been the most useful strategy for sticking to a budget. It has forced me focus on appreciating the things I already have and to be more thoughtful about spending and consumption. In the past years, influencer culture, impulse spending and sometimes simply boredom, drove my need to buy and spend hours scrolling through shopping site-all of which contributed to an unhealthy relationship with consumption. Buying less coupled with selling and donating clothing and household items, has reduced the items I own giving me a sense of clarity as well as an appreciation for the things that I already own. Owning less forces me to actually use what I have and getting more satisfaction from using them. Owning less also makes it easier to get dressed, makes cooking and food prep quicker since I have less clutter to get through. I’m also less wasteful since I have a better handle on what’s in my food pantry. More importantly, embarking on a low-buy has helped me to reconsider my priorities. Reducing debt, contributing more towards retirement and finding more meaning and joy in owing less, has been the most valuable benefits from my low-buy journey.

Please share any tips for saving on groceries and other household items in the comments below. Let us know if you are embarking on a low-buy or have reconsidered your spending habits.

Happy Saving!