Stretching your grocery budget
As a family of 5, our biggest expense was groceries. It seemed I always had to have something quick to whip together after a busy day. The kids always had to have the fruit snacks for afterschool. And a case of soda was a must in this household! My middle child was rapidly gaining wait and I knew something had to change with our diet, but how? I just knew I could not afford to feed my kids all the fresh produce and meats available at the market. Here are some of the ways I was able to get my family to eat healthier and stay within a budget.
Know your grocery stores and their policies! Some stores will price match which will save you time and money. Also find out if they will allow you to stack a manufacturer coupon with a store coupon. See if they have a savers club card to save you more. Do they double coupons? Do they offer rainchecks?
Find the reduced/quick sale section of the store first! My local store does a price cut on meat early in the morning so they can put out that days fresh meat. After I get the kids on the bus, I will head to the market to see what meat I can find at a big discount. Large packages are purchased and I divide them up into smaller packages and freeze them. I also browse through the meat section to find lunch meats that are being cleared out. Most have a date on them showing the "best if used by or freeze by date". As long as you pop these in the freezer until you are going to use them, they will be fine. I recently found Kemps Ice Cream Sandwiches in the meat section freezer that were marked down to $.99 from $4.59 - these are perfect for all the kids that end up at my house on any given day! Purchase the bagged brown bananas for pennies - mash them up at home and freeze this until you are ready to make banana bread. The savings are endless!
Watch for sales and get rainchecks! It is very important to know your prices on items and stock up when items are on sale. Sit down with your sales circular and your coupons to make a list and match your coupons to the sales. If you find the item is not available at the store, ask for a raincheck! Getting a raincheck also gives you more time to obtain coupons for this item.
Stock up on good deals! When you are able to get an item for very little, stock up! This will increase your savings tremendously over time. Stocking up on the item, especially if it is something you usually purchase, means you can cut that out of your budget the next time and allows you to use that money to stock up on another item.
COUPONS, COUPONS, COUPONS! Get the Sunday newspaper, ask friends and family to give you their unused coupons, collect them at the store, etc. I prefer to clip all my coupons and organize them. I never head to the store without my coupons as there are many unadvertised sales. If your store doubles coupons, you are able to save alot more. If your store does not double, you can still save a bundle!
Make a menu before going shopping! I usually look through my pantry and then check the sales circular. Plan your menu according to what you have on hand and the best bargains that week. Doing this helps you use the items you have and you are not purchasing items that you already have stashed in the back of the pantry or in the bottom of the freezer.
I also never purchase soda anymore - this was a huge savings! Instead, I purchase Crystal Light packets to mix at home. Pass up those packaged meals (unless you can get them cheap, of course!) as they are much cheaper to make at home. I also make my own breads, rolls, bisquits. Rather than purchasing corn dogs and egg rolls, I make those myself. I also can a large amount of food from my garden. Purchase a freezer for stocking up on meats and other perishables that you can freeze.
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