How to turn 2 hours per week into $5,200 per year!

You may be wondering how 2 hours per week can turn into $5,200 per year…  It is actually pretty simple – spend 2 hours per week meal planning and grocery shopping, you can easily save upwards of $100 per week.  Do this all year long (52 weeks) and you have just earned yourself $5,200 more per year!  That may be a 10% raise for some of you; that may mean you can quit your job and stay at home with your kids, for me it meant that I could pay down debt and start working towards financial freedom.  You can read my story of how my husband and I got out of $40,000 worth of debt in just under 4 years, this will help you gain more information about me and this site.

My goal is to teach you how to enjoy life on a budget.  Because life is so busy, I aim to make things simple and achievable in as little time per week as possible.

My goal when teaching grocery shopping tips is to break it down into a wage – if you spend 2 hours per week to save $100 then that equates to $50 per hour in income.  That is a LOT per hour, so I am sure you can find 2 hours a week to make $5,200 this year, right?  Skip an episode of the Batchelor or American Idol – your family is worth it!

Here are the top 6 tips for you to start earning your $5,200 wage:

1. Start THINKING about your money.  Create a budget by looking at your past months of expenses – then start there and use cash. (See my post about how to set a successful grocery budget here.)
2. Sit down 1 night a week and look at your sales flyer.
3. Plan your meals around the sale items.
4. See what coupons you have that will match up with sale items.
5. Make your list and write your meal plan down on your refrigerator.
6. In the store, shop as quickly as possible and stick to the list.

Things to avoid to stick to your goal:

1. Avoid convenience foods – cut up fruits, veggie trays etc.   You will pay sometimes 50% more to purchase these foods.
2. Avoid impulse purchases (this will take time, so practice is the best way to make it stick!) – stick to your list!
3. Stick to your meal plan, and avoid eating out for 30 days.  This will help you see if you can actually stick to the budget you have set.
4. Avoid single trip ingredients – did you know that every extra minute you spend in the grocery store you spend an average of $1.75 extra?

Like anything – practice makes perfect. The first week you plan your meals and shopping you are probably going to forget something; and that is okay.  Just remember that this is supposed to take a LITTLE time and give you the highest hourly wage possible, so don’t freak out when you can’t get it right the first time around.  I would love for this to become second nature to you so that it doesn’t take that much time at all!

Another thing to remember is that if you are running around to 10 different stores every week and save only $50.00 – is that really worth your time and energy? Make sure that what you are doing provides an excellent hourly wage, this way you can really make a big dent in your finances.

Let me know how you are doing on your way to an extra $5,200 per year!