Cutting Costs: Beyond Coupons - Don't be in a hurry

For any of us, this fact is so true, but definitely if you have little kids.  Sometimes my kids do great in the grocery store, but if I am trying to squeeze some shopping in at the wrong time, it is so not worth it!  If I am rushed or my kids are being difficult in the store, all I want to do is get out of there.  I catch myself saying, "Oh who cares?  I'm only spending $.50 or $1 more."  This is not a big deal if it rarely happens, but if I put myself in the situation often, this amount can add up quickly.

I would strongly suggest only shopping when you are not rushed and your kids are in a great mood!  If I don't have a lot to purchase, I can usually make this work.  However, if I have a lot to shop for, my wonderful husband keeps the kids and I go alone.  These are the best trips ever!  I am so relaxed, not rushed, and not distracted.

Can you relate?

Cutting Costs: Beyond Coupons - Cut Out Junk/Processed Foods

One thing I have found helpful in cutting my grocery expenses, is to simply stop buying a lot of junk/processed foods.  Sometimes, if I find a great deal, I'll splurge and purchase a few of these items, but for the most part, I don't.

When I started couponing, I would purchase some of these packaged foods simply because there were some great coupons for them.  I quickly realized that although I was getting a good deal on them, I was still spending more than I used to because I never used to buy them before.  As I've said before, don't let coupons use you.  Just because there is a good deal, doesn't mean you have to buy it.  You decide if it is really a savings to you or not.

Cutting Costs: Beyond Coupons - Don't Shop Hungry

I'm sure you've all heard that if you grocery shop when you are hungry, you will probably buy more.  You probably also know from experience that this is true.  I am definitely more apt to buy more if I am hungry when I shop.

This is a big reason why I strongly encourage having a grocery budget and a meal plan.  When you have a plan, you are more apt to stick to it...even when you are hungry.  I am not talking about a really detailed and intense plan and budget, just have some sort of plan that you can stick to.

See my previous posts on these topics.

Grocery Budget
Meal Planning

Cutting Costs: Beyond Coupons - Plan Meatless Meals

Last week, we talked about ways to save money on meat products.  Another great way to save money in your budget is to plan at least 1 meatless meal a week.

The less you cook with meat, the less meat you will need to buy.  It's as simple as that.


I love making a meal with pasta/vegetables/sauce.  It's very simple, can be healthy, and inexpensive.  There are many ways to get creative with this too.

I even like to have breakfast food for dinner sometimes, such as pancakes or waffles.  Another simple and cheap idea.

If you plan to have a meal like this once a week, you will decrease your costs.

What's your favorite meatless meal to make?

Cutting Costs: Beyond Coupons - Meat

Meat can definitely be an area of big expense in the grocery budget.  I would love to have a list to go by of good stockpile prices for meat, but I don't.  I try to buy ground meat as close to $2/lb as possible.  I also try to stock up on chicken breast when it is less than $2/lb.  Anyone want to share the prices you go by?  I'd love to hear your thoughts.

As you can probably tell, I don't feel like I have this one all figured out yet, but I have discovered a few tips that you may find helpful....

• Talk with the butcher in your local grocery store to find out when they discount their meat.  Many stores have a special day of the week that they do this.
• Ask your butcher if they would sell you the discounted meat at more of a discount if you buy in bulk (i.e. 10 pounds worth).
• Ask what they do with the ground meat they have in the case at the meat counter at closing every night.  At my local Meijer, they discount this ground meat.  They generally discount all the ground meat to the cheapest price they currently have.
• For example, if the ground chuck is on sale for $2/lb....all the ground meat (including ground sirloin, will be discounted to $2/lb at closing!
• If you wait till there is a great sale, you can get some great meat very inexpensive!

What tips do you have for saving money on meat?  Please share your tips with the rest of us!

Cutting Costs: Beyond Coupons - Produce

Produce is an area in the grocery store where it can be difficult to save money.  There are a few things I have found that help me cut costs....

• Try to only buy the fruits/vegetables that are in season and on sale.  (I'm sure you all know this one.  :) )
• Check out the produce clearance section.  Certain items can be frozen and used later when cooking.  You can save a lot of money if you buy these items when they are clearanced.  Just be sure to freeze them right away before they go bad.  I love cooking with bell pepers...any color.  I was able to grab 6 green peppers the other day for $1.00!  I just made sure to slice them up and freeze them right away.  Now I can put green peppers into anything I want with minimal expense.
• Stilltasty.com is a great website to use to understand how you can freeze/store various produce to help you take advantage of these clearance items.
• Sometimes, you can also find coupons for items in the product section.  Every once in a while a Catalina will print out at Meijer for money off produce.  Also, here are a couple websites where you can snag some coupons for produce as well.
• www.earthboundfarms.com
• www.driscolls.com

 Do you have any tips for saving money on produce?  Leave a comment below and let me know how!

Cutting Costs: Beyond Coupons - Grow Your Own Garden

One great way to save money on your grocery budget, is to grow your own fruits and vegetables.  Those of you that know me are probably laughing right now.  I am terrible at gardening!  There are 2 things we grow well and that is Blackberries and Rhubarb.  Well...maybe my rhubarb could use a little help, but I do have some.  :)

Anyways, I wish I was better at gardening because this is a great way to save some money.  If you grow the right things and know how to store them either by canning or freezing, you can save yourself a ton of money on produce!  If you are trying to think about what to grow and how to store it, a useful website would be stilltasty.com.  This site will help you understand how to store various foods.



