My New Year's Resolution was to make our income stretch further and get some $ in savings.
My first step to making this happen was my to check out my shopping budget.
I have noticed that I am a "big" cooker: crockpot meals, casseroles, large portions, etc...due to this it seems we end up wasting more than we need to. I am feeding a family of 3 humans (we have 5 large dogs that I also cook for to save $ on canned food which, in return, makes their dry food last longer too) and I set out on a goal to feed us all healthy foods and healthy portions with less waste and less money.
WELL...I DID IT! I did it really BIG...I fed my family for a week on $66!!! This included lunches,breakfasts and dinners! And then I bragged about it on FaceBook...cause that's how we roll in this day of social media.
Here are my receipts from last Wednesday and our dinner menu from the week.
Wed- Roasted chicken with oven roasted potatoes and fresh snap beans
Thurs- frozen pizzas and salad (reward dinner for great report card.)
Fri- Roasted chicken with same veggies and some extra snap beans and carrots thrown in.
Sat - Chicken and dumplings (pulled rest of the meat off the chicken and boiled 3 thighs) kept some of the meat out for chicken salad sandwiches.
Sun - Club salad and chicken salad sandwiches or soup.
Mon- Pan fried Italian sauages with green peppers,onions and potatoes
Tue- Roast in crockpot as we speak... should have enough of the meat for pulled BBQ pork and french fries for tomorrow. Tomorrow is day #7.
Plus during the weekend we had grits and eggs, sandwiches for lunch, chicken and dumplings for lunch, etc...no one went hungry. I still have 3 full servings of snap beans in the freezer, 2 pkgs of chicken thighs (one with 3 one with 4), we still have salad, celery, carrots and lunch meat (and more) in the refrigerator....
THE THINGS TO DO AT HOME
STEP #1 - KNOW WHAT YOU ALREADY HAVE IN YOUR HOUSE!!
It was purely coincidence that this week we only used what I had purchased to make our dinners...we did have salad dressing and tea bags already here but, normally we would have used some things from the cupboard and fridge (unless you count the homemade peanut butter cookies we made.) But, you have to know what you have in order to know what you don't "need" to buy...which, truth be told, other than your staples you do not "need" anything.
EX: I bought an 8lb. bag of potatoes last week because they were $1.77-still have plenty of potatoes and I know this, so I will not repurchase them this week (potatoes are important to have in your kitchen, because of the "filling" power and versatility, along with rice and noodles.)
STEP #2 - SET A $ AMOUNT TO YOUR SHOPPING!!
Give your shopping a budget but, give yourself a little wiggle room...I set mine last week as $50-$75, with the notion that I wanted to stay closer to $50. I try to do my bills first and then look at what we have left for the week (gas, groceries and nasty cigarette money) and set a portion of that as my grocery budget. This is something I have always done but, I now set my budget lower than before.
*If you are an impulse shopper than hit the ATM and take only cash in the store with you, you can't spend what you don't have.
STEP #3 - GET YOUR TOOLS!!
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| This is MARKETING!! |
No, I do not mean scissors-I mean a good old fashioned piece of paper and a pencil. Don't get me wrong, coupons are great money saving tools (especially when coupled with in store sales) but, they are even better MARKETING TOOLS! They tend to make us buy things we might not normally buy (tasty treats, new items, double up items, kid/pet snacks) "YAY, this coupon will save me $0.75 on 2 $4 boxes of sausage breakfasts." So what!! Now I have just bought something we never buy cause it looks yummy and I have a coupon...I could buy a roll of sausage and a can of biscuits for $2. And ask yourself honestly, how often do I really use my Windex? Not as often as I wish I did, so I do not need to buy 2 at a time just because I will save $0.50 on each. So be choosy with your coupons-only clip coupons for items you buy and use, sometimes you can get a great deal on a product that is always in demand in your house or you may be able to get a name brand for the same (or lower) price as a store brand. I did save $2 on Kraft Shredded cheese last week thanks to a coupon so I bought it instead of the store brand. (We eat a lot of salad and shredded cheese is a staple in our house.) Don't forget to use the automatic/online coupons that stores like Publix offer-but again, only "clip" the ones you need to avoid temptation.
