Here's a money question to start off our month:
How do you save money on groceries?
I, like Steph, was really impressed with the amount people spent on groceries several weeks ago. I spend more than most it seems. What strategies do you utilize to keep your spending low?
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The best way to help me save money is to make a menu. When I make a menu and make my list according to it, I definitely save money. Not only am I sticking to a list, but it cuts down on mid week random trips to the grocery store. Which in turn saves me money. I will also look at the ads for all the grocery stores around us. Since walmart takes any store add, I can use all of them if I need too.
I too try to make a menu, and I make the menu around whats on sale that week at the grocery stores near us. If Chicken is on sale, that week we eat a lot of chicken meals, etc. Also, making more of the meals also gives us leftovers so not as much needs to be bought for lunches. This is how I try to save money, but could also use more tips as well. (Oh, also grocery shopping without kids and husband helps too because they are constantly grabbing off shelves foods and snacks we don't need!!)
Meal planning has also been helping me. It's not my favorite thing to do, but it definitely helps. Then I can stick to a list and check my home beforehand to see if I already have certain ingredients. I prefer my local grocery store for produce, meat, etc. but if I plan really well, I also get items on my list at Super Wal-mart because it's generally cheaper. It's hard for me to skimp on food since it's like a necessity!!
I have been buying generic brands more often. I have heard experts say that that is a great way to cut back on your grocery store bill. Also buying things like onions and potatoes in bags saves money particularly if you think you will use it all.
Buying things in bulk helps. I love to buy things at Costco, but occasionally it's less expensive not to do that. Like if I bought a whole 12-pack of Swanson chicken broth, that is more expensive than buying 12 50cent cans at the grocery store. I try to check on those things to make sure I'm really getting a deal. A Costco membership really has saved me though. I love buying milk there.
Sometimes it's cheaper to buy broccoli crowns then it is to buy regular broccoli. I always cut off that long stem anyway!
We have given up going out to eat completely besides the occasional Monday night carry-out deal at Papa John's!
First thing I do is take out cash every payday for my grocery shopping. I take out enough for two weeks at a time, but in order to preserve freshness (and not throw away as much!) I shop every week on Mondays. I usually go to only two stores, unless another store is having an excellent sale (think triple coupons!). I start at Sprouts which is a farmers market type grocery store, and for the most part that is where I do the bulk of my shopping. I then go to Walmart and pick up any odds and ends that Sprouts doesn't carry, or doesn't carry cheaply. I tend to cook with a lot of veggies, and they are always a good price at Sprouts.
I clip coupons on Sundays, but I find that I don't usually use food coupons, because we don't eat a lot of processed foods which is what tends to have coupons! I do use coupons on cleaning products and household items though, and as those tend to get pricey, I find that it saves me a fair amount.
I make a menu and take a very specific shopping list, but then, if I have a little extra money at the end of the trip, I'll buy something fun like a yummy dessert or juice... things that I wouldn't normally buy.
I also don't buy baby food. I either make it, or feed Cecelia what we eat. To me, baby food is too expensive!
My husband and I always try to have a kitchen full of food (esp. since we live in an apartment and don't have much food storage room--we like to make sure that we always have full cupboards at least). When I start running out of a certain "staple" item in our cupboards, then I get it when I go to the store that week. When there's a really good sale...I buy like 20 of the item (assuming its a non-perishable item). I did this one time and bought 50 boxes of cereal. My husband applauded me...but refused to walk around the grocery store with me. I did it with black beans once too and bought every can that they had in the store (it was a good deal!). The check out guy thought I was pretty weird. But...it really helps save on grocery bills for me in the long run. I always have the ingredients I need to cook whatever I want and I'm always getting a good deal on what I buy.
As I mentioned in a previous post, I love Costco so I shop there for most things (besides the things I buy on super cheap sale) and so I have a freezer full of food too (shredded cheese, frozen chicken and fish, vegetables, frozen fruit, bread)...things that are good to have back ups for in case you run out. Also (and this is random) Costco has a really good deal on ground turkey if you use that in recipes like I do...
Anyway, we also made our own baby food or mixed baby food cans with yogurt or cereal to make them last twice as long. That worked great for us and saved us lots of money. And we try to eat inexpensive things like rice a lot...it helps a lot. :)
How do you get WalMart to honor other ads? Do you have to take it to Customer Service or do you just show the ad at the checkout?
My husband and I have been struggling with this lately because we both work and are constantly on the go.
Buying in bulk from Costco and buying a whole bunch of stuff when it is on sale are two of our top savers as well.
Something else that I do, though, is to freeze meals. Since it is only the two of us and an 8 month old, we can only eat enchiladas, spaghetti, etc for just so many days. (Even eating them for lunches). So I will make the regular sized recipe and put half of it in a foil pan, cover it with non stick tin foil and save it for another day. This saves us money by not buying prepared foods and saves time by having stuff ready made.
I just show the check out person the specific items in the ad as they ring them through and they do a price adjustment right there. To make it easier for myself, I usually try to seperate things by the ads on my list so I can easily find them in the paper at checkout. I will also put them on the check out belt last so that I can pay attention to what is being rung up. Sometimes the stuff that other stores have on sale are the regular prices at walmart so, you have to pay close attention to the prices. Am I making sense?
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