Do you have a garden of your own?  I would love to hear what you grow and what has been the most successful!  Please leave a comment below.

Cutting Costs: Beyond Coupons - Deli Meat

I usually post this series on Thursday's, but since this cost cutting tip applies to Meijer's deals this week, I decided to post it early...

Have you every wondered what happens at the end of the day to the deli meat at the deli counter that is leftover from the day?  I can't tell you what every store does, but I do know that Meijer discounts this deli meat at closing time.  They usually slash the prices in half in order to sell off this deli meat.

Other stores may do this too, but I have never asked.  Be sure to call the deli department at your store to see what their policy is.

Even better...there are coupons out there every once in a while for $1 off 1 pound or more of Sara Lee Deli Meat that has been sliced at the deli counter.  If you get the discounted deli meat at closing and use this $1/1 coupon, you can really get a great deal!

This happens to be the case this week at Meijer.  The Sara Lee Deli Meat is on sale for $5.99/lb and will be discounted around 50% off at closing.  Go to coupons.com for the $1/1 lb. coupon and enjoy the savings!

You will probably want to call Meijer ahead of time to confirm what time they are discounting the meat for that day.

Cutting Costs: Beyond Coupons - Use Your Freezer To Stockpile

If you have a large freezer in your home, the list of items you can stockpile dramatically increases.  Since I started thinking about stockpiling, I have discovered so many things I could freeze that I never thought about before.  Here is a short list of items you can freeze...

• Tubs of Butter
• Liquid Coffee Creamer
• Canned Breads (pillsbury cinnamon rolls, etc...)
• Strawberries & other fruits
• Breads
• Pies
• Meat
• Produce

Stilltasty.com is a great website to help you know what you can freeze and how to freeze it.  Especially when it comes to produce, you need to know what kind of prep work needs to be done before you do.  This website helps explain all that for you.

Not only does this site help explain what items you can freeze, but also how to store just about any food you can think of.  I have found it really useful.  I hope it helps you as well!

Cutting Costs: Beyond Coupons - Bread

Something I discovered about 6 months ago was the Aunt Millie's Thrift Store/Factory in South Bend, IN.  They sell all sorts of Aunt Millie's bread products really cheap.  Since discovering this store, I no longer buy bread at the regular grocery store.

Their loaves of bread are regularly priced at $.89 each and their loaves of bread that are more expensive are priced at only $1.29 each.  On Monday's they discount these prices even further.  They sell rolls, hot dog buns and hamburger buns as well.

I try to go to this store once a month to stock up for the month.  These breads freeze really well and last us through the whole month.  I love going to this store and would encourage you to find a bread factory near you, even if it isn't Aunt Millie's.

Click here for a directory of Aunt Millie's Thrift Store locations.

Cutting Costs: Beyond Coupons - Meal Planning

Meal Planning?  Yuck!  I know, it sounds boring, but it doesn't have to be.  I would really encourage you to consider the importance of having a meal plan each week.

Now, I am not talking about having anything fancy.  You don't have to plan big meals each day of the week to have a menu plan.

All I do for a meal plan is list out a quick list of what we will have on hand for breakfast, lunch and snacks for the week.  I also write down about 5 meals that I can make for the week.  We usually have about 2 days where we just grab sandwiches or something simple, so I only plan for 5 meals.  Sometimes a meal will be hot dogs and mac n cheese.  Sounds fancy right?  :)

I very rarely plan something specific for a certain night.  Each day, I usually look at my list of possible meals and pick one for that day.  It's that simple and unsophisticated.  If we don't make a certain meal that week, I roll it onto the next week's list.

Here is a list of the reasons I think meal planning is so important to cutting your grocery costs...

• You only buy what you need at the store that week and nothing more.
• It helps dramatically decrease impulse shopping.
• You won't end up a the store many times each week since you will have everything you need.

Tips

• Don't make it complicated!
• Start with looking at what you already have in your pantry/stockpile....what can you make right now?
• The more you stockpile, your grocery list will mainly be perishable items to complete your meal plan and items to buy to increase your stockpile.

Hopefully this sounds a lot more simple than what you think of when you hear the phrase "meal planning".  When you start to do this regularly, you will see how much more money you will save.

Cutting Costs: Beyond Coupons - Grocery Budget

It's pretty obvious by the topic of my blog that I strongly believe that couponing is one of the best ways to slash your grocery budget.  However, there are many other tips/tricks to help cut your costs even more.  One area I want to talk about today is having a grocery budget.

I know this sounds scary to some of you, but hear me out.  I am simply talking about keeping your spending in check.  There are regularly some great deals out there and if you don't have a budget to work with, you could end up spending more money.  Your budget wouldn't decrease and that is not what you want.  As I've said before, you want to make coupons work for you, not the other way around.

Here are some tips I have when it comes to establishing a grocery budget for yourself.

• Don't compare yourself to anyone else!
• Track what you spend over a 3-4 week period and average that out.
• Use that amount as your weekly goal to start out.
• You don't have to get every deal out there!  A budget can help you keep perspective.
• The goal is to make coupons work for you, not the other way around.
• The more you coupon, your budget will begin to decrease!

Do you have some tips/tricks for saving money beyond coupons?  Leave a comment below or Contact Me.