I have a monthly grocery budget target that is higher than what I usually hit. That’s because it incorporates our CSA membership (paid in one big chunk) and purchases like our quarter beef last year. We buy a lot of our food bulk at Costco (pasta, onions, garlic, eggs, frozen veggies) and then fill in at the regular grocery store, and the stocking up cycle is such that typically we spend about half our grocery money at Costco. But many months we don’t hit our grocery figure; other months (with the big buys) we exceed it. If it were plotted on a graph, it would go up and down dramatically, and the average would be our budget target.

I’m not very good at utilizing coupons in any case, but I have taken to leafing through the circulars, just so I have a sense of what’s on sale, where, for the coming week. Usually if there’s a sale on something at the local grocer, it’s also going to be a good price at Costco–but not always, so I’ve found it helpful to bear that in mind, and not get lured in by the box-o-mandarins that would actually cost me less at my grocery story.

But here’s one question for you: do you set a grocery budget each month? If so, how do you balance out the “stocking up” when something is on sale with the need to (a) stick to your budget and (b) get the variety you need for what you’ve planned to cook?