How to budget and shop within your means

Shrinking products, rising prices at the market and beyond: Shoppers have been feeling the pinch at the register for some time now.

And whether it is a new feeling or a long-lasting one, creating a grocery budget can help you feel more in control of your finances.

Budgeting "takes away the anxiety of worrying about money", said Ms Dasha Kennedy of the Broke Black Girl financial education platform. "Even if the income may not be where I want it to be, if there's ever a situation, at least I know what is going on, and I know what I can do next."

 And while it may not be the most glamorous point of discussion, building a budget you can stick to can be a way of achieving your goals and putting money towards other needs.

"If there are some things you want to do, having a budget will help you know how you can make that happen," Ms Kennedy said.

Getting started can be daunting if you have never done it before, but it can be done, even if you are not the most disciplined of savers.

Here are a few tips and techniques from experts on how to set yourself up for success.

KNOW HOW MUCH YOU SPEND

Ms Beth Moncel of the blog Budget Bytes calls evaluating your spending "the most important step" when you are starting to budget.

"You need to know how much you're spending to begin with before you even start reining it in," she said, adding that even tracking a single week's worth of grocery expenses can be helpful.

Apps like YNAB (formerly You Need a Budget), PocketGuard and Monarch do and will let you import all your financial accounts into a centralised hub. Or, if you prefer to keep it low-tech, it never hurts to gather receipts and simply add up expenses.

Seeing how small changes can make a big difference, Ms Moncel said, "will really motivate you to keep going and make even bigger changes".

SET YOUR SPEND AMOUNT