Frugal Fridays: Creatively stretching your grocery budget
I was just wondering where you print your coupons from? We have a 1-year-old and lately it has been difficult to stick to our $35 a week budget. I shop at different stores to find the lowest prices and go to food salvage stores, but I'm still having a hard time. We don't have a Kroger and I've always wished we did! Any advice would be greatly appreciated! - Annie
For those who have not read my post on how we stick to a $35/week grocery budget, do so here. This post builds upon that one.
Hi, Annie!
First off, just because we have a grocery budget of $35/week doesn't mean that is the magic number! Depending upon what kinds of foods your family likes, the area of country you live in, and so forth, will serve as a guide for what budget works best for you.
Just some ideas for you and others who might be in a similar situation:
1. If at all possible, never pay more than pennies for household items - cleaners, shampoo, feminine products, paper products, medicines, deodorant, toothpaste, etc. Unless you do not have a CVS, RiteAid, or Walgreens, you need not ever pay hardly anything out of pocket for these items. Each of these stores have free after rebate (FAR) items weekly or monthly or both and by always buying the FAR items, using manufacturer's coupons on these whenever possible, and rolling over the money for the next week's or month's rebate deals, you can stock up on a lot of things for free – often making overage which you can use towards other items on your grocery list. For instance, I rarely ever paid for diapers and wipes. I used the overage I made at CVS to cover the cost of the disposables we used. (Oh and if diapers are one area which are bogging down your grocery budget, please consider switching to cloth at least some or all of the time. You will be amazed at how much money this will save, especially if you hang them out to dry!)As an aside, someone wrote me this week and shared that ACE Hardware does monthly rebate deals. This month it is on a number of cleaners. She said they will take manufacturer's coupons, too. Just thought some of you might like to check into that!
2. Evaluate where you are spending the most money. Is it milk, meat, dairy products? Scrutinize your purchases over a month and see where the biggest chunk of money is going to and then see if you can find a creative alternative for reducing this area of your budget. For example: If you are spending a lot on milk, consider cutting back on milk drinking (Really and truly water is good for you and we could probably all drink more of it than we are!). Use powdered milk in cooking (I've heard that Aldi has the best price on powdered milk). Find out if an area store reduces milk on certain days/at certain times and then buy up the reduced milk and use as much as you can before it expires and then freeze the rest to use in cooking. (Just take a cup or so before putting the jug in the freezer to avoid the jug bursting after it freezes.) Make homemade muffins, pancakes, etc. for breakfast instead of having cereal and milk.
3. Plant a garden. This will save you a bundle on produce. Plus, what beats the fresh from the garden taste? If you know of someone else who gardens as well, see if you can swap produce with them. Also, check local orchards and farms for produce prices. I've often found that these places have significantly lower prices than the grocery store and usually the produce is better anyway.
4. Eliminate all processed and instant foods from your diet. Now, you don't have to do this completely, but if you really want to cut your grocery budget down, this will do it. Make your own bread, tortillas, refried beans, cereal, muffins, cookies, and so on. Before you put anything in your cart at the grocery store, make sure it is not something you could make from scratch yourself.
5. Be creative and use up leftovers. One thing which really helps me to be creative is that I usually only plan four-five dinners per week. For some, that might seem unwise, especially if you are prone to run out and get carryout regardless of whether or not it is budgeted. For us, it works well. Why? For one, we run on a cash-only system for almost all our purchases. If we don't have any money left in our dates and eating out envelope, guess what? We don't eat out. Instead of encouraging us get take-out needlessly, planning four-five dinners a week actually makes me be more creative. And I love it!
