Frugal Friday: Time management and bargain-hunting
Since we're discussing Time Management right now, I thought this question would be great to address for Frugal Friday:I just bought your Supermarket Savings 101 and I love it. But I don't know if I am a little too gung-ho about this. I am not feeling overwhelmed. I have all these folders organized in my favorites folder and blogs marked in my Google Reader. I have forums to help me and sites to visit.When you are first learning to shop frugally, it can be a bit overwhelming, especially if this is a completely new way of thinking. Here are my recommendations:
It just seems like there are so many places to find deals and some sites have things that others don't. Some post more frequently than others. I guess I am looking for a way to simplify this so it is not so overwhelming. You said you take about 45 minutes a week and at the rate I am going, it will be hours a week checking blogs and forums. -Jessica
1) Start slowly. Don't try to cut your grocery bill in half tomorrow. Instead, set a very reachable goal for your grocery budget for this month. Once you've achieved that goal, then gradually try to shave off a little bit more and then a little bit more. Challenge yourself to improve at a pace that isn't too slow so you see no progress happening, but also isn't too fast so that it frustrates or burdens you.
When you are just beginning, pick one or two areas to work on at a time. Perhaps you have a CVS store nearby, make it a goal that you will spend the next 2 months learning how to shop there and get all of your deodorant, shampoo, toothpaste, toothbrushes, and soap/bodywash there for free (there are a lot more things you can get free there, but we're going slow, remember?). Start here to learn how to do that.
Once you've cut out that part of your budget and feel comfortable with CVS-ing, then move on to something else, say learning Walgreens or Target, using more coupons at your grocery store, or making two items from scratch which you would normally buy pre-packaged.
Whatever you pick to work on, enjoy it and don't stress over it. Stretching your budget should be an exciting challenge, not a huge drudgery.
2) Keep it simple. There is a tendency to want to read every forum and blog out there for fear we might miss some great deal. The truth is, most of us do not have that kind of time on our hands. Plus, time is money; if we waste a lot of time scouring deal websites only to come up with minimal savings to show for our hours of internet browsing, we really aren't saving money.
I encourage you to pick a few forums or blogs that you generally find the best deals for the stores you shop at and use those as your resource. Set a time once or twice a week in your schedule to peruse through these and choose which deals you want to do and add these to your grocery list. (I normally just copy and paste deals I find straight into a WORD document and then use that to compile our grocery list and menu.)
3) Set parameters. Not only do I recommend that you have a set grocery budget and only bring cash (and a calculator!) with you to the store to make sure you follow your budget, I also would highly encourage you to budget your grocery-list-making time and your bargain-shopping time.
When you are first starting out, you might allot 1-2 hours per week to searching for bargains, scouring the ads, clipping and organizing coupons, and making your list. As you become more adept, I'd shoot for 45 minutes to an hour maximum for grocery shopping strategizing. Have a set day and a set block of time, if possible. Or split it up into 10-15 minute increments over a few days.
I also recommend that you limit yourself to one to two bargain-shopping trips per week. Bargain shopping can be a great way to be a better steward of your family's income, but it should never consume your life. If you are running around all over town multiple times per week to get great deals, you need to step back and examine your priorities. Like I've said before, if your home and family is suffering for the sake of a good deal, it's not a good deal. Set parameters and stick with them!
I'd love to hear from others on this subject: How do you wisely steward your time when it comes to frugality? Do you have a method which works for you to effectively and efficiently save money and take advantage of great deals? Tell us about it!
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Labels: Finding Time, Frugal Friday
posted by Crystal Paine at 5:48 PM
19 Comments:
I started out my life as a frugal shopper falling into the pit of spending too much time and money trying to get deals. You can see my blog, eatingitup.blogspot.com to find out what I am doing about it. I think I have a pretty creative assignment going on.
Ultimately though, I had to really know my own personality and discover that couponing and grocery gaming is just one way to be frugal and save money. There are lots of other things I can do - like eat the food already in my pantry!
I will say though... CVS paid me $6 last night to take home 6 12-packs of caffeine-free diet pepsi. How?
*6 12-packs packs cost $20
*1 Ascencia glucose monitor cost $10
*On my $30 purchase I stacked several $/$$ coupons (legally and above the board of course, we are still allowed to use these)
*I spent $14 and I got $20 in ECBs back! $10 for the pepsi and $10 for the monitor.
*So see, they paid me $6 to take everything away!
Good tips Crystal! I have become so involved in going to CVS and Walgreens in the past that I became burned out! Taking it slow is the best way. I must remember moderation in all things!!!
Thank you Crystal for your great suggestions!! I am afraid that I do struggle with the coupon thing, yet am really good with menu planning.....it's all about blessing the family with Jesus' love for us. Yes? Have a scrumptious weekend!!