*If coupon clipping is your thing then match them to the sales ads and family needs and ONLY take the ones you need, can't use a coupon you don't have.
STEP #4 - GET YOUR SALES ADS
Whether its the newspaper or online, sit your butt down and start looking thru the ads.
While you are watching TV, chatting on FB, sippin coffee while the kids run amuck....whenever you can, as long as its before you go to shopping. Make your list of sale items you are interested in per store.
EX: Winn Dixie-
$0.99/lb chicken thighs
$1.49/lb pork roasts
BOGO hotdog and hamburger buns
Do not forget about discount grocery stores in your area. Here in Pensacola we have "Grocery Outlet" and "Grocery Advantage" both of which are stores that sale items at cost with 10% added at check-out but, these stores have no weekly ads. Think outside the box: There are bread stores, drug stores (Walgreens had a dozen eggs for $0.99 two weeks ago) and the smaller discount stores ("Family Dollar" and "Dollar General" for example) that sell food items. I buy our milk at a gas station by my house, why? Because it is only $3.39 a gallon there!! Cheapest in town that I know of!
STEP #5 - DO NOT MAKE A GROCERY LIST!!
This is very important, other than staples and your sales or coupon items, you should not have specific items on your shopping list! Keeping your grocery list "open minded" inadvertently keeps you open minded as you shop. Your grocery list should read more like the signs above the aisle at the stores -
milk, bread, sugar, meat, vegetables, rice, snacks, breakfast stuff, lunch stuff, sweets -
Now you have in your hand what you need (and even where you need to go for some of the sales items.) so you are open to looking for what is on sale and what is the best deal instead of a specific item and the best price on it.
EX: You have bacon on your list-you are now looking for the best price on bacon and some the sale prices look pretty good but, bacon is still very expensive compared to other breakfast meat options. "I want some bacon breakfast meat." You see bacon is not on a good sale this week but, sausage is much cheaper so ask yourself what can I make with sausage? One roll of sausage and 2 cans of 8 biscuits is two breakfasts - sausage gravy and biscuits one day and sausage egg and cheese biscuits the next day. Two full breakfast meals for at least 4 people for less than the price of bacon. You are now shopping by price and usage instead of item....this is going to save you money!
We are now ready to go to the store.
BUT FIRST, EAT SOMETHING AT HOME WHILE YOU DOUBLE CHECK THE COUPONS AND LIST TO WEED OUT ANY UNNECESSARY ITEMS.
DO NOT GO TO STORE HUNGRY!
Make sure that you have your "list", pencil and calculator (on most of our phones) and let's go...since the discount stores do not give me weekly ads I go there first, I have the luxury of having many stores in my immediate area and I can go to all this stores with minimal effort, time and gas but, you can use these tips even if you just have one grocery store in your area.
WHAT TO DO AT THE STORE
STEP #1 - USE YOUR TOOLS!!
Use your list, pencil and your calculator to keep track of what you are doing!
Don't be shy or embarrassed, this is your hard earned money and you need to keep track of it. Accounting for everything will help you stay on track and keep you from throwing yummy looking, shiny packaged, overpriced, new "gotta have" impulse items in your cart.
STEP #2 - COMPARE ALL YOUR PRICES
Compare the sale prices on your list to the prices on that item in other stores (and even at the same store as the sale item.) Are the chicken thighs at WinnDixie on sale cheaper than the chicken thighs here? They aren't!? Guess we are going to get our chicken here and mark it off of our list! Make sure to also compare prices of similar items (even sales items) before making decisions. Most stores carry meat products from different distributors - there may be a sales ad showing $1.99/lb pork picnic shoulders but, they also carry a pork butt roast for only $1.49/lb. So, why would I buy the picnic shoulder?
STEP #3 - KEEP YOUR OPTIONS AND MENU IDEAS OPEN
We all like to eat certain foods but, it doesn't always have to be pork chops and broccoli. Look at the options in the produce section and the prices. Cauliflower and carrots are the best price this week so, cauliflower and carrots will be on the menu. Again the bacon vs sausage comes in to play, chicken vs. pork, canned vs. fresh vs. frozen-all options that need to be compared. (Or maybe an 8lb. bag of potatoes for $1.77.) And you can always find new, easy to follow recipes online for foods you have never cooked before - like squash! It's wonderful!