Near the end of the week, like Meredith, I take stock as to what we have leftover in the refrigerator and usually come up with at least another meal or two based upon those ingredients and other items we have on hand. For instance, tonight we were supposed to have Chicken Noodle Soup. However, it's nearing the end of the week and I checked the fridge and found I had the makings on hand for a Chicken Vegetable Rice soup. Instead of using up some of the staple ingredients for Chicken Noodle Soup, the more frugal thing would be to use up ingredients in my refrigerator which will spoil soon. I made up a big pot of soup starting with chicken broth and chicken and then add in cauliflower, carrots, some leftover cooked rice, onions, and some frozen peas. I have enough for tonight, for lunch tomorrow, and to freeze. And, I'll move Chicken Noodle Soup to next week's menu.
By the way, for those who are prone to get unbudgeted carryout, two things I recommend to you: Have dinner planned and as much as possible prepared by
6. Don't go to the store more than once per week. Yes, this requires planning, sticking to your plan, and being creative, but it will definitely save you money. Unless of an emergency, don't make a run for the store unless it is for your weekly shopping trip. If you forget to get it then, you get to be creative. If you run out of something, it's another opportunity to be creative. And it forces you to plan ahead. When you are planning your menu, make sure and look at your family schedule for the next week. Do you need to bake some goodies to take to a party? Plan it into your menu. Are you having guests or is there the possibility of having guests? Plan that into your menu. I also like to plan for an unexpected event or two as well - make sure you have the ingredients on hand at all times to whip together a quick batch of cookies in case you have a last-minute get-together or forget you promised to bring a dessert to the party. Better yet, make up some cookie dough and keep it in the freezer ready to be of service. This also allows you to be able to volunteer to bring treats on the spur-of-the-moment.
By planning ahead in little ways like this, you will save yourself the $5 trips the store to pick up a last-minute ingredient you don't have, or to purchase readymade treats because you didn't have anything on hand. Like we talked about last week, those $5 trips add up quickly.
As far as where to print coupons, see this post.
Those are just a few thoughts of mine. I'd love to hear from others on this. I'm always trying to learn more and do better and love to hear what is working for you.
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To join in Frugal Friday, just post a frugal tip or post on any subject of frugality on your blog, link to this post in your post, and then post the direct link to your Frugal Friday post below. Any link or post which does not adhere to these rules will be deleted at my discretion. If you do not have a blog, but have a tip to share, please post your tip in the comments section. And, remember the rules: Must be family-friendly. Thanks! I can't wait to read your tips!
posted by Crystal Paine at 6:30 PM
18 Comments:
Really really good tips, as usual, Crystal! :)
I have 2 tips to share! First of all, I do subscribe to thegrocerygame.com and for only a small amount of money I learn when to buy certain things and when to use the coupons for them! Also - I purchase food from angelfoodministries.com
- April
Hi Crystal,
Those are great tips. I don't have a blog so I'll add my two cents here. I especially need to work on using my leftovers up. Too often I am throwing away food. Also, I strongly agree with the advice to only go to the grocery store once a week (we're trying to cut down to once every other week - mostly to help further curb impulse buys.)
This week is the first time I did a cash only system for grocery shopping and it worked great. Mostly in that it made me evaluate what I already had in my pantry, use it, and not buy any impulse items. We are amply provided for financially but we want to be able to be generous and the more I save us the more generous we can be.
If your family likes boxed/prepared/processed foods, I think you can actually be pretty frugal on these items. We didn't eat that stuff before I started being more budget minded so we don't now either. However, in my coupon shopping I get tons of coupons for cereals, pasta helpers, cake and brownie mixes, frozen entrees, all kinds of prepared stuff. I generally only buy the free or oh so close to free and always can find someone to give them to. But I think you can buy them at pennies on the dollar if you are careful about coupon shopping.
Thanks, Crystal.
Anne Burton
Thanks for a fun Friday carnival!
I think that is a great tip aboot planning 4 or 5 menus, since I am being more careful with my food dollars I am notice planning meals for 7 days leaves me having to move a day to account for leftovers.
