I'm Always Afraid I'm Going to Be Over Budget on Food. Here's How I'm Dealing with It. — Kitchen Nerves

A hundred and fifty dollars a week on groceries sound like a lot of money. If you're anything like me, though, you know how quickly that goes each week at the grocery store. After loading up on the weekly staples (lunch stuff, fruit, pantry basics, that sort of thing) spending the rest is far too easy — especially when you've got two kids to feed.

Of any part of my monthly budget, the grocery store always requires the most attention and focus to not go over budget. And that makes sense, considering other expenses tend to be relatively fixed. Housing costs are almost always the same. I can predict what utilities will be, depending on the month. But groceries? That bill is totally up to me. What if I make some terrible mistake and totally miscalculate what I'm putting in my cart? What if that dinner party I offered to host throws things out of whack? What if we spend too much on food and don't have enough money left over for the other things my kids need?

You see? It's easy for panic to set in. Or if panic is the wrong word, maybe utter trepidation is a better one.

I still don't have it all figured out, but I do have some methods to help me deal with all the feelings I get whenever I think about how much money I spend on food.

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