STEP #4 - BUY IN BULK AND SEPARATE
YOU ARE NOT GOING TO EAT 12 CHICKEN THIGHS THIS WEEK but, since they are on such a good sale the package can be separated and frozen. I bought a huge bag of fresh green beans last week for $3.20 - I have been able to get 2 servings out of it and still have 3 packages in my freezer. That's five servings of fresh vegetables for my family for $3 (and actually a little extra cause we always have leftovers.)
STEP #5 - BUY "MULTI-PURPOSE" FOODS
We all do it with turkey during the holidays so, why not the rest of the time!? Buying and cooking a small package of chicken breasts will cost you $6 - $10 and make dinner for one night. Buying and cooking a whole chicken for $10 will make you dinner for multiple nights. Change the veggies up, make chicken soup, chicken and rice,chicken salads or chicken pot pies. I have a roast from last night that is going to be pulled BBQ pork tonight and roast with mashed potatoes and gravy on Thursday. An $0.89 bag of carrots can be fresh carrots and ranch, cooked carrots and butter, added to salads or steamed with the cauliflower.
STEP #6 - LOOK FOR BOGO SALES (EVEN ON THE SHELVES)
I love BOGO! Not all BOGO products are in bins right up front so keep your eyes open as you shop the store but, remember that NOT all BOGO deals are going to save you money. My local store had a BOGO on beef roasts last week but, it was still very pricey per pound, so buying even a small one was not economical. However, BOGO on salad dressings, side dishes, condiments, cheese, etc....are great deals, especially if it is something your family really enjoys. And BOGO can usually be mixed. EX: My store had BOGO hamburger buns and hot dog buns- I got one of each not 2 of each. So, I got one for free.
STEP #7 - TRY STORE BRANDS
Store brands can be real money savers and they don't all taste like crap. Not long ago, in a penny pinch, I purchased an off brand of frozen breadsticks with mozzarella cheese in the middle...best breadstick I have ever had! I am a hard core coffee drinker and I really like my flavored creamer - to save money I have taken to buying a small brick of my expensive brand of coffee and a brick of a cheaper store brand espresso grind, I mix these together to get the strength and flavor I like, it lasts me longer cause the espresso grind is so strong I use less coffee per pot and it saves me money out the door. Not to mention the deals on cookies and crackers!
STEP #8 - DO NOT FALL FOR THE "10 for $10" TRICK
This is a trap! I once bought 10 of something for $10, only to later realize that product was only $0.79 at regular price. So, not only do you want to double check the price you also DO NOT have to buy 10 to get the item at that price if it is a good deal. It gets you to spend more because you think it as a good deal, if it says 3 for $10 sausages, check the per pound price and only buy what you need, I bought one pack to make us dinner (with our free hot dog buns) and still have one in the fridge - I paid $3.33.
STEP #9 - SIGN UP FOR THE STORE REWARDS CARDS
This is also a trap but, it is a trap to get you into a specific store by saving you money. Sounds like a pretty good trap to me! The store is hoping that once you are there you will, of course, find more things to buy or just get all your stuff there since you are already in the door. I can't see it on my receipt up there but, my WinnDixie card saved me $20 on that trip. The downside to the rewards cards is similar to coupons - you buy stuff you don't normally buy because it is on sale with your rewards card or because it gets you "gas points."
STEP #10 - TAKE YOUR TIME AND BE PATIENT
You will spend too much if you are not patient. When I am in a hurry to get in and out of the store I always take a minute to stop and double check the items in the cart before I check out. Do I really need to buy this? Am I getting this because I am hungry? Am I positive that I do not have this item at home already?
THEY WERE WRONG!!
All these years we have been doing it backwards, they always told us "Make a list or weekly menu to help you stick to your budget and not buy extra." You need to be basing your menu and list around the sales and your budget as you shop, NOT basing your shopping on your menu. (We only went with BBQ pork cause the buns were free.)
Now that you have the basics that I use, get your shopping on and let's help each other by sharing money saving tips, share recipes and ideas, find exceptional (useful) coupons, oh, and of course BRAG about how good we did at the store!
