OK now to the saving on food (it's a long story, I apologize). Obviously there are certain tips that are common sense but I'm gonna list some of them for you anyway:
- Don't eat out so much, cooking at home is usually cheaper
- Shop at stores like Save A Lot or Aldi
- Buy generic
- Grow your own food, granted it might be tough raising a cow in an apartment but it will save you bundles!
- Eat your leftovers
- Buy from bulk stores like Costco or Sam's Club
- Don't shop while you are hungry
I buy some things generic, I buy some things from stores like Aldi, I grow my own herbs but don't have anywhere to grow veggies, I eat my leftovers, and I do shop at Costco but those are just a few ways that I save money and honestly those aren't the tactics I use to save cash most of the time. I am finding the best way to save the money is a bit time consuming but once you get it down to a science you can really clip along. The first thing I do is grab a Sunday paper & grab the coupon section out of the paper and start going through all of the coupons in it & clipping anything of interest. We also have a coupon club at work & the bag of coupons gets passed around once a month for everyone to go through so I add those to my stack of coupons I clipped myself. I am going to purchase a coupon organizer book that will make it much easier to keep track of what I have which will in the end also save me time & money because I can just take it with me to the store, but I digress. Once all the coupons have been clipped & put in order (I do by exp date) it is now time to check out the store papers which I get delivered to my apartment building on Mondays.
I then sit down with my grocery list which is always hanging on my fridge so I can add needed items to it as the weeks go on and I obviously do a once over to make sure I didn't miss anything before I finalize the list. Having a list when you go shopping is a must, not only so you don't forget stuff but so you don't buy crap that you don't need, stick to your list. So like I said I sit down with my list, and my grocery store papers, and my coupons & I begin combing the papers (this can also be done online but I prefer the papers) and seeing which stores have what on sale & I then see if they are on the list & I circle stuff in the papers that match up. At this point I start dividing my list into usually 3 lists Kroger, Meijer, CVS (for the assorted toiletries & what nots) so once I've got my lists separated I then start going through my coupons & if there is something I want & I see that a coupon is about to expire I take the coupon with me to all the stores so it gets its own pile. I then start setting aside the other coupons for the individual stores, like if I see that Kroger has cheese 3 for $5 and I happen to have a dollar off coupon for that cheese then of course I'm gonna put that coupon in the Kroger pile & put the cheese on the list if it isn't already & I just got my cheese 3 for $4 & if I'm lucky it's double coupon day!! Regardless I probably technically saved about 4 bucks on that cheese from its original shelf price.
A side note, I never know when it is double coupon day, Farmer Jack always did it the same day of the week every week & some places do it like a happy hour but there is one tiny old school grocery store by me that always does double coupons so I do occasionally go there but their selection is limited, I assume it would be the same in your area as well but I'm going to look into double coupon days to save even more.
Now I have my 3 piles, 3 lists & I'm going to 3 stores & for me it's totally feasible, the Meijer is 4 miles away (next to Costco should I need a stop there) and I pass the Kroger on my way back home from Meijer so I just hit them up at once. As far as CVS goes I pass one on my way home from work & usually stop there then so I'm not wasting any extra gas. I generally go shopping on a weekend night because the stores are empty & when the stores are busy you get stopped in front of things that you wouldn't normally look at & then you buy crap you don't need. At night you get in, you hit all the aisles & you are out the door in no time.
Once I arrive at the store I get out my list & my coupons for the list as well as my other pile of coupons; stuff that I might want to get if it's on sale because my coupon is about to expire but I don't really NEED it. I hit up all the aisles & when I'm making my lists I will put a little c next to the items I have coupons for so I can make sure I buy the right size or modification of the product. At times I find that even with my coupon the Kroger/Meijer brand of some stuff is still cheaper, like my disinfectant spray or freezer bags. There are a lot of things however that I won't buy generic like ketchup or pancake syrup. Every time I go grocery shopping I take any cans/bottles I have back & I usually take them to Kroger because I buy their Big K pops which are actually really good & way cheaper than name brand. This usually gets me at least 2 bucks off my groceries & every penny counts but then I scan my Kroger card & poof, I saved another $4, and then I hand over my coupons & the next thing you know, my bill just went from $39.33 to $27.11. At Meijer I generally find that their prices on most stuff is lower than other stores anyway which is why I usually start there & the last time I was in my bill was $101.12 but after my coupons it was $74.27 & then I made my stop at CVS & saved $30.24 (the cashier actually said "dang girl, I aint never seen savings like that") for a grand total savings of $71.31 & I got groceries for 2 weeks, a new electric toothbrush, a celeb rag mag, and even a couple things I really didn't need. So as you can see, it can be time consuming & obviously if you live in a big city doing this would probably be a huge hassle & not worth it but living in your basic city in America there is a grocery store & a drug store on every corner & if you have the time you might as well save some money with it. I also suggest taking most anyone up on a dinner offer, a free meal is a free meal!
*With it being fruit & veggie month in the U.S. I recommend keeping your eyes open for roadside stands or other local growers and farmers markets because you can save a ton there as well & make a lot of delicious foods from the fresh produce.
4 comments:
My mom used to have an index card file-the kind that you would put recipe cards or phone numbers in. She used the alphabetical sorter cards to sort her coupons by food group or aisle. I used this technique in LA during the grad school days and it really kept me organized. The trick is to remember to bring it with you.
which is why the coupon organizer thing would work, it clips right to your freaking cart, freaking genius I say!!
I think having a grocery list is really the key for me. We really don't eat a lot of processed food, so we do most of our shopping on the perimeter of the store, which is where they keep the meats, dairy, and fruits and veggies. By shopping on the perimeter, we don't even go down the aisles where they keep the cookies and crackers, so we're not tempted to buy that stuff, which is better for our budget and our health. Good tips. I especially like keeping the shopping list on the fridge. Lisa and I need to start doing that.
Three cheers for all the drugstores with $4 generics! And now Wal-Mart has started selling 3 months of some generics for $10. Wow! For my other meds that aren't generic I use the prescription discount card that I found at www.rxdrugcard.com. Low membership fee. Drug prices posted to check before you join.
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