We’ve had a little break in posting because we had a somewhat surprise visitor in the form of my 90year old grandpa! We hadn’t seen him since early June so this was quite a treat! At that point Baby Wee had just started walking. Now she’s running and climbing everywhere, displaying more of her personality everyday!
But I promised a wrap-up with tips and tricks that I had learned during this process and so here we go!
Here are the top 5 easy to do things that helped me to cut our grocery budget by 33% in just one month!
Menu Planning - Ok, I was already doing this before we set out to cut our budget BUT I made one small change in HOW I planned. I planned my menu around the items that were on sale that week. See, I told you it was simple! Somehow, it had never occurred to me to do this before I bought the Grocery University program. Once I read that I was like “DUH!!” While we still might decide on a meal or two that just sounds good at the time, switching to mostly on sale ingredients helps immensely!
Shop Your Pantry - Another simple and obvious tip! Most of us have shelves and freezers with food purchased and then forgotten. It’s always a good idea to take stock of what you already have on hand before heading to the store or even before menu planning! This also comes in handy if you need to whip up a plan B one night because a quicker, easier dinner is warranted.
Use Coupons - I told you these are easy to do right? Get a paper and get some scissors and start clipping! Then get on your computer and start printing and clipping some more! Ask friends and family to give you their leftovers, pick up those coupons in the grocery aisle displays… It’s worth it, I promise. I used to think coupons were a hassle but they really can save you big money – especially when you combine them with store sales and double coupon policies.
Know Your Prices – You may very well need to shop around to get the best prices. I’m working on creating a Price Book so I can quickly reference prices of commonly purchased items. It’s worth it to know what the normal and sale prices are on certain items so you know if that week’s sale is actually a “good deal.” Currently, I have a general idea of prices but over the 4 weeks of tracking I know there are things I got at less than a “good deal.” Some things could be cheaper at Sam’s Club even without a coupon, but unless you know the normal price per serving or ounce you might end up paying more. Also, stores generally have sales on a cycle. If you can figure out that your favorite pasta sauce is on sale every 4 weeks, you know the ideal time to stock up and use your coupons! Knowing prices and sales cycles is really beneficial when you use it to stock up on things like meats – things for which you generally can’t find coupons. If I see pork loin for $1.99/lb, I’m going to stock my freezer with self cut chops and roasts. If I see hormone and antibiotic free chicken breasts for $2.99/lb you better believe I’m buying a bunch! Stocking up when you know the price is low is a great way to save money even if you spend a little more during that trip. Remember, we are shopping from our pantry and fridge/freezer before spending a dime at the store that week!
Get Organized – Know what is in your pantry and fridge. Know your “good deals.” Organize your coupons so you can find them quickly and easily. Make a menu board with your favorite recipes to make menu planning faster. With a toddler in tow, I need to be able to menu plan and grocery shop as quickly as possible. I also don’t want to miss out on an unadvertised deal because I can’t find the coupon I know I have somewhere.
My process looks something like this:
- Clip coupons from Sunday paper and file. Pull coupons that will expire this week to the front. Discard any expired coupons.
- Peruse the grocery store sale flyers when they come out on Wednesday.
- Make a list of all “good deals” that I see or items we need to restock and print.
- Use the lists (usually 2 from 2 stores) and my pantry/fridge to make a menu for the week & highlight ingredients needed on the lists.
- Match highlighted items from the lists to coupons.
- Hit the store(s)!
It really can be as simple as that! Just a few small and easy changes made a big change in our budget. There are even more tips I learned from Grocery University and implemented over the month, but these 5 tips are the easiest things I did. They are also easy enough that pretty much anyone can do them! I hope they can help you and your family too.
No comments:
Post a Comment