My feet shift from side to side as I scan the food in my shopping cart.  Ahhhhhhh, I think that is about $115.00, I guest-i-mate in my head.

Beep – beep –  beep go my goodies across the scanner and into my cart.  As I load my bags, I anxiously keep checking the current price.  

Really!  That much already… I still have half my cart left on the conveyor belt!

UGGGG, I’m way over again!

Until…

my very wise and handsome husband came up with a plan for me.


“Why don’t you just take  a notebook and write down the average price of each item as you put it into your cart.”


I was super skeptical, but I tried it.  Guess what!  It has worked every time!

1. Grab yourself a tiny little notebook and throw it in your purse.

If an item is 3.29 (round down to 3).
If an item is 1.79 (round up to 2).


If it is over .50 round up, 
if it is under .50 round down.


I usually end up with a page full of random numbers.


When I get done, I pull my cart over and quickly add them up.  If I am over, I adjust by taking a few items out of my cart that I absolutely don’t need.  I’ve also added everything up half way to get an idea.


No surprises!  No guessing!  It has worked for a year, every time!  

Does it sound like it is something you could try out?  What do you do?  How do you stay within your allotted budget?

Don’t forget to enter the awesome $50.00 giveaway HERE.