Learning to save money is rewarding. The cash dividends are great and you’ll become a savvier consumer all around.
Here’s a few ways I’ve found to save on groceries:
• Cook more at home and from scratch.
• Make a list before going to the store. This saves time in the store which saves money. Surveys reveal the longer we’re in the store the more money we spend.
• Learn the average non sale price on 20 of the most common foods you purchase each week. This will help you realize a good sale when there is one and when to stock up. Just because it is a sale, doesn’t mean it is the best deal.
• Use less processed foods. Processing costs more and likewise the product.
• Buy ‘in season’ produce. You will know by the cost what is in season and what is not.
• Make a few meatless meals. Learn to use beans and lentils to make stews, soups and main dishes with high protein levels and low cost.
• Stock up on sale items. If tuna is 40 cents a can – I stock up on it, knowing it may be another 3 months before it goes that low again.
• Use coupons on items you really need or use (unless you get the items free – then give them away if you don’t want them)
• Resist temptation to buy items you won’t use or don’t need just because they are on sale.
• Shop after eating, you'll be less apt to throw high priced munchies and sweets into your cart.
• Check out the dollar store for bargains - but remember a dollar for an item may not be the lowest price. That's where knowing the lowest price for your most common items will come in handy.
Here’s what will happen:
• You’ll end up with a stocked pantry in a short time.
• It will be easier to plan meals based on what you already have as you will ‘shop’ from your pantry first. (Check out Sue Gregg’s cookbooks for this – she has an index according to ingredients.)
• It will be easier to see what you need to keep an eye out for to replace on your next shopping trip.
• You will be amazed at the savings.
To get the most mileage from sales fliers and coupons from the Sunday paper - use them together! Clip coupons or print them from coupon websites (there are many now online). Keep them and use with sale items at your store. Some stores will even give you double coupon value. I have also discovered there are ‘cycles’ for sale items. Most stores go through their sales about every three months and if one store has a sale on an item this week, most likely the other two stores in town will have one within a week or two. Just watch the fliers (I like www.mygrocerydeals.com for my area fliers. They do comparisons for you. If a store you shop at isn’t listed, email them the request, they will likely try to add it with enough requests). There are some sites that check your sales fliers and coordinate the Sunday coupons for you like www.couponmom.com and www.thegrocerygame.com . The Grocery Game costs $5 a month…I’m too cheap for that and I have found the Coupon Mom does not have our area stores in her data bank. So, I do invest about 25 – 30 minutes a week figuring out my menu plan, grocery list and coupons.
Here’s another little grocery tip, all stores have loss leaders – these are the really great buys you see advertised in their fliers each week. What they hope is you will come in for these deals and stay and buy your other groceries and non grocery items. Resist. Most likely you’ll be driving by the other store with better prices on those extra items sometime during the week.
Combine your trips to include another store, the library, music lessons, hospital visit, etc, so you don’t defeat your savings potential by spending it in gas. Most families grocery shop twice a week or even more frequently. Many shop every night on their way home from work…this isn’t the most savings minded shopping method as you might have guessed. Try to plan better and condense your trips for greater savings. I even number my stops according to the best route to take to save time and money. I know the Proverbs 31 woman “bringeth her food from afar” – but with gas prices these days…
It’s all a part of - “looking well to the ways of our households” – Prov.31:27.
Challenge for the week:
Try to make the biggest $4 meal you can and post your menu here.
Lori
1 comment:
I buy the largest size of pancake mix (Krusteez brand) and syrup (Mrs. Butterworth's) at Walmart. These items are in the bulk foods section and are cheap in comparison to purchasing smaller sizes. Pancakes and bacon are a quick, easy meal. One other thing I like to whip up is a batch of chili. If you can find the largest size of kidney beans (I believe it is a one-gallon can) in the bulk food section, get it. These are hard to find, though, depending on the store. Otherwise just take 3 or 4 large cans of kidney beans, fry up some hamburger (one or two pounds) and add chili seasoning. You can add a chopped onion to the hamburger as it cooks. This is where you can get creative. Add a can of black beans, or garbanzo beans, diced tomatoes, or other veggies to the mix. Sometimes I flavor my chili with taco seasoning, then I like to add a can of corn. If you buy these canned foods when they are on sale and keep them stocked up, it doesn't take much time at all to whip up a hearty batch of chili. Serve with bread, crackers, corn bread, tortillas - whatever suits your taste buds!!
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