Budgeting

I don't know how many of you make a budget each month for your spending, but M and I do. We started shortly after we got married and changed our method a bit once we took a Dave Ramsey class offered through our church in Austin. (My brother calls us Dave Ramsey disciples although we do not follow all of Dave's suggestions. I do have to give Dave some credit though. He helped M and I get completely out of debt twice and has helped shape our views on spending. I hope that we are now better stewards of what God has entrusted us.) After the course, we started having a zero budget each month. This means that every penny of our paychecks and bills is accounted for in our budget and the budget has $0 left over at the end of each month. This lets you know where all your money is going - even savings.

Budgeting is very interesting. I work with budgets at work as most accountants do. At work, it is not always a big deal if someone does not stay within his or her budget. But that is a different story on our personal budget. After all, it is OUR money we are talking about. Well, I have had a hard time this year with my grocery budget. I know I should be able to stay below the budget we have set, especially since there are only two of us in the house (three if you count Max). I feel like I need to change my entire strategy for grocery shopping. Do you have any suggestions for saving money in this area?