Kelly @ Sage Manor
I am blogging my way through the adventure of planning a fancy formal wedding for a reasonable amount of cash.
blessings, Penny Raine
http://www.pennyraine.com/blog
I think it is very easy to over spend your time trying to save money. I am trying to spend less than an hour a week researching deals, cutting coupons, menu planning, etc...
I also allocate about two hours a month to budget planning. I spend about an hour making the next month's budget, reconciling last months's budget and then my husband and I spend about 15 to 20 minutes a week going over how we are doing in the different categories.
I have to ask you- do you every get discouraged> I am a mom of 7 and I feel discouraged and overwhelmed A LOT. When I oversleep just one time, or go to the park instead of following my schedule just one day, the house falls apart and it takes me a week to catch up! This happened yesterday, then this morning I overslept. I feel so discouraged. Does this ever happen to you and how do you handle it? Do you start your day over (meaning= start at the beginning of your morning routine no matter what time it is) or do you just pick up where you are and try to salvage the day?
Thanks so much! You are so wise, especially to be so young. May God bless you and your family.
Julie
CoreyandJulie@sbcglobal.net
www.gigislittleblog.blogspot.com
Wonderful tips! I spent a lot of time figuring out CVS deals and organizing coupons at first, but the more I learn, the more I'm able to cut it down. I also don't worry now if I don't get EVERY deal. I keep reminding myself that it's not so much what I'm saving, but what I'm spending that counts.
Thanks as always for the great tips!!! They are always so encouraging!
I find myself concerned about the amount of time I spend doing the sale flyers and coupons too! Thanks for sharing your habit of pasting things into a Word .doc - I hadn't thought of that. That's why I end up going to the same spot over and over trying to make sure I get the deal I was thinking of. (I'm sure some of you have seen me a gazillion times in a row on your stat counters. *chuckle) It's a waste of time, but I wanted to make sure I got everything I saw and could make use of. This one idea will make an immense difference for me!
While I'm inspired with all of the great deals everyone gets at CVS there isn't one near my home and many of the items are things I wouldn't normally buy. We have a Walgreens fairly close but when I tried to use that system again they were things that we don't use and when I did find something I wanted to buy it was never in stock.
My husband and I decided we would just do our best at our regular grocery store. It's not fabulous deals but sometimes we can do okay.
We're making an extra effort this year to save more money at the grocery store by using coupons, pricebooking so when they say something is on sale I can check that it really is, checking the unit price and using cash.
While we do meal plan, don't eat except MAYBE once or twice a year, and my hubby only takes lunches to work I will probably be able to cut our budget the best with non-grocery items.
But Crystal I do appreciate your savings alerts on moneysavingmom
I have to organize my couupons by date. I just don't have time to cut them all out! But it works out pretty well.
I know you closed comments on your last post, but I wanted to comment on your book Sweet and sugarfree! Great book, but we used alot of the recipes when I eat sugar free except for fruit sweetenters while pregnant. I found that the recipes were great if you used concentrate instead of diluted juice. The diluted juice tended to not add enough flavor and things tasted a bit blah. Sugarfree toddlers is another book that is great and basically some of the same recipes with concentrate instead of juice. Although I disagree with her thoughts on honey, I found it great!
I used to run to every store in town when I was searching for bargains. However, in recent years, I have decided to sacrifice some savings and shave off some time and energy expenditure instead. For instance, if I find deodorant at a great price at one store and am not getting anything else there, I'll skip that savings and just get it at another store where I am getting several savings. Like my mama used to say, "I'm finally gettin' smart."
I did my first CVS/Walgreens shopping online today and saved so much on arts and craft supplies! Thanks Crystal!
~Michelle
Your advice was wise, Crystal.
Simple is better - I would rather get a few good bargains than to spend too much time acquiring them.
Just like anything else, it is easy to go overboard - slow and steady is best.
50shousewife - very smart comment! It really is how much you are spending in the end.
Since moving to the country 9 years ago, we have cut back on going shopping, which means we spend a lot less on groceries. Also the gas bill is less going to town once every two weeks or once every month. I encourage every one to do there shopping only once every two weeks. You will actually save a lot because you won't see something that you think you need, and you won't spend as much on gas either.
Crystal,
I've given you a bloggy award over at my blog. Thank you for such a fantastick blog
Last week I really started using the calculator I carry in my purse. It was interesting how I would put it away, only to pull it out again and calculate the best deal. It was amazing to see how many items that I would normally purchase were not the best deals!
I'm taking baby steps at frugality. It's definitely a learn-as-you-go process. Check out learningtobefrugal.wordpress.com to see how I'm coming along.
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