Practical Saver: I subscribe to an online newsletter that tells me all of the best deals in my area and how to couple coupons with the deals to get these items for free or for just a few cents. This is a really good way to save money on food but it does require (at least for me!) a lot of time and preparation. I mentioned before that I haven't been utilizing this service since I have felt overwhelmed with other responsibilities. I'm thinking about starting back up this month just because it is so hard to miss out on those deals. Hmmm... sanity or savings? SAVINGS! Haha!
Price Matching: I almost always do price matching, at least for fruits and veggies. I save an enormous amount of money this way, often getting blueberries, strawberries, and pineapples for .99, romaine lettuce for less than a buck, and apples for around .69 a lb. I just grab my ads (usually 5 in all) circle the item on the ad, and write down than item and the price on a cheat sheet. I am amazed at how much produce I can get for so little utilizing this method of spending.
From the 99 Cent Store
(Athenos Yogurt was .25)
These are a few of the ways our family stretches our food budget. So, we aren't the greatest at saving, but we aren't the most frivolous either-- we do what works for us :) There are many more websites and blogs that know much more about this kind of thing than I do. If you would like more information, leave me a comment and I'll send you a link to one of those websites.
3 comments:
I wish I was better at couponing, but I just haven't figured out how to make the time to do it. Some people are so good at it!
We loved the 99 Cent store when we lived in San Diego...miss those days! :)
Davene, I just went grocery shopping yesterday. Got the stuff on my list that I had coupons for--name brand stuff, mind you, that I would not normally buy-- and forgot to give the cashier the coupons. That is so like me! It is hard to find the time to clip and organize coupons, which is why I gave it up over the holidays :)
Yeah, I hardly ever remember my coupons either.
We have one grocery store to shop at out here in the boonies. And since they have money off gas (which I still say isn't what it seems to be) for every so much you spend (and now you get money off your grocery bill, for every so much gas you buy, which to me still seems to good to be true), thats where B. has me shop. It gets my frugal/cheap knickers in a knot, because I *know* I could probably do better elsewhere.
I've started mostly "shopping the perimeters" (where all the perishables are), and that has cut way back on my budget. I wasn't buying a lot in the rest of the store, but when I do need to, it adds up fast!
I have to admit to a strange fascination with convenience foods, mostly because we never had them growing up. Except for the occasional T.V. dinner as a special treat.
B. had them pretty frequently, his mom is more of an open a can of this and box of that cook, and he hates them too.
Wow, I do like to ramble, don't I?
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