Crystal, you have inspired me to start couponing again after 10 years of giving up on it because prior to today's technology I couldn't justify the time involved. Another tip- I went to my local newspaper's website, and they have a direct link to print all the coupons (check which ones you want) that were in that week's paper! Hurray, since I'm allergic to newspaper!
Thanks Crystal so much for answering my questions they were really helpful and I've already been perusing the coupon links that you gave! Your site has been a blessing and an encouragement!
Much Love,
Annie
I agree with you: planning 4-5 meals forces me to get creative! (And it also takes care of refrigerator clean-out before the contents go bad!)
Also, I don't do much with coupons any more since I live now in a rural area without a single grocery store in my town. Once a month, I drive the 35 miles and stock up at Aldi. Without using any coupons, we feed our family of 5 (plus many guests) for $50/week. It seems that Aldi food stores are all over the place now (maybe I am ignorant about this, though!) and I highly recommend using Aldi as the main stop for the basics: flour, sugar, ground beef, frozen veggies, crackers, butter, etc. I also buy as much produce there as I think we can use before it goes bad so that I don't have to pay higher prices (yes, even sale prices most other places are more expensive!) at the closer store until 1/2-way through the month.
Thanks Crystal for your faithful frugal tips! :-)
Great grocery tips, Crystal. I already do a lot of these same things and you're right-it saves a bunch of money! I plan 7 dinners each week, but take into account for leftovers and 2 meals using the same meat(roast chicken one night, chicken burritos the next or brown a pound of ground beef one night and use half for tacos that night and throw the rest into spaghetti sauce the next.)If I notice I have lots of leftovers, I'll just change the menu and use those up, as you said.
Hi Crystal,
I could not agree with you more on the planning ahead for meals and using leftovers. I've always done this and it is really surprising how many more meals can be created from leftovers that many times would get tossed out after they went bad!
Thanks for sharing,
Trixie
Thanks Crystal for all your helpful tips! You make a lot of good points. My problems is I'm a work-outside-the-home-mom, so I don't get home until after 5 and trying to come up with a healthy, nutritious meal can be really tiring! Although we are vegetarian, we occasionally eat some dairy cheese and a few other 'convience foods" just so I can feed everyone before 7 pm!
Thanks for the coupon link!
To the anonymous person who asked many questions on many different subjects, I encourage you to read through the archives or check out my articles page. I have answered all of those questions multiple times in the past and my blogging time is limited this weekend so I won't have a chance to get into them again.
Also, I'm 25 not 24. I need to change my bio. :)
Thanks again for a great tour of frugal tips, Crystal!
Aldi is not out west yet! I think they stop in MN. Out west we have to use a bigger imagination!
Thanks for the tips! One I'd add: make about half your meals vegetarian. Dried beans and lentils are so much cheaper than meat! And there are lots of yummy ways to fix them (split pea soup and lentil curries come to mind).
peace of Christ to you,
Jessica
Like a previous poster, reedross, I believe, I subscribe to www.grocerygame.com. I also use www.couponmom.com. With both of these sites, I find the best deals for my family. I shop at one grocery store, one drug store (they are next to one another) and at Costco for produce throughout the year as the quality and price is generally better. I have saved about 1/3 of my grocery budget BUT have been bringing home MUCH MORE. We rarely eat processed, boxed-type of foods, and even still I am saving money.
The other week I saved 70% off of my grocery bill, dh was shocked. I have a stockpile in my basement and this will allow me to not have to work this summer, as I am a part-time instructor at a college during the school year.
As well, last night I was browsing couponmom.com and realized that I could save an ADDITIONAL 40% at restarurants.com purchasing gift certificates. Therefore a $10 certificate that was selling for $3, I only paid $1.80. COOL DEAL, eh?! We don't go out to eat often, but you can bet I so will be looking there before we decide where to go.
I have just started shopping at Walgreens, so today I was spending money, but I can't wait to get my rebate gift card in the mail and start collecting rebates on it to spend on needed items that store carries.
Crystal, how do you organize your coupons?
Great tips!:)
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