Most of us realize that sticking to a budget is the key to reaching our financial goals, but we do not want to sacrifice our quality of life, either.  The solution for me was to focus on cutting the grocery bill, since this is not a fixed expense. I went online and found one or two sites which offer grocery coupons, then I began looking for sales at my local supermarket. If I use coupons when items are on sale, I find I can often get things at almost no cost or free.  Sometimes I use several coupons at once, buy in bulk, and save even more.